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At the film´s very beginning the voice over, a man speaking in gently broken English, claims that the most important issues in life can be summed up with three words: how, why and what - three basic questions which are provably the most popular words in the autograph books of teenagers around the world. Teenagers themselves share a basic principle with coffee and the stock exchange: They´re hot for a limited time only. A little more is required for eternity, most importantly time, which can be used to experience adventures of various degrees of intensity.
The wild chains of associations set in motion by Le Grand Content are insidiously translated into the language of contemporary PowerPoint presentations: pie charts, graphs and tables. At the same time, very subtly, the connection between beer and self-confidence, and the ratio of (psychological) pain to (physical) scars is explored, as is the inner connection between solitary consumption of ice cream and an intense increase in self-disgust.
Le Grand Content is a subversive undertaking: It demonstrates how systematically disorientation can take place, how logical nonsense can seem. The well-organized presentation, despite its authoritative appearance, does not at all ensure that it should be taken seriously. The persuasive power of the graphic deductions is precisely equal to their absurdity. The gently ringing music which plays throughout the film subtly emphasizes its underlying principle: the melancholy nature of the apparatus. Le Grand Content is a rare kind of work, brimming with dry humor, esthetic confidence and terse precision. For these reasons it has become a surprise hit on YouTube.com, the Web site for digital clips. With nearly half a million viewers, Le Grand Content could well be one of the most-watched Austrian films of the past few decades.
(Stefan Grissemann)
