In the Austrian satire Veni Vidi Vici, a senseless murder kicks things off. A cyclist is gunned down by an unknown sniper, eventually tumbling to his death. Especially here in DCd, a killing such as this brings back nightmarish memories of the “DC Sniper”, but in co-directors Daniel Hoesl and Julia Niemann’s cynical new film, it’s a scene with a twisted sense of humor, as the killer just walks out into the open and claims the victim’s bicycle, taking the wheel like he’s Greg LeMond about to win the Tour de France.
Veni Vidi Vici presents itself as another ironic anti-capitalist satire in the vein of Reuben Ostlund, but if you’re looking for a movie where the rich get their just desserts, look elsewhere. The wealthy come and go and murder and pillage at their pleasure, while the rest of the world suffers at their whim. And none of the established institutions can do anything about it. The culprit, billionaire Amon Maynard (Laurence Rupp), knows he’s untouchable and has no qualms about flaunting it. Even when the Gameskeeper spots Amon during one of his “hunting” trips, the cops have zero interest in pursuing it.
This is hardly the first film to depict the ungodly rich as twisted psychopaths who pleasure in the suffering of others, but this might be the first to feature a polo match where a game-changing foul is cheered on by the spectators and excused by the refs. The infraction was committed by the unrepentant Paula (Olivia Goschler), Amon’s equally-disturbed 13-year-old daughter with his trophy wife, Viktoria (Ursina Lardi). Paula also serves as the film’s narrator, and she shares her father’s attitude that you deserve any crime you can get away with. The Maynards believe if the people really wanted to stop them, they could. But that’s the problem; nobody really wants the trouble of going through with it.
And that is one of the big problems with Veni Vidi Vici. The Maynards don’t have a genuine foil to bring this allegorical tale to life. The aforementioned Gameskeeper doesn’t make for much of a subplot, and idealistic journalist Volter (Dominik Warta), who knows of Amos’ murder spree, arrives late and only to make an already-established point about the lack of journalistic integrity in holding the powerful accountable. So the film just goes along, hoping to piss you off with the Maynard’s unstoppable criminality. The government twists itself into knots to accommodate Amon’s hostile business practices, “for democracy”, of course. Paula steals for the thrill of it, Viktoria excuses all of it while shopping for a pregnancy surrogate like she’s making an UberEats order, while their butler, a former journalist with the appropriate name of Alfred, watches and covers up their misdeeds.
Veni Vidi Vici isn’t really funny, though. It’s mildly infuriating, but it’s clear that Hoesel and Niemann are looking to inspire genuine outrage, as seen in a shocking final act of murder committed with impunity. Their goal falls flat because there’s no threat to the Maynards, and thus no tension that the societal guardrails might actually hold up. Without that, this film is only mildly amusing and isn’t offering the biting critique it thinks it is.
