Set in 1928 Germany during Weimar Republic era, the film follows a man who has just been released in prison hoping to become a decent man unaware that he is living in a world where decency is hard to find. It is a sprawling film that explore the life of Franz Biberkopf (Gunter Lamprecht) as he was a former pimp that was put into prison for killing his girlfriend Ida (Barbara Valentin) in an act of rage. Upon his release, Biberkopf re-enters society with a promise that he will become a decent person only to encounter a world that is on the brink of collapse. Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s screenplay that includes his own narration that include events happening around Berlin during that year as it plays into the decline of the Weimar Republic is broken in thirteen episodes with the first episode with an 82-minute running time and the other 12 at around an hour. The script plays into Biberkopf’s willingness to become a good man and not get into trouble although he is an extremely flawed individual who is also naïve about the ways of the world as he also has a childlike demeanor in his facial expressions and drinks a lot to the point that he would descend into alcoholism numerous times.
Each episode opens with an operatic song with images of the Weimar Republic era where it plays into Biberkopf’s encounter with the new world as he has a few friends in a former lover in Eva (Hanna Schygulla) and Meck (Buchrieser Franz) as the former would often give him money and other things to help him out every once in a while, with the latter trying to help Biberkopf in getting a honest job. Biberkopf and Meck would often frequent at a bar run by Max (Claus Hom) who often observes a lot while also giving the former some advice on things. The first five episodes has Biberkopf struggling to find honest work while also beginning a relationship with a Polish woman in Lina (Elisabeth Trissenaar) as well as work with a friend of Lina’s father in Luders (Hark Bohm) in selling shoelaces where things go wrong leading to a mental breakdown for Biberkopf until he is helped by a man in Baumann (Gerhard Zwerenz) to get back on track. It is there where he would meet a businessman in Pums (Ivan Desny) who runs an illegal markets operation where Biberkopf would befriend one of his men in Reinhold (Gottfried John).
The two would go into a woman-swapping scheme to help curb Reinhold’s dependence on women where Biberkopf would engage into another relationship with another of Reinhold’s former girlfriends in Cilly (Annemarie Duringer). The happiness would be brief in the seventh episode where Biberkopf is asked to fill in for one of Pums’ men where some revelations occur and would leave Biberkopf dead and losing his right arm. Once Eva and her lover Herbert (Roger Fritz) learn what happened, Herbert decides to use his connections to bring problems to Pums though Pums eventually decides to pay for Biberkopf’s medical bills with contributions from his men minus Reinhold. After meeting Willy (Fritz Schediwy) at a cabaret club where Cilly was performing having not seen or heard about Biberkopf believing he had died from the accident. Biberkopf goes into business with Willy through dishonest means just as Eva would introduce Biberkopf to Mieze (Barbara Sukowa) who would become the love of his life.
Despite learning that she is a prostitute and going to political meetings that has him relapsing into alcoholism, he would still enjoy his time with Mieze though would get despondent over her job prompting him to go Pums for help despite reservations from people working for Pums. The script has Fassbinder often highlighting things where Biberkopf going into situations including bad ones where he would be too forgiving through those close to him are aghast over this. Even in the last two episodes where Biberkopf would go insane over a major incident leading to a two-hour epilogue as the 14th and final episode. It is an episode of its own where it is surreal in its overall presentation as it plays into Biberkopf’s own faults, naivete, refusal to see reality, and his lack of judgement towards those who are truly the worst.
Fassbinder’s direction is immense not just in its grand presentation but also in creating a world that is on the verge of collapse where it is dirty yet exciting. Shot on location at Bavaria Film Studios in Munich, Fassbinder creates a world that plays into a period as Fassbinder would also be the film’s production designer. The sets such as the apartment that Biberkopf lives in as well as the bar he often goes to are key set pieces in the film where Fassbinder’s usage of wide and medium shots cover a lot of space as there are a lot of scenes where Fassbinder shoots on a wide shot to play into Biberkopf’s disconnection with reality. There are also shots that would last longer than a few minutes in some of these wide shots where Fassbinder showcase something happening where Fassbinder would also narrate whatever a character is thinking about or an offscreen event that is happening outside of the scene.
Fassbinder would also maintain an intimacy in some of the settings where he would use some close-ups to play into some of the moments where Biberkopf would gain a semblance of happiness or engage into something hopeful. Even as it also play into moments of suspense such as a scene where Biberkopf fills in for one of Pums’ men as they make a getaway where Reinhold becomes uneasy over Biberkopf’s behavior. The direction would also have this dream-like element as it plays into Biberkopf’s own happiness that is fleeting where is unable to face reality. Yet, he would encounter it through a flashback in which he beats Ida to death as it would appear often as a reminder of him at his most inhumane. Even in a scene late in the eleventh episode where Mieze confesses to Biberkopf leading to a moment of violence that even shocks the sadistic Reinhold where he would intervene.
The film’s final two episodes plus its epilogue would be the emergence of the inhumanity that Biberkopf would be ignorant to where he succumbs to madness over a tragic event while those close to him are trying to make sense of his behavior. The film’s epilogue is where Fassbinder breaks all the rules where he create surrealistic sequences that play into Biberkopf’s troubled mind including his regrets, failures, and inability to see the dark side of humanity. Especially in set pieces where there are a lot of anachronisms in its setting and music soundtrack with a couple of angels (Margit Carstensen and Helmut Griem) commenting on what is happening with even Fassbinder himself making a cameo as an observer. The film’s ending is really about Biberkopf’s fate but also being disconnected from the world that has already fallen into total chaos where he has accepted his fate despite being in Hell on Earth. Overall, Fassbinder crafts an astonishing and visceral 14-part film about a troubled man’s attempt to become decent in an indecent world on the verge of collapse.
Cinematographer Xaver Schwarzenberger does brilliant work with the film’s 16mm photography stock with its emphasis on heightened lights for some of the daytime interior/exterior scenes as well as low-key lights for the scenes set at night with an emphasis on soft lighting in some parts of the film. Editors Julian Lorenz and Rainer Werner Fassbinder (in his Walsch Franz pseudonym) do excellent work in the editing in maintaining straightforward cuts as well as a few jump-cuts in some of the film’s montage sequences. Costume designer Barbara Baum does amazing work with the look of the clothes the men wear as well as the stylish clothing that the women wear during those times.
The visual effects work of Theo Nischwitz is terrific for the film’s epilogue as it adds to the surreal presentation such as a boxing match between Biberkopf and Reinhold. The sound work of Hans R. Weiss, along with sound mixer Milan Bor, is superb for its natural approach to the sound in the way music is presented from a gramophone and the way a pub or a club sounds. Music by Peer Raben is incredible for its music score ranging from brass pieces as well as elements of piano-based music like the late 1920s and some low-key electronic pieces to give the film its odd presentation while its music soundtrack also features many of the music from that period plus an operatic piece that opens each episode while its epilogue would feature some anachronistic music from the likes of the Velvet Underground, Janis Joplin, Donovan, Kraftwerk, Leonard Cohen, and Dean Martin.
The film’s tremendous ensemble cast feature some notable small roles and appearances from Udo Kier as a young cabaret club goer, Lilo Pempeit as Pums’ wife Peter Kuiper as a bald man who runs a decadent district full of prostitutes, Margit Carstensen and Helmut Griem as a couple of angels in the film’s epilogue, Karin Baal as Ida’s sister Minna whom Biberkopf meets and later rapes, Herbert Steinmetz as the newspaper seller Eddie that Biberkopf befriends, Axel Bauer as a former friend of Biberkopf in Dreske who is part of a communist group that Biberkopf dislikes, Jurgen Draeger as a Jewish sausage seller who politely asks why Biberkopf would wear the swastika, Helen Vita and Irm Herrmann as a couple of women who would date Reinhold as part of a swapping scheme with Biberkopf, Volker Spengler and Gunther Kaufmann in their respective roles as two of Pums’ men in Bruno and Theo, Gerhard Zwerenz as Baumann who would help Biberkopf recover from alcoholism, and Barbara Valentin as Biberkopf’s lover Ida whom he would kill in an act of rage and jealousy as she would often be seen in flashbacks.
Fritz Schediwy is terrific as Willy as a young criminal that Biberkopf befriends as he would align himself into some political causes that would put Biberkopf in trouble. Brigitte Mira is superb as the landlady Frau Bast whom Biberkopf is fond of as she always takes care of him. Ivan Desny and Hark Bohm are fantastic in their respective roles as the crime boss Pums and the salesman Otto Luders as two men who would give Biberkopf employment with the former being an illegal markets operator and the latter who would put Biberkopf into trouble and a mental breakdown. Elisabeth Trissenaar and Annemarie Duringer are excellent in their respective roles as two of Biberkopf’s lovers in the Polish woman Lina and the cabaret performer Cilly as these two different women who provide Biberkopf with a sense of purpose and care only for certain things to end the relationships abruptly.
Claus Holm and Roger Fritz are brilliant in their respective roles as the bar owner Max and Eva’s husband Herbert as two men who often bring advice to Biberkopf with the former being more patient while the latter has connections to help Biberkopf. Franz Buchrieser is amazing as Meck as an old longtime friend of Biberkopf who tries to help him find honest work while is a reluctant employee of Pums as he later feels regret for what happened to Biberkopf as he would also deal with a tragic event, he played a part of to his own regret. Gottfried John is incredible as Reinhold as a man Biberkopf befriends who also works for Pums as he is a man with a stutter but also a sadistic man that would take advantage of Biberkopf to the point of extreme measures. Hanna Schygulla is phenomenal as Eva as a former lover of Biberkopf who has become wealthy as she helps him whenever she can while also having some love for him where she also copes with his own views of the world and her concern for Mieze.
Barbara Sukowa is great as Mieze as a prostitute who becomes Biberkopf’s great love as she hopes to give him some hope while is also insecure thinking, she is not good enough for him where she later copes with his own activities and those he surrounds himself with. Finally, there’s Gunter Lamprecht in a spectacular performance as Franz Biberkopf as a former pimp who goes to prison for killing his girlfriend as he is released where he hopes to become a decent man. Lamprecht brings this childlike presentation as someone who is hopeful about starting a new lease on life unaware of the world he is in where he is brought down by his own naivety, lack of judgement, jealousy, and delusions about life as it is an intense performance that is also reserved at times but also dangerous once he goes into a rage as it is a career-defining performance from Lamprecht.
Berlin Alexanderplatz is a magnificent film by Rainer Werner Fassbinder that features a tremendous leading performance from Gunter Lamprecht. Along with its supporting ensemble cast, striking visuals, study of humanity during an inhumane time, an offbeat presentation, and a whimsical music soundtrack. It is a daunting film that is challenging in not just its 902-minute running time but also in its study of a man trying to fit in at a world that is constantly changing but on the verge of collapse during a crucial period in Germany’s history. In the end, Berlin Alexanderplatz is an outstanding film by Rainer Werner Fassbinder.
Rainer Werner Fassbinder Films: Love is Colder Than Death - (Katzelmacher) - (Why Does Herr R. Run Amok?) - (Rio das Mortes) - (The American Soldier) - (Whity) - (Beware of a Holy Whore) – The Merchant of Four Seasons - The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant - Eight Hours Don't Make a Day - (Jailbait) - World on a Wire - Ali: Fear Eats the Soul - (Martha (1974 film)) - (Effi Briest) - (Fox and His Friends) - (Mother Kuster’s Trip to Heaven) – (I Only Want You to Love Me) – Satan's Brew - (Chinese Roulette) - (Germany in Autumn) - (Despair) - (In a Year of 13 Moons) – The Marriage of Maria Braun - (Third Generation) - (Lili Marleen) – Lola - Veronika Voss - Querelle
© thevoid99 2024
Set in the late 19th Century during the Victorian era of London, the film revolves around a young woman who had killed herself only to be resurrected by a scientist as she goes on a journey of sexual discovery, identity, and ideals through some of the people she meets along the way including a greedy and nefarious attorney who lusts after her. It is a film that follows the life of this woman who despite having a brain transplant following her suicide as she would have the mind of a child that would then grow into a full-fledge woman with an appetite for sex and knowledge. Tony McNamara’s screenplay is filled with not just this unique study of a woman’s mental and emotional development but also through the people she meets in her life including the scientist in Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe) who found her dead body in a river and would make a discovery as he would remove her brain and put in another brain and use electricity to revive her as he would call her Bella (Emma Stone).
Dr. Baxter and his maid Mrs. Prim (Vicki Pepperdine) would take care of Bella who would start off with the mind of a child learning to walk as one of his students in Max McCandles (Ramy Youssef) would aid them both and take notes as he would fall for Bella. Yet, Bella gets the attention of the attorney Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo) who would fall for her and convince Bella to travel with him around the world much to Dr. Baxter’s reluctance and Max’s refusal. Bella’s relationship with Duncan revolves around sex at first until she gets to know him as someone who is a control freak that couldn’t keep up with Bella’s thirst for sex and knowledge as they travel on a ship to Alexandria where she meets the cynical philosopher Harry Astley and the elderly German Martha Von Kurtzroc (Hanna Schygulla) who are both amazed by her. Yet, Bella would also encounter things that would challenge her ideals as it all plays into her own journey and revelations about her past life before her suicide.
Yorgos Lanthimos’ direction is quite sprawling in terms of not just the way he imagines some of the places that Bella would encounter but also a world that is just as odd and wondrous as she would imagine. Shot largely on location in Hungary with several interiors and sets made at the Origo Studios in Budapest, Lanthimos does play into this world that is full of wonders but also a reality that is too terrifying to ignore. Much of the film’s first act is shot in black-and-white with bits of color emerging in flashbacks as Lanthimos’ usage of fish-eyed lenses for wide shots add to the surrealistic tone of the film as well as this world where Bella is protected from during her time living with Dr. Baxter who is a father figure to her while also knows the truth about who she is. Max is also protective of her as he would take notes observing her while all three and Mrs. Prim are happy at Dr. Baxter’s lab in doing experiments including the hybrid animals that Dr. Baxter has surrounded himself. Still, Lanthimos’ direction also play into the outside world as its second act goes into full-blown color while it also play into this sense of manic energy into Bella’s hedonistic attitudes as she finds a partner in Duncan.
The scenes set in Lisbon, Alexandria, and the cruise ship they travel on are quite surreal as it is this strange mix of a futuristic world (by 19th Century standards) and the period of the time as it has something that feels artificial and dream-like. Lanthimos’ usage of the wide and medium shots add to the scope of that world while Lanthimos does maintain some intimacy including the usage of close-ups including some extreme close-ups that play into Bella’s sexual awakening. There is a lot of humor that play into Bella’s understanding of the world as well as humanity where its third act that begins in Paris where she learns a lot about the ways of the world and what Dr. Baxter was trying to shield her from. Especially as there’s revelations into her past life where Max feels the need to take a stand for her as well as realize the sacrifices that Dr. Baxter had done towards her. It all plays into a woman discovering herself but also a world where men do what they can to maintain the status quo unaware that she is willing to challenge these ideals. Overall, Lanthimos crafts a majestic yet wild film about a woman coming of age in her understanding of sex and its many ideals including her own identity.
Cinematographer Robbie Ryan does incredible work with the film’s cinematography from the striking imagery in the black-and-white photography in its daytime interior/exterior scenes to the exterior scenes at night as well as the lush colors for the scenes in Lisbon and the interiors in the ships as it is a highlight of the film. Editor Yorgos Mavropsaridis does excellent work with the editing as it has elements of style as well as some unique jump-cuts and other rhythmic cuts that add to some of the humor and drama. Production designer Shona Heath and James Price, with set decorator Zsuzsa Mihalek and senior art director Jonathan Houlding, do phenomenal work with the set design in the way Lisbon is presented as well as the interiors of the ships as well as the rooms and lab at Dr. Baxter’s home as it is a major highlight of the film. Costume designer Holly Waddington does fantastic work with the design of the dresses that Bella wears as well as the suits that the men wear during that period in the late 19th Century.
Prosthetic makeup designer Mark Coulier and hair/makeup prosthetic designer Nadia Stacey, along with hair/makeup supervisor Carolyn Cousins, do amazing work with the look of Dr. Baxter with his scars and deformed body parts as well as some of the scars that Bella has in her body. Special effects supervisors Balazs Hoffmann and Gabor Kiszelly, along with visual effects supervisor Simon Hughes, do terrific work in some of the visual design of some of the hybrid animals that Dr. Baxter have created as well as some set dressing including some of the cable cars at Lisbon. Sound designer Johnnie Burn does superb work with the sound in creating an atmosphere in the way Bella hears things as well as certain natural sounds and textures that play into the humor and drama. The film’s music by Jerskin Fendrix is brilliant for its unconventional music score filled with unique string and piano arrangements and textures that are offbeat in its presentation as well as some orchestral themes that have some discordant elements as it is a highlight of the film while music supervisors Anne Booty and Sarah Giles cultivate a soundtrack that largely features European folk music of that period performed by Carminho.
The casting by Dixie Chassay is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles from composter Jerskin Fendrix as a restaurant musician in Lisbon, Carminho as a Fado performer Bella sees in Lisbon, Wayne Brett as a priest whom Bella would have sex with, Tom Stourton as a steward on the ship that Duncan tries to fight against, Vicki Pepperdine as Dr. Baxter’s maid/assistant Mrs. Prim who is very loyal to Dr. Baxter, Suzy Bemba as a prostitute in Toinette whom Bella would befriend and learn the ideas of socialism from, and Margaret Qualley in a terrific small role as Felicity as a replacement for Bella at the Baxter home as she provides a lot of humor as someone that has a hard time learning. Kathryn Hunter is superb as Madame Swiney as an aging brothel madam in Paris that gives Bella a job in the film’s third act as well as show her a broader view of the world through good and bad. Hanna Schygulla is fantastic as Martha Von Kurtzroc as an elderly passenger whom Bella befriends on the ship as she gives Bella some joy and insight as well as gaining her own sense of joy through Bella.
Jerrod Carmichael is excellent as the American philosopher in Harry Astley whom Bella meets on the ship towards Alexandria as a cynic who wants to show Bella the cruelties of the world while he also realizes that Bella’s viewpoint also has some upsides. Christopher Abbott is brilliant as Alfie Blessington as a cruel and sadistic general who is a key figure in Bella’s past as he is this representation of the darkest aspects of humanity and masculinity. Ramy Youssef is amazing as Max McCandles as a medical student that Dr. Baxter brings in to assist him as he falls for Bella while also coping with her absence as he copes with Dr. Baxter’s growing illness as he is someone that represents the best in men as he is also open-minded and caring. Mark Ruffalo is great as Duncan Wedderburn as this sleazy and hedonistic attorney that falls for Bella as he would take her around Europe only to be overwhelmed by her as he is full of dark humor and snobbery that adds to how awful his character is as it is one of Ruffalo’s finest performances.
Willem Dafoe is incredible as Dr. Godwin “God” Baxter as this scientist and surgeon who has a deformed face and hands while also is unable to fart as he is this odd yet caring figure who is trying to understand humanity while caring for Bella as if she’s his daughter as it is a very tender and somber performance from Dafoe. Finally, there’s Emma Stone in a magnificent performance as Bella Baxter as this woman who had been resurrected after committing suicide but with the brain of a baby as she would learn about things while there is also a sense of physicality that Stone brings to her performance. Stone also exudes this sense of wonderment and ferocity in her role as there’s a lot of energy and emotions into her role but also the willingness to be vulgar in a humorous way as it is a performance for the ages.
Poor Things is an outstanding film from Yorgos Lanthimos that features a towering leading performance from Emma Stone. Along with its ensemble cast, Tony McNamara’s riveting script, ravishing visuals, gorgeous cinematography, wondrous sound design, and Jerskin Fendrix’s offbeat score. It is a film that explores a woman’s journey to find herself but also her exploration of sex and identity as it is told in a grand and stylistic manner. In the end, Poor Things is a magnificent film from Yorgos Lanthimos.
Yorgos Lanthimos Films: (My Best Friend (2001 film)) – (Kinetta) – Dogtooth - (Alps) – The Lobster - (The Killing of a Sacred Deer) – The Favourite - Kinds of Kindness - (Bugonia)
© thevoid99 2023
Episode 1: Jochen and Marion
It’s a birthday celebration for the family matriarch (Luise Ullrich) as her grandson Jochen (Gottfried John) goes out to buy more champagne for his annoying aunt Klara (Christine Oesterlein) is when he meets Marion (Hanna Schygulla) who is trying to buy pickles from a vending machine. The two immediately fall in love as Jochen introduces her to his family as she would later befriend Jochen’s sister Monika (Renate Roland) who is trying to find a friend to talk to due to her strained marriage to Harald (Kurt Raab). The episode also has Jochen dealing with problems at his job working at a factory making tools where he comes up with a plan that he hopes would help the workers only for their bonuses to be pulled. It all plays into this man falling in love and trying to do good for everyone he works including a middle-aged foreman in Kretzschmer (Victor Curland) who sympathizes with the workers.
Episode 2: Grandma and Gregor
Grandma and her new boyfriend Gregor (Werner Finck) go apartment hunting throughout the city as they discover not just the high prices for the apartments but also places with terrible locations. Upon discovering a place that they feel is suitable for them despite its expensive yet fair price, they see that a local library is shutting down as they decided to turn the place into a kindergarten for the neighborhood children to play despite being unable to get a permit to hold such a place. Yet, it would take mothers from the neighborhood, Jochen, Marion, and several of Jochen’s co-workers to help out. The episode also play into Jochen and Marion’s growing relationship as her little brother Manni (Thorsten Massinger) would attend the kindergarten along with Monika’s daughter Sylvia (Andrea Schober). Another subplot involves Franz (Wolfgang Schenck) trying to become the new full-time foreman with the support of Jochen and other co-workers.
Episode 3: Franz and Ernst
The episode revolves around Franz trying to pass a foreman exam despite the fact that he’s not very good at math and the company has already hired a new foreman from another company in Ernst (Peter Gauhe) despite a promise to Franz that he would get the job if he passed his exam. Jochen and Marion help out as does his fellow co-workers while Jochen’s best friend Manfred (Wolfgang Zerlett) gets to know Ernst as he learns more about him where a stunt to get Ernst fired backfires only for Ernst to take action to the surprise of everyone. The episode also includes a subplot in which Jochen’s father Wolf (Wolfried Lier) is unhappy at how quiet his apartment has been until Grandma comes up with an idea for him to quarrel with someone as things don’t work out.
Episode 4: Harald and Monika.
Gottfried and Marion take a huge step into their relationship though Gottfried’s first encounter with Marion’s mother (Brigitte Mira) is awkward leading to Marion’s mother being disapproving of the relationship. The two discuss the future of their relationship as they go to family and friends for advice as they both make a decision that would impact everyone. The episode also play into the disintegrating relationship between Harald and Monika as the latter turns to Gottfried, Marion, her parents, and her grandmother for help as she wants a divorce but Harald wants custody of their daughter leading to many issues. It would all culminate at a wedding party for Gottfried and Marion where a lot happens including the resolution over Marion and Harald with the unexpected help of Klara.
Episode 5: Irmgard and Rolf.
When news that a new factory is to be built at the other side of town that would force workers to be relocated making things for them including Gottfried difficult just as he and Marion bought a new apartment. It also makes things worse for Marion’s friend/co-worker Irmgard (Irm Hermann) who had just began a relationship with one of Gottfried’s co-workers in Rolf (Rudolf Waldemar Brem) as they met at Gottfried and Marion’s wedding party. Gottfried, Franz, and the other workers come up with a plan they would hope that would benefit them as they turn to the factory’s head manager Dr. Betram (Klaus Lowitsch) who reads their proposals and takes it into consideration. The episode also plays into Manfred’s longing for Monika who embarks into a relationship with a man that is trying to pull her into a scheme. Gottfried and Marion concoct a big plan as it relates to the apartment that Gottfried’s parents would own as a way to plan for their future with Rolf and Irmgard living with them as they would succeed but Marion laments over the role of working people as it relates to everything Gottfried is working for.
The TV miniseries follows the lives of the Epp family as they live in Cologne, West Germany as they deal with many social and political changes that occur in their lives. Yet, for all of the chaos and dysfunction that looms within the family is a lot of love no matter how much they annoy each other sometimes. Even as various individuals in the family would embark their own lives with Gottfried and Marion being in the center along with Gottfried’s grandmother and her boyfriend Gregor being this support system for Gottfried, Monika, and Marion. Even as Marion’s younger brother Manni and Monika’s daughter Sylvia become friends at the kindergarten that Grandma and Gregor would run. Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s script play into the many schematics that would occur throughout the family as well as the people that surround them including Gottfried’s co-workers who often help out with Gottfried also helping them out as well.
Fassbinder’s direction is engaging for the way he portrays the life of a working-class family in Cologne as each episode opens with the notable locations of the city and the closing shot would be of a factory next to a canal as a canal boat would pass by. The city would be a key character in the film with Fassbinder using certain locations and such to play into this world that these characters live in as it is this world that is vibrant for many involved despite the fact that there’s also things that the working class doesn’t have. While there are some wide shots to play into some of the locations, much of Fassbinder’s direction remains intimate with its usage of close-ups and medium shots. Even in scenes where conversations occur as he would pan the camera from one area to another or to use a dolly-tracking shot to circle around a table. Yet, Fassbinder would also play into this world that is the factory that would include bits such as a wide shot of all of the men showering with glimpses of full-frontal nudity along with other quirks that add to miniseries relating to humor and drama.
Fassbinder also plays into the family dynamic as Wolf always likes to get into arguments and such with his wife Kathe (Anita Bucher) always trying to get him to calm down and make him see reason. Yet, whenever there’s a party and he’s drunk. He is this jovial and lively person that wants to dance with every woman in the party but also be extremely loving towards Kathe as it plays into a man who has a hard time dealing with reality unless he gets drunk and not worry too much. Fassbinder also play into a lot of things such as the fact that Grandma and Gregor likes to eat at a restaurant surrounded by pet birds while Gottfried and Marion often hang out at certain places they like with American and British music in the background. Fassbinder maintains this atmosphere that does feel loose but also has this element of socialist ideals in the way Gottfried, Marion, Grandma, and Gregor approach things in wanting to help people though it is about getting paid fairly for Gottfried and Marion while Grandma and Marion want to help out. The series’ ending at five episodes, instead of the original eight that Fassbinder had intended to, is about everything Gottfried and Marion had worked for but also this realization into the way the world works with Grandma and Gregor seeing a hopeful world for everyone around them. Overall, Fassbinder crafts a heartfelt and whimsical film about the life of a working class family in Cologne, West Germany.
Cinematographer Dietrich Lohmann does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its emphasis on low-key yet colorful natural lighting for some of the interiors along with the usage of available light for some exterior scenes at night. Editor Marie Anne Gerhardt does excellent work with the editing with its approach to jump-cuts as well as some straight cuts for some dramatic and humorous moments. Production designers Manfred Lutz, Kurt Raab, and costume designer Gisela Rocken do amazing work with the look of the homes that the characters live in as well as the office that Marion works at with Irmgard as well as the factory that Jochen works at and the kindergarten that Grandma and Gregor run with Rocken creating some unique clothing of the times including some of the dresses that Marion and Monika wear.
The sound work of Gerhardt Trampert is superb for its natural approach to sound as it plays to everything that is happening as well as some unique sound effects that add to the film’s humor and drama. The music by Jean Gepoint is wonderful for its playful score with its usage of woodwinds and folk instruments as it play into this working class environment these characters live in with a soundtrack that includes various German pop tunes of the times as well as music from Janis Joplin, Gilbert O’Sullivan, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, Ennio Morricone, Spooky Tooth, the Drifters, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, the Rolling Stones, Paul Anka, the Everly Brothers, Bobby Darin, Paul Anka, and the Velvet Underground .
The film’s marvelous cast feature some notable small roles and appearances from Eva Mattes as a café waitress, Ulli Lommel as Marion’s ex-boyfriend Peter, Margit Carstensen as a woman who used to run the library that would become the kindergarten that Grandma and Gregor would run, Klaus Lowitsch as the factory manager Dr. Betram who is willing to listen to the workers for their demands knowing what good could come from it, Brigitte Mira as Marion’s mother who doesn’t approve of Gottfried at first until she gets to know him and his family, Ruth Drexel as Franz’s wife, Katrin Schaake as a landlady, Christine Oesterlein as the bourgeois aunt Klara who is a drama queen to the family, and Hans Gromball as a man Monika meets after her divorce in the fifth episode who tries to get her and Grandma into a money investment that Grandma is suspicious about. In the roles of various co-workers that Jochen works with in the factory include Victor Curland as the old foreman Kretzschmer as a man that everyone likes, Rainer Hauer as supervisor Gross, Karl Scheydt as Peter, Grigorios Karipidis as the Italian immigrant Giuseppe, Peter Gauhe as Kretzschmer’s replacement Ernst who didn’t want the job as he would help Franz in getting the job, Hans Hirschmuller as Jurgen, Herb Andress as the often cynical Rudiger who dislikes Giuseppe because he’s a foreigner, El Hedi ben Salem as another immigrant worker in Arbeiter, and Rudolf Waldemar Brem as Rolf whom Irmgard would meet at a party and fall for.
Wolfgang Schenck is terrific as Franz as a kindly man whom the workers like as they vouch for him as a foreman despite his poor math until Ernst helps him. Andrea Schober and Thorsten Massinger are superb in their respective roles as Monika/Harald’s daughter Sylvia and Marion’s younger brother Manni as two adolescent kids who befriend each other at Grandma and Gregor’s kindergarten with the latter helping the former over her issues with her dad. Wolfgang Zerlett is fantastic as Manfred as Jochen’s best friend who often pines for Monika as well as be a friend to the family. Kurt Raab is excellent as Sylvia’s father/Monika’s husband Harald as a man that is all about discipline and order as he is also cruel while Renate Roland is brilliant as Monika as a woman eager to have some freedom in her life but also some happiness in her life while finding a friend in Marion. Irm Hermann is amazing as Marion’s best friend/co-worker Irmgard as a woman who is quite cynical at times yet finds herself feeling happier upon meeting Rolf.
Anita Bucher and Wolfried Lier are incredible in their respective roles as Jochen and Monika’s parents in Kathe and Wolf with the former as this woman who is trying to keep things calm and be supportive as well as be calm towards the latter who is often frustrated with the world yet is a far kinder person when he gets drunk. Werner Finck ad Luise Ulrich are great in their respective roles as Gregor and Grandma as the former is a widower who falls for Grandma and helps out her in her ideas while the latter is this energetic slice of life who has ideas while is also full of love in the people she helps out as she is a major standout of the film. Hanna Schygulla is radiant as Marion as a young woman who works for a newspaper as she falls for Jochen while is also a woman with her own mind as she helps out Jochen’s friends and family. Finally there’s Gottfried John in a phenomenal performance as Jochen Epp as young man who works in a factory as he does what he can to help out his co-workers while also falling in love with Marion as he starts to think about a life of his own while dealing with the dysfunction within the family.
Acht Stunden sind kein Tag is a tremendous TV miniseries from Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Featuring a great ensemble cast, a compelling story that explores a family dealing with many life changes, lovely visuals, and a fantastic music soundtrack. It is a TV miniseries that follows the life of a family as well as explore the ideas of a socialist world clashing with ideas of capitalism. In the end, Acht Stunden sind kein Tag is a spectacular TV miniseries from Rainer Werner Fassbinder.
Rainer Werner Fassbinder Films: Love is Colder Than Death - (Katzelmacher) - (Why Does Herr R. Run Amok?) - (Rio das Mortes) - (The American Soldier) - (Whity) - (Beware of a Holy Whore) – The Merchant of Four Seasons - The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant - (Jailbait) - World on a Wire - Ali: Fear Eats the Soul - (Martha (1974 film)) - (Effi Briest) - (Fox and His Friends) - (Mother Kuster’s Trip to Heaven) – (I Only Want You to Love Me) – Satan's Brew - (Chinese Roulette) - (Germany in Autumn) - (Despair) - (In a Year of 13 Moons) – The Marriage of Maria Braun - (Third Generation) - Berlin Alexanderplatz - (Lili Marleen) – Lola (1981 film) - Veronika Voss - Querelle
© thevoid99 2023
Set in early 1950s Munich, the film follows a former policeman who had returned from the French Foreign Legion years ago as he struggles with his new life working as a fruit vendor as he laments over his marriage, the disdain he gets from his family, his longing for his former lover, and the state of his own life. It is a film that is a character study of sorts that plays into a man who is likeable and was doing well as a policeman until an incident began this downward spiral as well as being rejected by the love of his life where he would marry someone else and have a child only to treat them horribly. Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s screenplay follows the plight of its protagonist Hans Epp (Hans Hirschmuller) who is first seen arriving from his service for the French Foreign Legion to see his mother (Gusti Kreissl) who isn’t happy that he’s home as she laments over a friend of his who had died and thought he was a better person as it sets the tone for the many hardships, criticism, and chaos that would loom for Hans.
Notably as it shifts to a few years later where Hans is peddling fruit on a cart with his wife Irmgard (Irm Hermann) who is taller and skinnier than him as they struggle to make ends meet as they have a daughter in Renate (Andrea Schober). Still, Hans is struggling to reconnect with his former flame (Ingrid Caven) who is already married and with a life of her own while he still ponders about his own life and how underwhelming it is. Even as he returns drunk as he laments about his past and comes home beating up Irmgard who goes to his mother and sisters where Hans would have a heart attack. Irmgard would reluctantly go back to Hans and help him run his fruit merchant business by getting someone else to do the job since Hans is unable to due to his health. Yet, things become complicated with Hans lamenting once again about his own existence and what he means to the people around him.
Fassbinder’s direction is largely straightforward in terms of its setting and location as it is shot in Munich while it also emphasizes a lot of characteristics similar to the American melodramas of Douglas Sirk. Notably in a scene where Hans goes to his mother’s house to apologize to Irmgard and Renate over what happened as his mother, sisters, his brother-in-law Kurt (Kurt Raab) watch where everyone but his older sister Anna (Hanna Schygulla) watch with disgust as it is the moment where Hans would have his heart attack. Much of Fassbinder’s compositions emphasize on medium shots and close-ups to play into the drama and dark humor while using the camera to play into a man dealing with isolation and resentment. There are also flashbacks that often appear in the film as it play into Hans’ life such as his time with his lover whom he is head over heels for as he has to leave her for military service while it also showcases the incident that got him fired from the police force. The latter of which is among some of the humorous moments of the film.
Also serving as the film’s music composer with arrangements from Peer Raben, Fassbinder aims for a low-key approach to the music as it is largely based on German folk music with Rocco Granata’s song Buona Notte being a key piece of music that is used as it plays into Hans’ nostalgia for a better love life and his feelings for his old lover. The film’s third act play into not just a reunion with an old friend from the Foreign Legion in Harry (Klaus Lowitsch) who would work with Hans and Irmgard as he would bring good fortune for them but Hans suddenly is filled with uncertainty over his own time as a merchant and how much he struggled. Even as it leads to this journey of him trying to find some meaning in his life as a dinner where he’s with his family as it is a discomforting moment because he’s the center of attention and he’s not comfortable with it at all where Renate thought about what her aunt Anna said in a scene during the film’s second act. Overall, Fassbinder crafts a rapturous yet chilling film about a man dealing with his own existence, life choices, and other things that has kept him down into despair.
Cinematographer Dietrich Lohmann does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography as it is largely straightforward for many of the daytime exterior scenes as well as using available and additional lighting for some of the interior scenes at night. Editor Thea Eymesz does excellent work with the editing as it is straightforward while having rhythmic cuts to play into some of the flashbacks as well as some intense moments in the drama. Art director/costume designer Kurt Raab, along with co-costume designer Uta Wilhelm, does fantastic work with the look of the apartment that Hans live with his family as well as the family apartment where Hans’ mother lives in along with the clothes where many of Hans’ family including his mother wear posh-like clothing as opposed to Hans who wears more working-class clothing.
The film’s wonderful ensemble cast feature notable small roles from Rainer Werner Fassbinder as an old friend of Hans whom he eats with at a restaurant where Harry works at, Elga Sorbas as the woman who would get Hans fired from the police force, Michael Fengler as a playboy trying to woo Irmgard when she’s walking home, the trio of Daniel Schmid, Harry Baer, and Marian Seldowsky as a trio of applicants being interviewed by Hans, Mark Bohm as the policeman who catches Hans in a compromising act that would get Hans fired, El Hedi ben Salem as an Arab soldier in a war flashback involving Hans and Harry, Peter Chatel as a doctor who tells Irmgard about the severity of Hans’ heart attack, and Walter Sedlmayr as a fruit cart seller who sells his cart to Irmgard. Karl Scheydt is terrific as a man named Anzell whom Hans hires to sell fruit for them as he was also someone Irmgard was with during Hans’ hospitalization.
Klaus Lowitsch is superb as Harry as an old war buddy of Hans who helps out him out while also being attentive towards Renate. Heide Simon and Kurt Raab are fantastic in their respective role as Hans’ younger sister Heide and her husband Kurt as they’re both critical of him with the latter being arrogant towards since he feels like a bigger success than Hans. Andrea Schober is excellent as Renate as Hans and Irmgard’s daughter who is a young girl just trying to understand what is going on as she also thinks about what her aunt said to her about her father’s issues as it would haunt her late in the film. Ingrid Caven is brilliant as Hans’ former lover as a woman who was the love of his life until he goes to the Foreign Legion only to marry someone else as she also pines for him despite that he’s married as well. Gusti Kreissl is amazing as Hans’ mother who always treats him with disdain and disappointment until he became successful yet is often cold towards him.
Hanna Schygulla is incredible as Hans’ older sister Anna who is the only person in his family who really cared about him despite being cynical around him yet is the one person who understands his issues while also telling Renate about his own plight. Irm Hermann is remarkable as Han’s wife Irmgard who deals with her husband’s cruelty and wild mood swings as she seeks to find happiness for herself only to deal with uncertainty in her desires and doing what is right for Hans. Finally, there’s Hans Hirschmuller in a sensational performance as Hans Epp as a man who tried to do everything right only to be met with disdain, neglect, and disappointment where Hirschmuller brings in the right kind of physicality to his performance but also someone who can be cruel towards those who care about him as it is an immensely riveting performance from Hirschmuller.
Handler der vier Jahreszeiten is a phenomenal film from Rainer Werner Fassbinder that features a great leading performance from Hans Hirschmuller. Along with its ensemble supporting cast, simplistic yet effective visuals, and its study of depression, disappointment, and self-destruction. It is a film that explore a man lamenting over what he doesn’t have and what he’s lost as well as the sense of mistreatment he has endured from those around him. In the end, Handler der vier Jahreszeiten is a sensational film from Rainer Werner Fassbinder.
Rainer Werner Fassbinder Films: Love is Colder than Death - (Katzelmacher) - (Why Does Herr R. Run Amok?) - (Rio das Mortes) - (The American Soldier) - (Whity) - (Beware of a Holy Whore) - The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant - Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day - (Jailbait) - World on a Wire - Ali: Fear Eats the Soul - (Martha (1974 film)) - (Effi Briest) - (Fox and His Friends) - (Mother Kuster’s Trip to Heaven) – (I Only Want You to Love Me) – Satan's Brew - (Chinese Roulette) - (Germany in Autumn) - (Despair) - (In a Year of 13 Moons) – The Marriage of Maria Braun - (Third Generation) - Berlin Alexanderplatz - (Lili Marleen) – Lola (1981 film) - Veronika Voss - Querelle
© thevoid99 2022
Set from the final days of World War II to the early 1950s, the film follows the journeys and evolution of a woman who would marry a soldier in those final days only for him to disappear where she would take part in other ventures during his disappearance as a way to be part of this new economic miracle in postwar Germany. The film is an exploration of a woman in the course of her life from her wedding day to the culmination of everything she has worked for while maintaining her loyalty to her husband. The film’s screenplay that features additional work from Kurt Raab as it begins in 1943 Berlin during a battle where the titular character (Hanna Schygulla) and Hermann Braun (Klaus Lowitsch) are getting married while all of this chaos happens around them as he would leave the next day and then disappear as Germany would lose the war. During the course of the next eight years, Maria would do things to survive following news that claimed that Hermann has died where she engages in a brief romance with an African-American soldier in Bill (George Byrd) and then meet a wealthy industrialist in Karl Oswald (Ivan Desny) whom she would become his personal assistant.
Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s direction definitely has an air of style in terms of the way he moves his camera for a shot or in a location as well as play into this world of an old Germany during the final days of the war and the economic re-birth it would be a part of after the war. Shot largely on location in Coburg in then-West Germany and parts of West Berlin, Fassbinder plays into this period of World War II where it begins with Maria and Hermann being married while air raids are happening as it sets the chaotic tone of what is to come from the film. While there are some wide and medium shots to get a scope of the locations and places that Maria and other characters go to, there is a sense of style in the way Fassbinder would shoot a scene where he would use dolly-tracking shots to move the camera from one area and into another for a single take as it play into some of the drama.
There are some close-ups in the way Fassbinder reacts not just towards a character but also an object whether it’s a carton of cigarettes or an appliance as it would play into something that would foreshadow a lot of what it to come. Sex is a major proponent of the film in how Maria would use her sex appeal to get what she wants but it also plays from a woman that wanted to be love only to then use sex to get what she wants. The direction also play into her evolution where Fassbinder would slowly play into the changing times though not revealing when these events happen as it’s more about this woman being part of the times and finding herself although it would come at some major costs of her own sense of morals. Even towards the end as she becomes successful on her own yet there is still the matter of Hermann whom she is still married to as it play into his own existence and role in their marriage. Overall, Fassbinder crafts a captivating and mesmerizing film about a married woman trying to find her identity during the postwar years of Germany.
Cinematographer Michael Ballhaus does amazing work with the film’s cinematography as it is largely straightforward for many of the daytime exterior scenes along with some stylish lighting for a few of the interior scenes at night. Editors Rainer Werner Fassbinder (in his Franz Walsch pseudonym) and Juliane Lorenz do excellent work with the editing as it is straightforward as it allow shots to linger for a bit as well as cutting to play into some of the dramatic moments. Production designer Norbert Scherer, with set decorators Arno Mathes, Hans-Peter Sandmeir, and Andreas Wilms, does fantastic work with the look of the home where Maria lived with her mother as well as the home of Oswald and the house that Maria would buy late in the film. Costume designer Barbara Baum does brilliant work with the costumes in the dresses that Maria wore as it play into her evolving style from being a woman who wore ragged dresses to high fashion towards the end.
The makeup work of Anni Nobauer is terrific as it play to the look of the characters including Maria early in the film during her attempt to get a job. The sound work of Jim Willis and Milan Bor is superb for the natural approach to sound including some of the sparse moments as well as how music is presented. The film’s music by Peer Raben is wonderful for its low-key piano-based music as it help play into the drama along with some orchestral pieces while the soundtrack feature a lot of the big band and swing music of the times as well as some classical pieces.
The film’s marvelous ensemble cast feature some notable small roles and appearances from Rainer Werner Fassbinder as black markets dealer, Peter Berling as a club owner for American GIs to attend to, Hannes Kaetner as the justice of the peace in the film’s opening scene, Kristine de Loup as the notary in the opening scene, Gunther Kaufmann as a drunken American soldier on a train, Volker Spengler as a train conductor, Bruce Low as an American prosecutor in a trial that involved Maria, Karl-Heinz von Hassel as the German prosecutor, Sonja Neudorfer as a Red Cross nurse, Lilo Pempeit as Maria’s secretary in the third act, Isolde Barth as a woman who accompanies Senkenberg late in the film over business matters, Claus Holm as a doctor that Maria frequently visits, Anton Schiersner as Maria’s grandfather who lives at the apartment with her mother, and Gunter Lamprecht as Hans Wetzel whom Maria’s mother begins to have a relationship with in the film’s second half. George Byrd is superb as an African-American GI named Bill whom Maria would have an affair with early in the film until a major revelation would change everything while Hark Bohm is terrific as Oswald’s bookkeeper Senkenberg as someone who isn’t entirely fond of Maria but realizes her worth in terms of influence as well as admire her ambition.
Gottfried John and Elisabeth Trissenaar are fantastic in their respective roles as longtime friends in Willi and Betti Klenze as a married couple who joins Maria’s ascent with the latter being someone who wants more while the former is someone who just wants simple things as he was also close to Hermann. Gisela Uhlen is excellent as Maria’s mother as a woman who encourages Maria to succeed but then feels alienated by what success has turned Maria into. Ivan Desny is brilliant as Karl Oswald as a textile industrialist who befriends Maria in a train as they later engage in their own affairs while he deals with his own mortality knowing he doesn’t have much time to live.
Klaus Lowitsch is amazing as Hermann Braun as a soldier that Maria would marry as he would be seen briefly for a bit as someone who is a man that is devoted to Maria as he would be this symbolic figure of love whom Maria is often attached to. Finally, there’s Hanna Schygulla in a phenomenal performance as the titular character as this woman who gets married only for her husband to disappear where she tries to find her identity where Schygulla displays a radiance to her role as well as this air of evolution from being a prostitute to a woman of power who still clings to her love for Hermann while coping with the affairs she engages in.
Die ehe der Maria Braun is a tremendous film from Rainer Werner Fassbinder that features an incredible leading performance from Hanna Schygulla. Along with its ensemble cast, dazzling visuals, a lively music soundtrack, and its theme of a woman trying to find her own identity during the postwar era. It is a film that explores this journey a woman takes where she becomes part of this economic rebirth while dealing with the fact that she is a married woman whose husband is lost with his own uncertain fate. In the end, Die ehe der Maria Braun is a spectacular film from Rainer Werner Fassbinder.
Rainer Werner Fassbinder Films: Love is Colder than Death - (Katzelmacher) - (Why Does Herr R. Run Amok?) - (Rio das Mortes) - (The American Soldier) - (Whity) - (Beware of a Holy Whore) - The Merchant of Four Seasons - The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant - Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day - (Jailbait) - World on a Wire - Ali: Fear Eats the Soul - (Martha (1974 film)) - (Effi Briest) - (Fox and His Friends) - (Mother Kuster’s Trip to Heaven) – (I Only Want You to Love Me) – Satan's Brew - (Chinese Roulette) - (Germany in Autumn) - (Despair) - (In a Year of 13 Moons) - (Third Generation) - Berlin Alexanderplatz - (Lili Marleen) - Lola (1981 film) - Veronika Voss – Querelle
© thevoid99 2021
Set in the span of nearly two days in a small Hungarian village during the era of communism, the film revolves around a town during a cold winter as they get an unexpected visit from a mysterious circus whose showcase involves a giant whale and a mysterious figure. It is a film that explore a community of people who are baffled by this massive attraction in the town square as a local is intrigued by what is going on as it only leads to trouble and chaos within the town. The film’s screenplay by Bela Tarr and its novelist Laszlo Krasznahorkai, with additional dialogue from Peter Dobai, Gyuri Dosa Kiss, and Gyorgy Feher, is largely simplistic as it follows a newspaper-delivery man in Janos (Lars Rudolph) who often spends his time talking about the universe and its mystique to drunken patrons at a bar as he’s mystified by this large container arriving into the town square by a tractor as it’s revealed to be a circus with a large whale inside and an appearance from a man claiming to be a prince.
The town’s reaction is also one of intrigue but also a reaction that hasn’t made everyone excited where Janos also deals with family drama involving his composer uncle Gyorgy (Peter Fitz) and aunt Tunde (Hanna Schygulla) as the latter has gained political and social connections through her affair with the police chief (Peter Dobai). Janos finds himself in the middle of social unrest as the town is dealing with problems that is only escalated by the presence of this circus as well as the hype over the appearance of this prince who is never seen as it just adds to a lot of trouble with Janos watching it all.
Bela Tarr’s direction is definitely entrancing as it play into this period in time that is possibly set around the 1980s as it showcases a town that starts to unravel as it is shot on location in Baja, Hungary. With the aid of editor Agnes Hranitzky as the film’s co-director, Tarr would maintain a style that is simplistic where shots would linger for a long time as the film only contains 39 long-standing shots throughout the film’s 145-minute running time. Many of these shots often go on for minutes as it play into the settings and places that Janos go to as the opening shot that goes on for 10 minutes has Janos dancing with drunken patrons to explain the mystiques of the universe as the camera often showcases everything through a wide and medium shots during the course of this scene. With Hranitzky’s editing as she would create abrupt yet straightforward cuts to transition one scene to another, Tarr maintains that minimalist approach where the camera is often following characters through tracking shots including Janos walking around the town as he observes everything around him including the second act where this growing unrest at the town square starts to escalate.
Tarr also play into this idea of who the prince is as he’s an unseen character that is considered a radical who spouses rhetoric that leads to this 12-minute sequence in 2 shots with nearly 8 minutes devoted to the action in a psychiatric hospital where the locals just go nuts and destroy everything including assaulting hospital patients until they’re stopped by something that is indescribable as it forces these people to come to their senses. It is followed by events where Tarr showcases a world that is becoming undone with Janos in the middle as he sees horror and some revelations about what is happening that he had been oblivious to. Its ending with a 5-minute running time for its final shot is a reflection of the chaos that occurred with this whale being a symbol of disruption but also sadness of what this whale could’ve brought if people were more understanding instead of following some drunken fool. Overall, Tarr crafts a majestic yet harrowing film about a Hungarian town unraveling by the presence of a mysterious circus.
Cinematographers Milos Gurban, Erwin Lanzensberger, Gabor Medvigy, Emil Novak, Patrick de Ranter, Rob Tregenza, and Jorg Widmer do incredible work with the film’s black-and-white photography with its usage of shadows and lights for many of the exterior scenes at night as well as the usage of available light for the scenes in the day as it adds to this element of nostalgia but also bleakness to the film. Set decorators Sandor Katona, Zsuzsa Mihalek, and Bela Zsolt Toth do amazing work with the look of the bar in the film’s opening scene as well as the container where the circus is presented that includes the giant whale designed by Ivan Poharnok that is massive and almost life-like. Costume designer Janos Breckl does nice work with the costumes as it is mostly casual and ragged as it play into the period of the winter time.
Sound designer Gyorgy Kovacs does brilliant work with the way much of the recorded sound is presented including the hospital scene as the layer of sounds just add to the sense of terror in the film. The film’s music by Mihaly Vag is incredible for its rich and somber orchestral score with some melancholic piano themes that play into the air of intrigue of the whale but also the despair that looms throughout the town.
The film’s superb ensemble cast feature some notable small roles from Peter Dobai as the drunken police chief whom Tunde is having an affair with, Ferenc Kallai as the circus master who presents the whale to the people and claims of a prince to emerge, Alfred Jarai as Janos’ cobbler uncle Lajos, Iren Szajki as Lajos’ wife, and the trio of Janos Derzsi, Doko Rosic, and Tamas Wichmann as the three drunk men who take part in Janos’ universal dance. Hanna Schygulla is fantastic as Janos’ aunt Tunde as Gyorgy’s estranged wife who has gained political and social connections as she does what she can to clean things up but also with some ulterior motives for herself as it would later cause problems.
Peter Fitz is excellent as Janos’ uncle Gyorgy as a music composer and musicologist who wants nothing to do with politics as he’s aware of his estrangement from his wife where he finds himself having to be involved as it relates to Janos. Finally, there’s Lars Rudolph in an amazing performance as Janos as a newspaper deliveryman who is fascinated by the mysteries of the world including the universe and God as he deals with the chaos around him as he also ponders about the presence of this circus that is at the center of everything.
Werckmeister harmoniak is a tremendous film from Bela Tarr and Agnes Hranitzky. Featuring ravishing visuals, a minimalist presentation, haunting performances, an eerie music score, and allegories on political and social turmoil that bears a lot relevance to events in the 21st Century. It is a film that explores a small town that unravels by the presence of something mysterious that eventually play into the worst aspects of themselves during a tumultuous period in the era of Communist Hungary. In the end, Werckmeister harmoniak is a spectacular film from Bela Tarr and Agnes Hranitzky.
Bela Tarr Films: (Family Nest) – (The Outsider (1981 film)) – (The Prefab People) – (Macbeth (1982 TV film)) – (Almanac of Fall) – (Damnation) – Satantango - (The Man from London) – The Turin Horse
© thevoid99 2021
Based on the novel Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Falsche Bewegung (Wrong Move) is the story of a writer who leaves his hometown where he meets other travels to seek some inspiration as well as trying to create a new identity. Directed by Wim Wenders and screenplay by Wenders and Peter Handke, the film is the second film of a trilogy of road movies where a man tries to find new adventures on the road. Starring Rudiger Volger, Hanna Schygulla, Hans Christian Blech, Ivan Desny, Marianne Hoppe, Peter Kern, Lisa Kreuzer, and introducing Nastassja Kinski. Falsche Bewegung is an entrancing yet somber film from Wim Wenders.
Trying to find inspiration as a writer, the film follows a man who decides to leave his hometown where he travels through Germany where he meets other travelers during his journey as he questions his own existence. It’s a film with a simple yet minimalist premise that doesn’t have much plot yet it is more of a study of isolation and a journey to find meaning through traveling across the country. The film’s screenplay by Wim Wenders and Peter Handke follows the writer Wilhelm Meister (Rudiger Volger) who is hoping to create something yet feels stuck living with his mother (Marianne Hoppe) where he decides to go on a trip around Germany for ideas.
The script does have a structure as it play into Meister’s trip as the first act is him meeting fellow travelers in an actress Therese Farner (Hanna Schygulla), an aging Olympian in Laertes (Hans Christian Blech), and his teenage mute companion in Mignon (Nastassja Kinski). They’re later joined by an Austrian in Bernhard Landau (Peter Kern) where the second act has them staying at the home of an industrialist (Ivan Desny) who is grieving the loss of his wife while the third act is set in Frankfurt as it would play into Meister’s sense of isolation with a world that is becoming modernized.
Wenders’ direction is definitely intoxicating for the compositions he creates throughout the course of the film. Notably in the usage of the wide shots where it opens with a helicopter shot of Gluckstadt as it’s raining to play into a world that is quaint and has a traditional look which isn’t an environment for Meister to find some sort of inspiration. The usage of the wide and medium shots doesn’t just play into the moments of traveling where Meisler travels to Bonn via train with Laertes and Mignon but also in this mixture of a world that has old traditional buildings mixed in with something that is new yet retaining its forests and natural settings. Notably in a scene where Meister, Farner, Laertes, Mignon, and Landau are all walking on a roadside mountain looking at the surroundings where Wenders would create these gorgeous images that has Meister and Laertes conversing in the foreground in a medium shot while everything else is happening in the background in a wide shot.
Wenders’ direction also uses the medium shots and close-ups for the scenes set inside the train as well as some of the moments where the characters interact including a scene with the industrialist who talks about his own sense of loss. These conversations and intimate scenes that include a strange encounter with Mignon add to Meister’s fascination with humanity as he tries to write things down. Particularly his conversation with Laertes who is a mysterious individual who ran at the 1936 Olympics while also having a darker past which would disturb Meister who becomes troubled by how Laertes uses Mignon. The film’s third act set in Frankfurt has Wenders showcase a world that is different from Bonn and Gluckstadt which is chaotic and filled with lots of people living in this rapid-pace society that would overwhelm Meister to the point that he questions his existence and worth. Overall, Wenders crafts a ravishing yet haunting film about a man’s journey through Germany in an attempt to find inspiration and an identity.
Cinematographer Robby Muller does amazing work with the film’s colorful cinematography as it captures the beauty of the locations in the exterior settings including the city lights at night along with low-key lights for some of the interiors. Editors Peter Przygodda and Barbara von Weitershausen do brilliant work with its usage of jump-cuts and dissolves to help play into the sense of wonderment that occurs throughout the film. Wardrobe by Heidi Ludi does nice work with the costumes with Mignon being the most fashionable from her colorful sweater and overalls that she wears every day as well as what she wears at a house. The sound work of Martin Muller and Klaus Peter Kaiser is superb for its natural approach to sound as how noises sound from afar to the sounds of the city. The film’s music by Jurgen Knieper is brilliant for its low-key yet plaintive score with its mixture of strings and guitars to play into the melancholia while the soundtrack features bits of classical music and a rock song from the Troggs.
The film’s wonderful cast include a few notable small roles from Marianne Hoppe as Wilhelm’s mother and Lisa Kreuzer as Wilhelm’s girlfriend Janine. Ivan Desny is terrific as the industrialist as a man living in a castle that is in ruins as he deals with loss while welcoming the idea of people at his home for a day. Peter Kern is superb as Bernhard Landau as an Austrian traveling in Germany as he hears Meister recite poetry as he wants to be a poet where he joins them on the journey through the country. Hans Christian Blech is fantastic as Laertes as a former Olympian with a dark past as he works as a con artist where he copes with his ailing health and the changes around the world.
Nastassja Kinski is brilliant as Mignon as a teenage mute street performer who never says a word yet manages to do a lot in terms of her physicality as well as display a complex innocence to her character. Hanna Schygulla is amazing as Therese Farner as an actress traveling through Germany as she is returning home to Frankfurt while dealing with the demands of her job. Finally, there’s Rudiger Volger in an excellent performance as Wilhelm Meister as an aspiring writer trying to find inspiration through this trip through Germany where he deals with his surroundings as well as questioning his work and identity as it’s one of his finest performances.
Falsche Bewegung is an incredible film from Wim Wenders. Featuring a phenomenal cast, entrancing visuals, an intoxicating music soundtrack, and themes of identity and loneliness on the road. It’s a film that explores a group of people traveling through Germany as they deal with themselves and their environments on a trip to the unknown. In the end, Falsche Bewegung is a remarkable film from Wim Wenders.
Wim Wenders Films: (Summer in the City) - (The Goalkeeper’s Fear of the Penalty) - (The Scarlet Letter (1973 film)) – Alice in the Cities - Kings of the Road – The American Friend - (Lightning Over Water) - (Room 666) - (Hammett) - (The State of Things) – Paris, Texas - (Tokyo-Ga) – Wings of Desire - (Notebook on Cities and Clothes) – Until the End of the World - (Faraway, So Close!) - (Lisbon Story) - (Beyond the Clouds) - (A Trick of Light) - (The End of Violence) - (Buena Vista Social Club) - (The Million Dollar Hotel) - (The Soul of a Man) - (Land of Plenty) - (Don’t Come Knocking) - (The Palermo Shooting) - (Pina) - Salt of the Earth - (Every Thing Will Be Fine) – (The Beautiful Days of Aranjuez) – (Submergence) - (Pope Francis: A Man of His Word)
© thevoid99 2018
Written, directed, edited, co-art directed, and starring Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Liebe ist kalter als der Tod (Love is Colder than Death) is the story of a pimp who is in a love triangle with one of his prostitutes and a fellow gangster as they plan a robbery. The film is an unconventional crime drama that explore a man trying to make his own mark in the world of crime while being in the middle of a love triangle as well as try to evade other crime syndicates and such. Also starring Hanna Schygulla and Ulli Lommel. Liebe ist kalter als der Tod is an intriguing yet offbeat film from Rainer Werner Fassbinder.
The film is a simple story in the world of crime as a gangster goes to Munich to meet up with a pimp, he had met some time earlier at an interview for a crime syndicate, as they plan a robbery with the pimp’s prostitute girlfriend. It’s a film that explores two guys and a woman who all embark into a love triangle as well as try to make it in their own amidst the watch of figures from a crime syndicate as well as the authorities. Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s screenplay is quite minimalist as it is more about characters meeting each other and planning as well as moments where they wander around their surroundings as much of the film is set in Munich. The visiting gangster Bruno (Ulli Lommel) is someone, like the pimp Franz (Rainer Werner Fassbinder), both have been watched by this mysterious syndicate yet want to make their own marks. Helping them is Franz’s girlfriend Joanna (Hanna Schygulla) who isn’t fond of Bruno at first but realizes his value once Franz is suspected of killing a known gangster as she would spend some time with him.
Fassbinder’s direction also play into the simplistic tone of the story as he doesn’t really go for anything that is overly-stylized in terms of compositions. There aren’t a lot of close-ups nor wide shots in the film as it’s more about medium shots to capture the relationship between Bruno, Franz, and Joanna. Shot largely in Munich and areas near the city, Fassbinder would use some tracking shots for some of the exteriors in the city as well as a few movements in some of the interiors. Yet, much of Fassbinder’s direction involve him using the medium shots to create scenes in long takes to maintain some kind of theatricality in the acting. Also serving as the film’s editor under a pseudonym, Fassbinder does put in some jump-cuts in a few sequences as much of it is straightforward. Especially in some of the moments of violence where it does have element of style as it is a bit playful but also dark. Overall, Fassbinder creates an engaging yet exciting film about a gangster, a pimp, and a prostitute trying to start a robbery while being in a love triangle.
Cinematographer Dietrich Lohmann does excellent work with the film’s black-and-white cinematography as it has a grainy yet beautiful look in the way the daytime exterior scenes are shown as well as some of the interiors including some scenes at the department stores. Co-art director Ulli Lommel, along with Fassbinder, would do fantastic work in creating the sets such as the meeting room for the first scene as well as the apartment that Bruno and Joanna lived in. The sound work of Gottfried Hungsberg is terrific for the sound as it is mostly straightforward as well as low-key given to the film’s low-budget aesthetics. The film’s music by Peer Raben and Holger Munzer is superb for its mixture of blues, jazz, and rock to help create a chilling score with additional music presented from whatever is on the jukebox or on the radio.
The film’s brilliant cast feature some notable small roles from Peter Moland as an interrogator for the secret crime syndicate, Hannes Gromball as a client of Joanna who would come in at the wrong time, Irm Herrmann as a saleslady being conned by the trio, Peter Berling as a shoemaker who sells weapons, Monika Stadler as a waitress watching Bruno kill someone, and Katrin Schaake as a woman Bruno meets on a train on his way to Munich. Rainer Werner Fassbinder is excellent as Franz as a pimp that is trying to run his own business without the involvement of this syndicate as he copes with his relationship with Joanna and feelings for Bruno. Hanna Schygulla is amazing as Joanna as a prostitute who is also Franz’s girlfriend that is coping with the planning as well as the presence of Bruno whom she isn’t fond of at first. Finally, there’s Ulli Lommel in a marvelous performance as Bruno as a gangster that is also trying to make it on his own as he wants to create a partnership with Franz while becoming infatuated with Joanna as well as be very cunning in handling business.
Liebe ist kalter als der Tod is a remarkable film from Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Featuring a great cast as well as a compelling script, it’s a film that doesn’t play by the rules while not being afraid to give in toward it low-budget aesthetics. In the end, Liebe ist kalter als der Tod is a marvelous film from Rainer Werner Fassbinder.
Rainer Werner Fassbinder Films: (Katzelmacher) - (Why Does Herr R. Run Amok?) - (Rio das Mortes) - (The American Soldier) - (Whity) - (Beware of a Holy Whore) - The Merchant of Four Seasons - The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant - World on a Wire - Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day - (Jailbait) - Ali: Fear Eats the Soul - (Martha (1974 film)) - (Effi Briest) - (Fox and His Friends) - (Mother Kuster’s Trip to Heaven) - Satan's Brew - (Chinese Roulette) - (Germany in Autumn) - (Despair) - (In a Year of 13 Moons) - The Marriage of Maria Braun - (Third Generation) - Berlin Alexanderplatz - (Lili Marleen) - Lola (1981 film) - Veronika Voss - Querelle
© thevoid99 2017
For the fourth part of Nostra’s Five Obstructions Blog-a-Thon, here is what I’m asked to do:
Well, I used to write reviews that were longer than 1250 words and sometimes even more than 2000 words but that was a long time ago. I’ve become much more minimalist in my approach as it’s part of this evolution for me as a writer. I thought it was going to be easy but there was that realization that I haven’t done that in some time. So I decided to retrieve an old review of mine that I wrote during my time at Epinions.com on 6/5/05 of Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s 1972 film The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant but in a newly re-fashioned and re-edited form that is more to my liking as this new version features a total of 1398 words:
Written and directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Die Bitteren Tranen der Petra von Kant (The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant) is the story about a fashion designer who falls for a young model as the relationship would become tumultuous as her mute assistant watches from afar. The film is an exploration into the life of a woman who has a lot of disdain towards men while treating her loyal assistant cruelly in order to get what she wants only to deal with reality as the titular character is played by Margit Carstensen. Also starring Hanna Schygulla, Katrin Schaake, Eva Mattes, Gisela Fackeldey, and Irm Hermann. Die Bitteren Tranent der Petra von Kant is a ravishing yet harrowing film from Rainer Werner Fassbinder.
The film explores the life of fashion designer Petra von Kant as she has a mute assistant named Marlene (Irm Hermann) who helps her finish sketches and other duties for Petra. While Marlene seems to have feelings for Petra, Petra often treats her with disdain as she also deals with family issues as her mother Valerie (Gisela Fackeldey) needs money for a trip to Miami while Petra’s daughter Gabriele (Eva Mattes) is in boarding school. Even as her cousin Sidonie (Katrin Schaake) makes an unexpected arrival as she’s recovering from the end of her second marriage where Petra talks about her contempt towards men. Also with Sidonie is a young model named Karin (Hanna Schygulla) whom Petra is infatuated with as she invites Karin for a night at her cramped yet lavish apartment. Petra hopes to help Karin with her thriving modeling career as the two talk about their love lives as Karin is still married to a man working in Sydney.
Just as the relationship seems to go well, it eventually becomes troublesome as Karin starts to feel smothered by Petra who spends her time trying wigs and costumes. Yet, Marlene does a lot of the work where it only frustrates Petra who keeps lashing out at Marlene for everything as Petra cancels a flight to Madrid that Karin was supposed to be in. Karin’s activities outside Petra’s home would cause more tension until a call from Karin’s husband from Zurich would end the relationship as Petra becomes anguished. Even as her 35th birthday approaches as her family arrives to celebrate only for the party to go wrong when Sidonie reveals some news about Karin that forces Petra to realize who are her true friends and such.
While the story is a bit hard to follow with its very intricate yet talkative dialogue. Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s theatrical background brings the claustrophobic yet theatrical approach to his film since it revolves entirely with an apartment filled with lavish things and naked mannequins that plays off as some kind of metaphor. The strength of the story is in both Fassbinder's taciturn approach to writing and directing. In the writing, he crafts a five-act structure where he explores the manic obsession of Petra von Kant along with her surroundings like her gossip-filled cousin, her idealistic daughter, her conservative rich mother, and Marlene. Even in its look, Fassbinder is also making fun of the lavish, luxurious look of Douglas Sirk’s films as well as commenting on social classes though its commentary and dark humor is layered underneath the dramatic tone of the film.
When Karin arrives, she starts off as this nice, naive woman living in pain only to turn into someone who studies Petra and use her youth against Petra. The real eye that serves as our third-person perspective from Fassbinder's view is Marlene where in the opening credits, he dedicates the film to the caricature of Marlene. The film's lesbian overtones and subtle sadomasochistic references only to show the hatred and self-absorbed world of Petra. It's really a character study piece on a woman trying to live in a world with love and a lifestyle that would later turn on her as she lashes out on those who care about her.
The directing approach of Fassbinder is very succinct since he is trying to get into the characters and figure out their behaviors and motivations. Yet, there are several scenes where he does long takes where he would at one minute, focus on Sidonie and then to Petra, and then zoom his way into Marlene who watches and listens everything without uttering a single word. There, Fassbinder uses both his expertise in theater and films to craft a vision that is unpredictable with metaphoric references around Petra’s chaotic world as she falls apart right till the end. Even the ending has something that is realistic to pinpoint as Petra wonders how everything has fallen apart for her and who are really there for her while realizing how she fails them.
Helping Fassbinder is his unique yet stark vision is longtime cinematographer Michael Ballhaus who uses a lot of colors and lighting to convey scenes that are shot in the day while using very little in the darker scenes where it's nighttime. The production design work of Kurt Raab is well presented from its shaggy carpeting and lavish look along with the mannequins and the painting in Petra's bedroom that serves as a metaphor. The editing of Thea Eymesz is brilliant for its methodical approach to editing to play out the drama as it unfolds as well as keeping up with the film‘s very talkative dialogue.
Maja Lemcke’s costume design helps play out the film’s visual style with its costumes to display the world that Petra lives where it is lavish but also detached from reality. The sound work of Gunther Kortwich is superb for the intimacy that is played in the apartment including all of the emotions that come out from Petra and the sound of objects being touched and such. Fassbinder also shines in his choice of music with wonderful tracks from the Walker Brothers, Guiseppe Verdi, and a couple of cuts from the Platters in Smoke Gets In Your Eyes and The Great Pretender.
While the film fills only six actresses, Fassbinder's ability to choose actresses shows more of his brilliance in casting. Eva Mattes is wonderful in the role of Petra's young, idealistic daughter who goes into shock in seeing her mother fall apart while Gisela Fackeldey is also great in the role of Petra's stern, posh mother who despite her conservative views, supports her. Karin Schaake is also great in the role of Petra's cousin Sidonie with her understated performance in the role of a gossip-monger whose marriage is falling apart as she seeks advice from her cousin. Fassbinder regular Hanna Schygulla gives a mesmerizing, brutal performance as young and spoiled Karin with her graceful beauty and her complex turn from a naive model to an ungrateful woman who boils the pot around Petra.
The film's best supporting performance aside from Schygulla is another Fassbinder regular in Irm Hermann as Marlene. Her performance represents not just Fassbinder but the eyes and ears of the audience. Never uttering a word, we see Hermann convey a loyalty and heartbreak as she continues to stand on her own, even as Petra verbally abuses her. Even in the film's final moments, we see Hermann given something but again, she doesn't speak and let her actions do the talking while throughout the entire film, she wears the same black clothes throughout in an amazing performance.
Finally, there's Margit Carstensen in the title role of Petra von Kant. Carstensen brings a troubling yet powerful performance as the embittered Petra with her commanding approach early on and sly seduction in the film's first half. By the second half, Carstensen shows more in her powerful, dramatic range with a bit of sympathy as she deals with heartbreak even though her actions and words make her more un-likeable. This is really one of the best yet brutal performances to ever grace the European cinema of the 1970s.
Die Bitteren Tranent der Petra von Kant is a dark yet mesmerizing film from Rainer Werner Fassbinder thanks to its amazing ensemble cast led by Margit Carstensen, Irm Hermann, and Hanna Schygulla. The film is definitely one of Fassbinder’s most compelling dramas in the way it explores relationship as well as the life of a woman who faces the reality of her empty and demanding lifestyle. In the end, Die Bitteren Tranent der Petra von Kant is a majestic film from Rainer Werner Fassbinder.
Rainer Werner Fassbinder Films: Love is Colder Than Death - (Katzelmacher) - (Why Does Herr R. Run Amok?) - (Rio das Mortes) - (The American Soldier) - (Whity) - (Beware of a Holy Whore) - The Merchant of Four Seasons - World on a Wire - Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day - (Jailbait) - Ali: Fear Eats the Soul - (Martha (1974 film)) - (Effi Briest) - (Fox and His Friends) - (Mother Kuster’s Trip to Heaven) - Satan's Brew - (Chinese Roulette) - (Germany in Autumn) - (Despair) - (In a Year of 13 Moons) - The Marriage of Maria Braun - (Third Generation) - Berlin Alexanderplatz - (Lili Marleen) - Lola (1981 film) - Veronika Voss - Querelle
© thevoid99 2013
