The Cast: The Best for the Mystery
For our mockumentary, we've secured some of the most prominent faces in German-language cinema. They don't just play their roles; they inhabit the absurdity of their characters.
Birgit Minichmayr as Heidi Goëss-Horten
The Role: The Grande Dame of Lake Wörthersee.
The Performance: Minichmayr plays Heidi with a mix of razor-sharp irony and disarming friendliness. She manages to present the "donation splitting" as an act of pure artistic benevolence. Her Heidi is both a victim of her own luxury and the director of a political system.
August Diehl as Helmut Horten (The Young Helmut)
The Role: The Department Store King and "Market Optimizer."
The Performance: Diehl brings his famous undercooled intensity. His Helmut is not an ideologue, but a "manager of opportunities." In the 1930s scenes, he shows with terrifying calm how he "acquires" stores while the world around him collapses. He is the master of the "pointillism of capital."
Oliver Masucci as the Multi-Role / Chronist
The Roles:
- The Curator: Who manages Heidi's art and secrets.
- Alfred Alsberg: The former owner whose store Horten takes over.
- The Political Secretary: Who organizes the "donations."
The Performance: Masucci is the chameleon of the film. Through his multiple roles, he embodies the different faces of power and its victims, always with a touch of dark humor.
Udo Samel as August Wöginger
The Role: The "Bestimmungstäter" (The Inciter). The Performance: Udo Samel portrays the ÖVP parliamentary group leader as a master of regional intervention. He plays Wöginger as a man who exercises power not through force, but through favors. In his gaze lies the cool logic of Upper Austrian power preservation. Quote from Set: "Wöginger truly believes he is only doing the best for his homeland. That makes the character so dangerous and fascinating at the same time."
This cast ensures that "The Horten Mystery" is not just a documentary, but a high-carat cinematic event.