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The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (Rainer Werner Fassbinder - 1972)
Nobody does female relationships as well as Fassbinder. Quite rightly world renowned as a director Fassbinder is actually a wonderful writer and is extremely adept at getting inside the heads of female characters. This film features only female characters; Margit Carstensen plays Petra von Kant - a successful fashion designer who's arrogant, self-absorbed and verbally abusive to her secretary Marlene who also cooks and cleans for her (in addition to doing most of the work that von Kant takes all the credit for in her fashion business). Marlene is treated as a general dogsbody, and it's interesting to speculate why she puts up with the mistreatment. A great film could be centred round this relationship, but the bulk of the film focusses on the relationship that developes between von Kant and Karin - an aspiring model whom von Kant falls madly in love with, and invites to move in with her. The rest of the film deals with the emotions of this affair and its aftermath. The shifting dynamics between Karin and Petra are fascinating and although the whole film takes place in a single studio apartment Fassbinder's inventive use of long takes and deep focus make this a brilliantly cinematic experience full of interesting details and visual flair. If you appreciate great dialogue delivered by excellent actors and the whole mise en scene thing then you need look no further than this gem. |
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Fitzcarraldo (Werner Herzog - 1982)
Perhaps Werner Herzog's most famous film, and one that demonstrates all the qualities for which he's become notorious over the years - his stubbornness, his sometimes contrary nature...some would say his borderline insanity. It stars Herzog's constant sparring partner Klaus Kinski - no stranger to madness himself, and perfectly suited to the role of the driven Brian Fitzgerald Sweeney - a man on a mission to share his love of opera with the people living in the middle of the Peruvian jungle by building an opera house there. With this goal in mind his plan is to make his fortune selling rubber to finance the opera house and off he sails in the massive steamship he's procured for the purpose, down the Amazon to his planned destination. However part-way through his journey there are a few miles of mountains which must be traversed. Luckily for him Fitzcarraldo runs into some locals who are mollified by his blond hair, white suit and the music of Caruso he's been blaring from the ship. They end up worshipping him as a god and agree to do his bidding. Unluckily for them Fitzcarraldo's bidding is to get that steamship over those mountains - and so we're treated to one of the most outlandish sights to behold in cinema, as the natives do indeed get the job done. This film is the perfect symbiosis of director, star and subject matter, and perhaps the best depiction of obsession you'll see on film. |
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Forest For The Trees (Maren Ade - 2003)
This is a deeply unsettling film which demonstrates the true extent of disconnectedness people can feel in this life. Anyone who's ever been on the outside of a group looking in and wanting to be part of some activity will identify with at least part of this film and even if you're never been in that position you'll be hard pressed not to cringe mightily at some of the scenes here. Eva Löbau gives a superb perfomance as Melanie Pröschle - an idealistic young teacher who moves to the city to take up a new position at the local high school. Her optimistic outlook on life takes a severe beating first from her new colleagues who don't approve of her liberal methods, then with her new pupils who are openly hostile as soon as they sense the weakness and lack of control she exhibits around them. She tries to take everything life throws at her with a smile but this becomes harder as events progress until you just know something has to give. Some of the scenes where she tries to integrate into the social circles of her aquaintance (who most of the time just wants to be rid of her) are just painful to sit through, such is the embarrassment you feel at her strange behaviour. Sometimes you just want to slap her for being so hapless, but in the end it's hard not to sympathise with her as life carries on regardless, and all the optimism is pushed out of her like a tyre with a slow puncture. This is an insightful film that says much about the human condition, and it ends with a sequence which is at once beautiful, tragic and sublime. |
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M (Fritz Lang - 1931)
If you're a bit hesitant when it comes to films that go back as far as the early thirties then this is the film you should watch to disabuse you of the notion that you won't enjoy them because they're just too old. Although old, this is actually a very modern seeming film dealing with what most people probably think are modern phenomena; paedophilia and serial murder. Lang directs with the precision and confidence of someone who's near the end of a long and successful career rather than someone working in the first few years of sound film. There are some very clever and well-executed shots to satisfy your inner film student and there isn't a frame wasted in the telling of the tale. M is one of the very earliest serial killer movies and still, seventy years later one of the very best. Peter Lorre delivers a powerhouse performance as the creepy protagonist - a man who cannot control his impulses to abduct and molest young girls. That's the first part of the film. The remainder is the race to catch him. The police seem at a loss as to how to proceed as they have no leads, so after a while the bigwigs around town get organised and hunt the killer down themselves. The police procedural scenes are fascinating and when the townsfolk get together the tension is ratcheted up expertly. This film is a lot of the reason German films of this period are so highly regarded. A masterpiece. |
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Run, Lola, Run (Tom Tykwer - 1998)
In which we follow the desperate attempt of Lola to reach her boyfriend before he does something really rash that they'll both regret for the rest of their lives. She fails. The film then reboots and she tries again. She fails again. Another reboot - she decides to do things a bit differently, and so on. A novel conceit and I found the whole experience very enjoyable. A lot of the pleasure I derived from watching this film was in noticing the small details that change each time the film's reset, and imagining how the lives of all the people on the periphery of Lola's adventure were affected each time she set off on her recurring mission. It seems that for every person who comes into contact with Lola there could be a film made of their life and how they reached the point where they intersected with her or her boyfriend. Although this all sounds too knowingly self-referential it actually works surprisingly well, and if you can go with the flow and appreciate its cleverness it's a lot of fun. |
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The Tin Drum (Volker Schlondorff - 1979)
Set in 1925 in the free city of Danzig this story focusses on little Oskar - a boy who decides on his third birthday to never grow up, as he finds all the adults around him repulsive. The tin drum he receives as a birthday present will become his constant companion and heaven help anyone who tries to take it away from him, as he can emit an ear-shattering scream that will shatter any glass in his vicinity. Any time he can't cope he beats on his drum, and this is how he lives until the end of the second world war when the Soviets invade Germany. This is a real oddity of a film, featuring a main character that is frankly irritating for much of the time. But the premise is so off the wall that the film - which is very well staged and authentic to the time and place it's set - is quite engrossing. The central performance by David Bennent as young Oskar holds the film together and is supremely odd, but perfect for the role - so much so that it's impossible to imagine anyone else doing quite such a good job of it. |
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Wings of Desire (Wim Wenders - 1987)
Set at the time the film was made Wings of Desire (or 'Der Himmel über Berlin' which translates as 'Heaven Over Berlin') follows two angels, Damiel and Cassiel - played by Bruno Ganz and Otto Sander respectively who wander the cityscape of West Berlin unseen and unheard, listening to the hopes, fears and dreams of the citizens and taking account of their observations. Peter Falk also turns up as himself, but as the film progresses it turns out he used to be an angel, but gave up in preference of being human because he wanted to experience life rather than just observe it. Pretty weird eh? Indeed it is, but it's undeniably poetic and quite moving once you start to inhabit the landscape these people are moving through. This is the perfect film for aspiring poets, philosophers and dreamers to contemplate our existence, our place in the world and the effect of our passing on those around us. A unique experience. |
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