The trial is dedicated to the major social scars that have been left behind since the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the rifts surrounding the measures and the highly emotionalized vaccination debate. The documentary also provides insights into the two other trials, which are about political “attacks on democracy” and the hypocrisy of artists, cultural workers and climate campaigners who pretend to mean well with their work. Rau's processes are a new form of theater that he invented as a director. He brings reality onto the stage and stages performances that are based on real court cases. It is not actors and actresses who are on stage, but actual victims and actors, such as judges or politicians.

“The Vienna Trial” repeatedly leaves the stage space, showing archive and news footage of real political actions that form the framework for Milo Rau's trials. These include the work of democratic institutions during the pandemic, the distribution of coronavirus aid and the function of various media during the coronavirus crisis. With film clips from the earlier trials in Moscow, Zurich and the Congo, the documentary explains how credible this “staged” form of jurisprudence is.

Will it offer insights into individual cases that have been ignored in reality and whether obvious grievances can be reinterpreted and clarified? The verdict is reached at the end of each trial weekend by a jury of the public. (Text: orf.at)