film reviews, interviews, features | BRWC

Author: Esme Betamax

  • Rainer Werner Fassbinder: Lola 4K Restoration

    Rainer Werner Fassbinder: Lola 4K Restoration

    It is 35 years since the untimely death of German New Wave director Rainer Werner Fassbinder and we are seeing a renewed interest in his films. From a retrospective at BFI Southbank in May to reissues of his collection, including this newly restored 4K version of Lola from STUDIOCANAL.

    The tempestuous and self-destructive Fassbinder was an incredibly prolific director, making more than 40 films over a period of just 15 years. It’s difficult to think of anyone willing to match that output now. Perhaps instead of looking at today’s auteurs, he could be better compared to those passionate musicians (Dylan, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Who) laying down hits in a single take. A good example is Velvet Underground’s 17 and a half minute Sister Ray from their album White Light/White Heat (1968), with its Fassbinder-esque subject matter: drugs, violence and homosexuality. Scenes from Fassbinder’s films play like music, often becoming more conductor than director. Fassbinder really leaning on the quality of the cast: Barbara Sukowa (Hannah Arendt, 2012) as high-class sex worker Lola, Armin Mueller-Stahl (Angels & Demons, 2009) as the uptight new building commissioner von Bohm, and Mario Adorf (Tin Drum, 1979) as corrupt developer Schuckert. Lola is heavily scripted, yet loose. The pressure of a single take produces a raw energy which enlivens the film throughout.

    Initially taken as an interpretation of the Blue Angel (1930) starring Marlene Dietrich, though transferred to a 1950s setting and rewritten to become the final part of Fassbinder’s BRD trilogy. The Bundesrepublik Deutschland trilogy, which includes The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979) and Veronika Voss (1982) represents postwar West Germany from Fassbinder’s point of view. In Lola Fassbinder points to the mistakes of the previous generation as they enter a period of prosperity after the war, each character failing to maintain their own integrity. In several scenes a character will repeat verbatim the line just spoken by another character, hypnotised by each other as much as they are hypnotised by the rise of capitalism.

    Action is obscured and revealed: props, structures and minor characters invade the foreground to create framing. This all puts the viewer in mind of a theatre set, abandoning realism wherever possible. Fassbinder’s penchant for unnatural lighting to define and enhance individual characters is a feature that benefits from the restoration.

    The newly restored 4K version of Lola is released by STUDIOCANAL on DVD, Blu-Ray & EST on 03/07/17

     

  • The BRWC Review: Tomcat

    The BRWC Review: Tomcat

    “Andreas and Stefan lead a happy and passionate life: Together with their beloved tomcat Moses, they live in a beautiful old house in Vienna’s vineyards. They work as a musician and as a scheduler in the same orchestra and they love their large circle of friends. An unexpected and inexplicable outburst of violence suddenly shakes up the relationship and calls everything into question – the blind spot that resides in all of us.”

    LGBT films have made slow progress, but progress nonetheless. They used to fall into one category: the coming-of-age/coming-out story, always with a tragic ending (see: Boys Don’t Cry, 1999; Brokeback Mountain, 2005). We’re moving away from that at a steady rate, as usual looking outside Hollywood to independent cinema, and tragedy is no longer a given. Still with some way to go, a welcome addition is the ‘relationship in crisis’ category (See: The Kids are All Right 2010; Concussion 2013). Middle-age or boredom, rather than homosexuality, are the dilemmas here.

    Tomcat is an engaging feature from Austrian director Händl Klaus. It will be shocking in different ways on either side of the Atlantic – I’d be curious to see what American censors make of the abundance of male full frontal nudity. It should also be approached with caution by cat lovers.

    Still waters run deep. At the outset, Andreas (Philipp Hochmair) and Stefan (Lukas Turtur) have a solid, kind, loving relationship. Friends and neighbours of the couple are kept in the dark about the troubling events in the home. Stefan’s erratic behaviour seems to be spurred on by dissatisfaction in his relationship, although this is only hinted at, and never really addressed. Tomcat is a portrait of domestic violence. It is notable in that it displays two significant points. Firstly, that domestic violence can manifest itself in many forms, and secondly, that it can occur in same-sex relationships. Two concepts which people often doubt. It is for these reasons that Tomcat is important – not just for the LGBT+ audience.

     

    There is not a huge amount of violence in Tomcat, but the outburst that is there is so jarring it will stay with you throughout the remainder of the film. The audience is with Andreas in his shock and disquietude. He asks the doctor ‘Will he hurt himself?’ but the unasked questions loom heavily: will he do it again? will he hurt me? The overarching theme of Tomcat is one of trust. One action, sudden and unexpected, can shake the foundations of a relationship, and once trust has been broken, can it ever be repaired?

    The original title, Kater, means both tomcat and hangover in German. Just as a hangover, Tomcat will be in your head the following day.

  • The BRWC Review: Mom And Me

    The BRWC Review: Mom And Me

    Mom and Me is directed by Irish filmmaker Ken Waldrop, known for 2009 documentary His & Hers. With Mom and Me he continues to film women telling their own stories. Be careful not to trip over the yards of umbilical cord in this documentary about mothers and their adult sons.

    Mom and Me employs local radio host Joe Cristano to invite the men of Oklahoma (designated the most manly US state) to phone in and talk about their mothers. This of course is staged, but provides neat segues for the purpose of the film. It also blurs the line between film and podcast, making this documentary a good fit for fans of The Moth and This American Life. Perhaps the fact that so many of us are getting hooked on podcasts will lead the format to spill into documentary filmmaking more.

    Amy Schumer does a bit in The Leather Special about the mothers of all her past boyfriends: That they all seem mildly put out by her existence in the role of girlfriend, like (I’m paraphrasing) ‘Aw shucks, you know, I always thought that I would end up with him.’ There is evidence of that sentiment at several points during Mom and Me. That’s one of the reasons I approached this film with a raised eyebrow. Midwestern Moms and their beloved sons? Retch. But that was unfair of me, as the film is pretty absorbing, with so many telling little interactions. Fascinating for anyone interested in the human condition. Freud would have had a field day with this one.

    The men, in the presence of their mothers, are all still children. Waldrop puts older women in the spotlight, which is a positive step as all too often women are pushed into the margins as they age. In spite of the awkwardness in some of the more staged interactions, this film has depth. Every so often some small gesture or comment will cut right to your heart. Funny and poignant throughout.

  • The BRWC Review: 3 Hikers Documentary

    The BRWC Review: 3 Hikers Documentary

    3 Hikers is a documentary about three young American citizens who stray into Iran while hiking in northern Iraqi Kurdistan. They are taken prisoner, accused of espionage, and held hostage in the infamous Evin Prison, in Tehran.

    The motivation behind 3 Hikers seems to be twofold. For Sarah Shourd, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal it is an opportunity to lay out the story in its entirety, filling in the gaps that were apparent in initial news reports about the situation. Early on in 3 Hikers, Shane Bauer mentions dissatisfaction with the way in which the story was handled in the media. “The way that our story was covered […] led people to think that we just dropped in to Kurdistan out of nowhere. That’s not what happened…” For director Natalie Avital it was an opportunity to become embedded with the Shourd, Bauer, and Fattal families, following their experiences from close quarters. She had the ability to go with the story, wherever it led.

    The documentary falls into several acts:

    First, the preamble. The film begins with a very fast-paced run down of the political history between the US and Iran. It feels like a very brief explanation, and there appears to be the assumption that if you are watching the film, you will have prior knowledge or interest in the subject. Reluctant as I am to admit that I learned something from a Ben Affleck movie, you could do worse than to watch Argo (2012) before this documentary if you would like to put US-Iranian diplomatic relations into context. For a more personal look at revolution in Iran, try Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis – either her comic, or the film adaptation from 2007.

    The second act is an account of the arrest and imprisonment. We are taken through it step-by-step with narration from the three hikers. Keen to keep things interesting, Avital employs liberal use of reenactments. She could have reigned this in a little more, as some scenes are more distracting than informative.

    In the third act we are invited to join the three families in their emotional quest to have the three hikers freed. This section is interspersed with expert opinion talking heads, including US foreign policy expert Richard Sick, and Reza Aslan. True to form, Aslan is eloquent and insightful in his commentary on the situation.

    In the final act, individuals have the opportunity to reflect on their experiences. As well as gaining greater knowledge of international diplomacy, and learning how much can be achieved with collective effort, the importance of learning history is stressed.  Questions are raised on the purpose of prisons, the use of solitary confinement as a method of torture, and its role in post traumatic stress disorder. Avital could pursue any of these subjects in further documentary investigations.

    Natalie Avital has come away with a solid documentary. It is a story with plenty of angles, gripping enough to be feature length without being a drag. 3 Hikers is her first documentary, and it’s a strong debut.

  • The BRWC Review: No Goodbye

    The BRWC Review: No Goodbye

    In Ludo Vici’s No Goodbye, Sandra Steffl plays a cabaret star with the prickly attitude of a seasoned performer. Two parts bitterness to one part glamour. It is  aesthetically pleasing to watch, as light catches motes of dust while the lead performs onstage, adding to the stylish 60s vibe. Although beyond this it is not really tied to a particular decade as this story is meant to be timeless.

    The action takes place for the most part backstage, where Steffl (who has made regular appearances in German TV and film since the mid 90s) is joined by the lesser known Thomas Peters, all moody and mysterious. The dialogue between them is thick with subtext, the main topic of conversation being first love, lost. The noir-ish soundtrack only adding to the intrigue.

    No Goodbye examines the idea of performance and detachment: Concealing real emotions and putting on a mask for the sake of the show. Nifty camerawork and editing keep things interesting enough for the film to avoid collapsing under the weight of cliché. Take a look at David Bowie’s The Mask (A mime) for similar themes.

    No Goodbye is a neat little number. It is good as a standalone film, but would certainly play well alongside other shorts – vignettes put together to create a bigger picture, along the lines of Paris je t’aime (2006).