Set in late 1957 in the small town of Coburg, the film revolves around a cabaret singer/prostitute who becomes the object of affection towards a new building commissioner from East Prussia as he deals with her current lover in a corrupt property developer who also owns the cabaret club she sings at. It is a film that explores a woman who is trying to maintain control of her own fate as she is having an affair with this man whom she works for while is also intrigued by this new figure who is a straight-laced, moralistic individual that wants to clean things up. The film’s screenplay is largely straightforward in its narrative though it’s more of a study of people trying to be involved this power play for change in a new Germany just a few years before the Berlin Wall would be this symbol of the Cold War. The titular character is at the center of this emergence of a new West Germany as it’s been more than a decade since the war ended as she is just this cabaret singer who plays in a club while is a prostitute who gives her services to people in power including the club owner Schukert (Mario Adorf).
The arrival of building commissioner Von Bohm (Armin Mueller-Stahl) changes things as he is someone that is simple man from a different part of Germany that had its own unique history while he would live at a house where Lola’s mother (Karin Baal) would be his housekeeper unaware that she’s Lola’s mother since she refers to her daughter in her real name in Marie-Luise. Von Bohm would get Schukert’s longtime assistant/cabaret band drummer Esslin (Matthias Fuch) to be at his side where Von Bohm is aware of Schukert’s dirty tactics while he is fascinated by Lola unaware of her real job. Yet, Von Bohm would meet Lola under her real name as he sees her as this idea of purity and innocence with a young daughter whose father’s identity unknown except for her mother and other locals.
Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s direction definitely has a lot of style in its imagery as he imagines this small town as this vibrant town that is about to enter the modern age while retaining elements of the past with its desire to move away from the horrors of World War II. Shot on locations around Munich and Eichstatt in the Bavarian area of then-West Germany, Fassbinder does give the presentation a colorful vibe where there is a lot of stylish lighting for many of the interior/exterior scenes at night while he also play into this sense of decadence that has gone on for too long with Lola being part of it. There are some wide and medium shots to get a scope at the locations including scenes at the town square with the latter playing into the look of the cabaret club that Lola performs at. There is also these moments that do play into this idea of capitalism as it is a major theme in the film where Fassbinder showcases a lot of the scheming that goes on involving Schukert and other political officials involving a major project that would get them into this modern West Germany.
There are also these close-ups that Fassbinder creates as it relates to Von Bohm’s fascination towards Lola where Fassbinder does some unique compositions that play into the world of melodrama. It is among these moments that do play into a world that is incorruptible that includes a scene inside an office where the camera moves around the table on a dolly-track as it play into Von Bohm wanting to take control as a big “fuck you” to Schukert and everyone else who is corrupt. Still, Fassbinder reveals that someone like Von Bohm with all of his ideals is someone that is disconnected with the forces he is dealing with and the fact that he’s in a world where everyone uses everyone including Lola who uses sex and her beauty to get what she wants. Overall, Fassbinder crafts a luscious yet riveting film about a cabaret singer who pits her corrupt club owner lover against an idealist building commissioner for her affections.
Cinematographer Xaver Schwarzenberger does incredible work with the film’s cinematography as it is a major highlight of the film with its candy color-like lighting schemes for some of the interiors as it helps heighten the mood and look of the film as well as aiming for a naturalistic look for some of the daytime exterior scenes. Editors Rainer Werner Fassbinder (in his Franz Walsch pseudonym) and Juliane Lorenz do excellent work with the editing as it is stylish as it has some stylish transitions that play into some of the melodrama while also adding some ambiguity into the film with some jump-cuts that play into some of the intense moments of the film. Production designers Rolf Zehetbauer, Udo Kier, and Raul Giminez, along with art director Helmut Gassner, do amazing work with the look of the cabaret club as well as the house that Von Bohm lives in and the home where Lola and her mother lived in that also includes an American GI. Costume designer Barbara Baum does fantastic work with the costume from the stylish clothes that Lola wears from the more innocent and refined clothes she wears for Von Bohm to the lingerie and cabaret-style clothing for Schukert.
Makeup artists Anni Nobauer and Edwin Erfmann do terrific work with the look that Lola would sport in her different personas as well as the look of some of the cabaret players. The sound work of Vladimir Vizner is superb for the atmosphere of the cabaret club in the way music is presented as well as the sound effects for some of the scenes in the film including a traffic jam. The film’s music by Peer Raben is amazing for its playful cabaret style music with elements of dramatic string arrangements that play into the melodrama while its soundtrack feature an array of cabaret songs and traditional pop songs that play into that world of decadence as it is another highlight of the film.
The film’s wonderful ensemble cast feature some notable small roles from Udo Kier as a waiter at the cabaret club, Ulrike Vigo as Lola’s daughter Marie, Nino Korda as a TV deliveryman, Herbert Steinmetz as the doorman who works at Von Bohm’s building, Harry Baer and Rainer Will as a couple of protesters who side with Von Bohm, Karsten Peters as a newspaper editor, Gunther Kaufmann as an American GI who lives at the home where Lola’s mother lives in, Christine Kaufmann as a prostitute whom the GI often sleeps with, Isolde Barth as the mayor’s wife, Y Sa Lo as a prostitute who works at the cabaret club, Karl-Heinz von Hassel as the corrupt police chief Timmerding, Elisabeth Volkmann as a prostitute/cabaret performer in Gigi, Hark Bohm as the mayor Volker who likes to go to the cabaret club and doesn’t mind taking payouts, and Rosel Zech as Schukert’s wife who either has no clue that her husband is cheating on or is indifferent as someone who enjoys the lifestyle she’s living in.
Helga Feddersen is fantastic as Von Bohm’s secretary Miss Hettich as a woman who always bring something while is an ardent supporter of Von Bohm while Ivan Desny is superb as the bank president in Wittich who is intrigued by Von Bohm but warns him about Schukert. Karin Baal is excellent as Lola’s mother as a woman who wants her daughter to find happiness where she works as a maid of sorts for Von Bohm whom she believes is a good influence for Lola. Matthias Fuchs is brilliant as Esslin as an assistant to Schukert who becomes frustrated by him where he finds some hope in Von Bohm while he also works as a drummer for Lola’s cabaret performances. Mario Adorf is amazing as Schukert as a property developer who is eager to use his pull to create a building that would put Cobert into the modern world while is also a man of corruption as he is also using his affair with Lola for personal and financial reasons.
Armin Mueller-Stahl is incredible as Von Bohm as an East Prussian building commissioner who arrives to the town wanting to clean things up as he’s intrigued by Lola in the hope he can give her a better life unaware of what she really does with her life. Finally, there’s Barbara Sukowa in a phenomenal performance as the titular character as this cabaret singer/prostitute who is eager to move up for something bigger as she is torn with her affair with Schukert as well as a life outside of decadence that Von Bohm has to offer though there is a lot more that she wants as it is this radiant and exuberant performance from Sukowa.
Lola is a spectacular film from Rainer Werner Fassbinder that features a sensational leading performance from Barbara Sukowa in the titular role. Along with its supporting cast, themes on greed and corruption, Xaver Schwarzenberger’s lush cinematography, dazzling art direction, and Peer Raben’s offbeat music score. The film is a fascinating and compelling film that presents itself as an offbeat melodrama that also play into this study of a woman wanting to get something for herself as she pits two men against each other for her affection. In the end, Lola is a tremendous 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) – The Marriage of Maria Braun - (Third Generation) - Berlin Alexanderplatz - (Lili Marleen) – Veronika Voss - Querelle
© thevoid99 2021
(Co-Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival)
Based on the novel by Gunter Grass, Die Blechtrommel (The Tin Drum) is the story of a young boy who rebels against the world of adults and society by banging on a tin drum to express his disdain for the world. Directed by Volker Schlondorff and screenplay by Schlondorff, Jean-Claude Carriere, and Franz Seitz with additional contributions from Grass, the film is an exploration of a young boy coming of age in post-World War I Germany as he would deal his surroundings as it would emerge into World War II. Starring David Bennent, Mario Adorf, Angela Winkler, Daniel Olbrychski, Katharina Thalbach, and Charles Aznavour. Die Blechtrommel is an extraordinary yet sprawling drama from Volker Schlondorff.
The film explores the twenty-year journey of a young boy who at the age of three would experience an accident that would prevent his body from growing as he comes of age from his birth in 1924 to the end of World War II as he bangs a tin drum to deal with his disdain for the world around him. All of which is told from his perspective from the day his mother was conceived to how he was born as Oskar (David Bennent) deals with his surroundings as his mother Agnes (Angela Winkler) is married to the shopkeeper Alfred (Mario Adorf) yet has an incestuous affair with her Polish cousin Jan Bronski (Daniel Olbrychski) whom Oskar thinks is his real father. In reaction to his lack of growth and understanding about the world, a tin drum Oskar was given by Jan at age three would be his outlet for his frustrations as he would be connected to it. Any chance it’s taken a way from him, he would yield high-pitch screams that are strong enough to break glass as it would be the kind of talent that would help him survive despite his encounters with tragedy.
The film’s screenplay is very grand as it starts off with the conception of Agnes by her mother Anna (Tina Engel) who meets this strange man while hiding from the police. Years later as she becomes a grandmother, Anna (Berta Drews) would watch over her family as she watches Oskar become rebellious as the two would encounter tragedies and events that would shape their home of Danzig as it was once a place where Germans, Poles, and Kashubians would live together. Yet, the arrival of Nazi Germany and Alfred becoming part of the movement would cause a lot of issues as his marriage to Agnes would suffer. Much of the film’s first half is about Oskar coming of age while his tin drum is the one thing he carries as it represents the child in him as well as his thirst for rebellion and chaos such as causing a disruption during a Nazi rally.
The film’s second half takes place at the start of World War II as Alfred hires a housekeeper named Maria (Katharina Thalbach) who would become Oskar’s first love despite the fact that he still looks like a young boy. Yet, their relationship is complicated by Alfred’s presence as well as the chaos of war where an encounter with the midget circus master Bebra (Fritz Hakl) would have Oskar be part of a traveling circus troupe to entertain Nazi officers and soldiers where Oskar would fall for the performer Roswitha (Mariella Oliveri). It would all play to the sense of journey that Oskar endures as he would try to hold on to some semblance of innocence that he would have as a child but the complications in being an adult as it’s a film about not just growing pains but also a boy becoming a man through the most troubling of circumstances.
Volker Schlondorff’s direction is very stylish in not just some of the surreal elements that he creates as it has elements of satire. There’s also moments in the film that are gripping to watch such as a key scene in the second act where Oskar is with Jan at a Polish post office on the day World War II began as well as some chilling scenes involving the war. Yet, the intense moments involve some scenes at the home Oskar lives with his parents that includes this very powerful argument where Oskar watched his mother feel hurt because she didn’t want to eat eels that Alfred cooked as looking at them made her sick. It would add to some of the drama that would occur that would shape Oskar in his growth. Especially in his angst as the drums and his screams serve as his emotional outlet that would often cause chaos in his surroundings as much of the film is shot in West Germany with some amazing wide shots along with some close-ups and medium shots that Schlondorff would use for the drama.
The direction also has moments where Schlondorff creates an element of fantasy such as a book about Rasputin that Oskar was reading as it comes to life as well as his birth scene. There’s also moments where Schlondorff pushes buttons such as a scene where Oskar and Maria are undressing to go into the beach as it plays to Oskar’s growing fascination with sex. Especially as it creates some ambiguity over Oskar’s relationship with Maria as she would eventually be pregnant as it would later play to Oskar going into his own personal journey in his encounter with the Nazism and war. The film’s ending is about not just the end of his journey with his tin drum but also where he would go as the war ends as well as the fact that his home for twenty years will never be the same. Overall, Schlondorff creates a very fascinating and intoxicating film about a boy coming of age in early 20th Century Germany.
Cinematographer Igor Luther does fantastic work with the very lush and colorful cinematography from the way some of the interiors look with its vibrant colors to some of the gorgeous imagery for some of the exterior scenes. Editor Suzanne Baron, with additional work by Peter Adam for the director‘s cut, does excellent work with the editing as it‘s mostly straightforward with some rhythmic cuts for the intense moments in the drama and war scenes. Production designers Piotr Dudzinski and Zeljko Senecic, with set decorator Bernd Lepel and art director Nikos Perakis, do amazing work with the set pieces from the home where Oskar lived in to the Nazi rallies and places Oskar performs at.
Costume designers Inge Heer, Dagmar Niefind, and Yoshio Yabara do brilliant work with the evolution of the clothes in Oskar‘s life from the uniforms he would wear later on to the dresses that his mother wore. Makeup artist Ruzica Vidmar does terrific work with some of the makeup that includes the stuff Oskar wears in his days at the circus. The sound work of Peter Beil, Walter Grundauer, and Peter Kellerhals is superb for the way the tin drum sounds as well as Oskar‘s screams plus the scenes set during the war and such that would surround Oskar. The film’s music by Maurice Jarre is great for its mix of bombastic orchestral music with some somber pieces along with percussive-based themes and themes that involve the didgeridoo.
The film’s incredible cast includes some notable small appearances from Heinz Bennent as a scoutmaster friend of Alfred in Greff, Andrea Ferreol as Greff’s wife Lina whom Oskar would later have an affair with, co-screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere as Rasputin, Wojciech Pszoniak as a Jewish shopkeeper who appears late in the film, Roland Teubner as Oskar’s grandfather, Fritz Hakl as the midget circus master Bebra, and Mariella Oliveri as the performer Roswitha whom Oskar would have a relationship with. Tina Engel and Berta Drews are wonderful in their respective roles as the younger and older version of Oskar’s grandmother who has a penchant for hiding things under her skirt. Charles Aznavour is terrific in a small yet memorable performance as the Jewish toyshop owner Markus who has feelings for Agnes while always providing Oskar with a new tin drum.
Daniel Olbrychski is excellent as Oskar’s uncle Jan who had always been kinder to Oskar while maintaining his love for Agnes. Katharina Thalbach is amazing as Maria as the housekeeper Oskar falls for as she would later forge a relationship with Alfred causing tension between the two. Mario Adorf is superb as Oskar’s father Alfred as a man who is a talented cook and shopkeeper who joins the Nazi party in the hopes it would help Germany until its new rules forces him to question his allegiance. Angela Winkler is brilliant as Oskar’s mother Agnes as she is this woman who adores her son while being torn in her devotion to Alfred and Jan. Finally, there’s David Bennent in a remarkable performance as Oskar as this young boy whose body wouldn’t grow since the age of three as it is a truly fierce and wild performance as a young boy who is this mix of boyish charm with the intelligence of a man as it’s a truly unforgettable performance from the young actor.
Die Blechtrommel is a tremendously sprawling yet touching film from Volker Schlondorff that features a magnificent performance from David Bennent. The film isn’t just an offbeat yet compelling coming-of-age story but also a film that explores a boy dealing with adulthood and the emergence of Nazism in his small German town. In the end, Die Blechtrommel is a phenomenal film from Volker Schlondorff.
Young Torless
© thevoid99 2014
