Los abrazos rotos (2009, Pedro Almodóvar)

The last weeks were almost like a long depression - stress at work with overall impact for the life I try to enjoy while not being at work. More receptive than active and thus my miserable blog became orphaned again. In addition I almost forgot what I watched and what I wanted to write about.
This movie, Broken Embraces, as it happens to be called in English, was already in the backlog. But now I am getting into the mood for Madrid, so I watched a lot of movies by Almodóvar. His manuscripts often resemble a graphic novel, or what the Italians might call a giallo. Bu t now I learned that Almodóvar is the heir of Span ish baroque comedies in the style of Lope de Vega. Hm, that is only a name to me - nothing more. Need to look for more.
From his output, this film most reminds me of his master piece Bad Education - a game of deception on several layers, handled with the virtuosity of a wizard who never leaves the viewer on his own. And he blends different genres brilliantly, so at the end there is a spicy gazpacho.
TBC

Werner - Beinhart! (1990, Niki List, Gerhard Hahn, Michael Schaack)

Mein Blog verwaist hin und wieder, was auch daran liegen mag, dass ich so selten etwas sehe, dass mich wirklich fasziniert und dann in die Tasten greifen lässt. Allerdings sehe ich auch selten solche Machwerke wie dieses. War es wirklich erforderlich, drei Regisseure für diesen Mist zu bemühen? Und können drei Regisseure wirklich nichts Besseres zustande bringen?
Ich habe von Werner als Kult-Comix gehört, ihn aber wohl nie gelesen. Nur deshalb bin ich auf die Idee gekommen, diesen Film sehen zu wollen. Ich dachte, es hätte wenigstens amüsant seine können. Werch ein Illtum.
Es geht darum, dass der Zeichner Brösel einen Film mit seiner Figur Werner zeichnen soll. Dabei geht immer etwas schief. Mal werden dei Zeichnungen nach Sibirien geschickt, dann  greift auch mal Rumpelstilzchen ein und zum Schluß wird der Film dann vorgeführt als prollige Belustigung.
Nun ja: es muss ja nicht so weichgespült sein wie bei Disney, vielleicht auch nicht so ästhetisch wie bei Miyazaki, aber eine Prise mehr Gehalt und Geschmack hätte nicht schaden können. Nun bewegen sich alle Gags in und um den Fäkalbreich. Hätte ich damals schon gewusst, dass ein Film dieser Serie Gekotzt wird später heißt, hätte ich mir diesen auch gespart. Das Leben ist nicht lang genug für analfixierten Verklemungen.
1/10

Voll bematscht, dieser Humor

2001 - nicht edles Sci-Fi, sondern auf Proll plattgewalzt; margeritas ante porcos

Ja, Pimmelnasen

Meister Röhrig puhlt in den Hinterlassenschaften seiner Kundin

Wieder mal im "Waschraum"

Der Verdingbub (2011, Markus Imboden)

Schweizer Filme haben es schwer in Deutschland. Da ist nicht nur die Sprache, sondern offenbar ein generelles Distributionsproblem. Schade, denn es ist nicht verständlich, warum das so sein muss. Immerhin: der europäische Kulturkanal Arte zeigt schon mal Titel, an die sich der deutsche Verleih nicht wagt. Dieser Film kam erst (oder nur?) mit einem Jahr Verspätung ins deutsche Kino.
Dieser Film von Markus Imboden ist zwar im Emmenthal angesiedelt, aber die Geschichte hätte sich ähnlich über all abspielen können, wovon nicht nur immer wieder erscheinende Zeugnisse über Missbrauch in den fünfziger Jahren Zeugnis ablegen. Es ist dies also durchaus kein Heimatfilm.
Kinder, die keine geeignete Versorgung haben, sei es weil sie Waisen sind, sei es weil die Mutter allein erzieht, werden der öffentlichen Versorgung überstellt und dann als kostenlose Arbeitskraft Bauern überlassen. Max ist ein solches Kind. Sein einziger Trost ist seine Handorgel, die er virtuos zu spielen versteht. Bertheli wäre am liebsten bei der Mutter, wird aber auf den Hof gebracht, wo auch Max Frondienste leistet. Bertheli wird vom Sohn des Bauern vergewaltigt (einem "Tier mit Rüssel") . Die beiden Kinder haben den Traum, sich ein neues Leben in Argentinien, dem Silberland aufzubauen. Max will dort von der Musik leben. Zuvor stirbt Bertheli aber an den Folgen einer missglückten Abtreibung.
Das ist alles deprimierend, aber Imboden zeigt nicht mit den Fingern auf die verrohten Bauern, nicht einmal auf die öffentlichen Behörden, die ihrer Aufsichtspflicht so gut wie überhaupt nicht nachkommen. Alle, auch die Dreckskerle, sind Produkte eines Systems, wobei auch dieses System nicht abgeklagt, sondern lediglich dargestellt wird. Ich denke, das macht diesen Film so stark. Und dann natürlich die freundlich lebensbejahende Botschaft: Max hat die Musik und sie zeigt ihm den Ausweg aus dem Teufelskreis.
Ein wunderbarer Film. Ich höre jeden Samstag Kino im Kopf auf SRF2 - und da meine Neugier sowieso leicht zu entflammen ist, habe ich also Lust bekommen, auch mehr Filme aus dem deutschsprachigen Ausland zu sehen. Also Augen auf, wenn SRF und ORF Produktionen ihrer eigenen Länder zeigen.!
8/10

Player (2013, Tomas Villum Jensen)

Og endnu et makværk med Casper Christensen. Ja, når han er med, så forventer jeg noget som man kan fatte, selvom man ikke abonnerer på Les Cahiers du Cinéma. Men alligevel - hvorfor skal det altid være så dumsmart og vulgær når han er med?
Rasmus Bjerg har været med i nogle nogenlunde hæderlige film, derfor er det des mere chokerende at han er i denne fuser. Filmen var på TV. Den blev mere end 1000% populær i sidste uge  og har nu sneglet sig op til en popularitet af 4.7 -- behøver man sige mere?
Det er den klichéfyldte historie om den bon vivanten hvis favoritglose er fisse og den karriereprægede nørd, som er stiv alle stede - undtagen der hvor levemanden er det. Han skal da også gifte sig med chefens datter.  Eventuelt kan man sige, at den ene lever for meget og den anden for lidt. Så utroligt det lyder, man Christensens persona har formået at blive far, selvom han tager denne rolle nogenlunde let. Sønnen lader ikke at tage skade af at faderen kokser og morer sig med pornoduller. Alligevel føler han et eller andet sted en slags ansvar. Nuvel - man holdet kunne have fået noget morsomt ud af det, hvis bare det havde gidet at gøe sig umage. - Og den kedelige advokat får øjnene op for livets glæder. Ham bliver gog noget betænkeligt at hans opsparing på 10 millioner kunne ryge sig en tur. Han har nemlig lagt dem til side til sin "tredje alder", som i denne branche åbenbart er lige om hjørne inden man har rundet de 40.
Var det i begyndelsen bare banalt, så bliver det efterhånden mere og mere utroværdigt, som om instruktøren havde mistet interessen for sit projekt komplet. Resultatet bliver da også derefter.
Ærgerligt.
2/10

نِگين Negin (Asghar Hashemi, 2002)

A film about trafficking - from Iran! Doesn't that sound interesting? What a surprise such a film in the library.
The film starts in a more or less everyday setting. Who am I to judge what is an everyday setting in a country like Iran? Neda is working in an office; her boss likes her and they are going to be married. Then she gets a phone call - from a prison. A woman called Azar calls her and asks for a favor, a favor that  maybe even a close family member might not comply. Azar's daughter has disappeared.
We get sort of explanation how Neda came to jail and how she got out again. I am not at all sure, if this is coherent. Iranian viewers will decide. Azar manages to flee from prison and now follow some rhapsodic episodes These episodes seem to reflect some darker sides of life in the Islamic Republic. Do they reflect a darker side of society or what is the purpose.
In the end we see that Azar's daughter - Negin - has been sold to Saudis. Maybe that is the legitimation for Azar to fight like a lioness.
Not great art.but let's be generous: 5/10.

Manden bag døren (2003, Jesper W. Nielsen)

Det er et meget mærkelig tilfælde, at de to nærmeste kirker starter en filmklub hver. I dag var det Ålholm Kirke. De viste en dansk film,.jeg så den for fuldstændigheds, skyld men kunne lige så godt have ladet være.
Så har vi Svend (en Nikolaj Coster Waldau med farvet hår) som er kæreste med Lizzie (Iben Hjeile). Svend er sygelig jaloux og har en snert af psykopatolog med voldelige tendenser. Hans bror hedder Bølle og er komplet faldet ud af samfundet. Svend og Lizzie afvikler ders sociale liv på et værtshus, hvor Torben er bartender (Lars Hjortshøj får en chance at vise sine ringe skuespilleriske evner i en seriøs rolle, for en gangs skyld). Svends forældre er gået fra hinanden. Der er faren, en senil alkoholiker (Per Oscarsson) og moren, en pillemisbruger (Rita Angela, som normalt kun optræder i uopsigtsvækkende biroller).
Svend prøver at holde sammen på denne rablende gale menageri, men da han også trænger til at få strammet adskillige skruer går det selvfølgeligt galt. Faren har ofte fablet om, at han ville tilbage til Pisserenden, hvor han i meget yngre dage var den ukronede konge. Svend lover ham hele tiden, at det skal de nok, men så dør faren. Svend vil så gerne at alle forsones, og derfor kører han med liget alle de steder hvor faren har et mellemværende. Til sidst bliver det oplyst for Svend, at Pisserenden egentligt er farens betegnelse for sin hustrus kønsdele. Ja, fy for en ulækker joke.
Svend vil så gerne at alle tilgiver hinanden, men han har selv alvorlige problemer med den der tilgivelse. Han mener hele tiden, at bøssen Gunnar "har kneppet kæresten i røven", endog uden at spørge om lov, hvilket i hans verdenssyn er påkrævet, når der er tale om røven Da kæresten så tilstår, at det gjorde hab faktisk, så går han beserk igen.
Der er gode kræfter i denne kraftløse film. De prøver at få det bedste ud af dette håbløse manuskript. Manuskriptet kommer næsten afsted med hvad son helst, da alle personer i denne cage aux folles er rablende gale. Men der kommer ikke en god - og vedkommende ! - film ud af et menageri af vanvittige eksistenser. Også editeringen ved ikke hvad den skal stille op med dette ualmindelige underlødige oplæg.
Den får 2/10, men kun fordi der er et par kraftfulde præstationer af gode skuespiller. Hvem finansierer dog sådan noget juks?

Lust, Caution (2007, 色，戒, Ang Lee)

I should write more. Already two weeks gone with zero activity here. I have seen different seen, lots of rubbish, but also some good flicks. However, the majority is just so-so.
Lust, Caution is interesting to a certain degree, but does not belong to the category of outstanding films. It seems that Ang Lee is spreading himself over too many different genres without really becoming outstanding in any of them.
This is some kind of thriller, a spy story in times of hot war. Taking sides also means taking chances. For once the resistance against the Japanese occupation is not Communist. After all Lee is from Taiwan, so it's not so surprising after all that he portrays the nationalists. It seems that the central heroine "Mrs Mai" is not driven by any political conviction, but acts on emotional reasons. Because she has an infatuation with a student, she enters the resistance movement and because she got a crush on her hate object number one, she betrays this movement. This is the lust part. Caution is of course required, because anybody can be your enemy, a state of homo homini lupus. The students are not only breathing for some common goal, but also need their share of happiness.
This seems suitable for an engaging film, not only a dive into history, but a story that is valid in all times of crisis. What makes Lee of this? He needs 2½ hours to tell the story - almost 2 hours are flashback. Every frame is nice, but most of this stays irrelevant to those who are not acquainted with Chinese history and in the end I, as viewer with some knowledge of that period, failed to see why I should engage in the fate of these students.
There has been some controversy about the very graphic sexual content in some scenes. On IMDb is a long thread with a discussion if there was real penetration or not. This is one of the most irrelevant discussions ever. Yes, Lee insisted on the lustful component of the relation between Mrs. Mai and the puppet for the Japanese. Censorship is very critical about this part of human life. On the other side it discloses the double standards of censorship that they obviously didn't have any problem with the extensive stabbing of the secret police at the end of the flashback. This was also a rather graphic scene, but violent and not lustful Fortunately no hillbilly asked, if this had been real. Well, the version I saw on television lacked 10 minutes, probably scenes involving various kind of body fluids.
So what to make of this. So much potential and rather little substance. It must be a 5/10 for a solid so-so.

Rating for viewers didn't object to the depiction of killing ...

...rating has always a problem with the affirmation of life. Double standards are not twice as good as no standard.

The Cyclist (1996, Mohsen Makhmalbaf - بايسيكلران)

In Kiarostami's masterpiece Close Up, the fake Makhmalbaf mentions this film as an example of the profound sympathy this director has for the poor and the underdogs. So, actually I was determined to like this film, but the real Makhmalbaf makes it really tough for me to feel anything for this movie.
There is the poor refugee from Afghanistan. He tries every means to raise money for his hospitalized wife. One time he tries rather clumsily to commit suicide by placing himself under a bus. Then he becomes he only attraction of an improvised circus. It is claimed that he can bicycle around the square a whole week. Wagers are made if he can it or cannot and also some dark mafia-like politicians try to sabotage his effort. Why these politicians are mingled into this plot,escaped my attention. In he end he wins, but like  another Sisyphus he just circles on.
Makhmalbaf uses  soap opera aesthetics for his film, which makes it almost impossible to watch. He uses also amateur actors, but their acting stays amateurish, never is lifted about the telenovela style. The wife for example tosses about the bed in the hospital and this is supposed to illustrate great pain. This is pain Ed Wood style. One thing is that the acting is minimalist throughout another thing is that the script never lets us enter beyond the poker face of the cyclist. No emotion, no sign of something going on inside the person.
The soundtrack places the movie outside Iran. I have read that this was a device to make the film pass through the censor board. Unfortunately also the music adds to the unbearable sentimentality of this film.
Certainly he tried to achieved something meaningful, but, I am afraid, that his capabilities cannot match his ambitions. I saw before his more recent film Sex and Philosophy. When I saw that, I thought that the absence of censors had emptied him for creative strategies, but now I see that there is not much to fetch here either. Makhmalbaf is just a wannabee poet in cinema.
2/10

Feuchtgebiete (2013, David F. Wnendt)

Dies ist ein widerlicher Film nach einem (wahrscheinlich) widerlichem Buch. Ja doch, es war ein Erfolg und hat der Autorin zu Ruhm und Reichtum verholfen. Braucht man Geld, schreibt man irgendwelchen provokanten Schund und schon füllt sich das Konto. Die Strategie zieht immer, egal ob es Fanny Hill oder andere Schattierungen von öden Trübseligkeiten handelt.
Ich habe das Buch nicht gelesen, werde es auch nicht tun. Eigentlich ist auch das Leben zu kurz, um sich solche Filme anzutun, aber auch mich treibt die Neugierde gelegentlich dazu, auch solche Produktionen zu sehen.
Das Beste an diesem Film ist die großartige Carla Juri. Sie macht die unausstehliche Hauptperson dieses Films wenigstens halbwegs erträglich. Sie ist verhaltensauffällig und liebt vulgäre Äußerungen. Zuweilen kann sie sich aber auch anderes als den Unterleib thematisieren, etwa wenn sie dem Vater vorschlägt, sie könne schon mal mit der Trauerarbeit beginnen,damit der Schock bei seinem tatsächlichen Ableben nicht so groß wird. Hätte sie nur Provokationen dieser Art, würde sie es kaum in die Bestsellerlisten geschafft haben. Ja doch, sex sells.)
So werden denn also Feuchtgebiete der Anatomie und deren Aussonderungen mit Genuss umgegraben. Vielleicht ist dieser Film für pubertierende Mädchen interessant - ich hätte ihn entbehren können.
3/10

Klovn Forever (2015, Mikkel Nørgaard)

Når man taler med danskere, vil man ofte høre den påstand, at de har en meget speciel humor. Det tør godt siges.
Jeg kender kun filmene med anti-heltene Casper og Frank. Jeg har ikke set tv-serien og jeg kommer nok ikke til at se den. Livet er for kort til at følge med i det hele.
I beskrivelserne af disse makværk læser man, at disse film er grænseoverskridende. Det er sådan set rigtigt nok, men at overskride en grænse, "provokere" eller udvide territoriet for den dårlige smag er ikke i sig selv hverken komisk eller humoristisk. Klovn filmene er fyldt med denne pruttepude humor.
Det eneste fælles interesse de to makker har, er deres interesse for fisse. Caspar som Casanova wannabee og Frank som ak så gerne vil underordne sig sin kones vaginale diktatur.
Filmen er en rapsodisk glasperlekæde af diverse pinlige episoder hvor plottet som sådan er på størrelse med en knaldperle.
Hvis filmen var sjov, kunne den være et fint monument over et venskab mellem to mænd - amicitia vincit omnia, men med denne nærmest maniske hige og søgen efter pinlige pointer bliver resultatet igen en tæerkrummende menagerie af småpinligheder.
Når den første Klovn film måske var sjofelt, så er denne her nok mest vulgært.
Ja, dansk humor erf noget specielt.
2/10

Kill Bill Vol. 1 +2 (2003 + 2004, Quentin Tarrantino)

IF I had seen these movies before,   I have completely forgotten about them. However, I have a faint memory that I might have seen the Japanese prequel to this film.
This is one film that comes in two parts and together it took away four hours of my collected life time. Four hours that are gone and will never return; time that I could have used to view something more edifying.
Tarrantino has his moments, sure. I think he is best with words. There is some verbal showdown, e.g. in Django Unchained that is  quite sparkling. This set of movies, however, is action-oriented. And therefore it has limits. I mean, how many times do you want to see splattering brains or oozing intestines. How many times is shooting and slashing interesting?
Of course, the genre puts limits. If you make a martial arts film, there will be fighting. It is a slashing ballet - one woman against a horde of crazy fighters. And other more or less imaginative ways how to put someone from life to death.
The intellectuals have noticed that Tarrantino plays with genres. Yes, he uses different styles. Indeed he does, and it is nice -- but it's still a tiresome plot we are dealing with. He is wrapping his material art in different papers. No matter how many times you unwrap it, there is still the same rotten content in it.
Quotations from B productions? Maybe, what is the use of this kind hiding Easter eggs? Yes, it can be tickling for movie buffs to find them again, but this is hardly a  quality in its own right.
Virtuosity - yes, but without a point.
So
Kill Bill Vol. 1 3/10
Kill Bill Vol. 2 4/10 -- for a script with somewhat more dialogue

The White Balloon ( 1995, Jafar Panahi بادکنک سفيد)

It showed that this was the right selection to view on a New Year's Eve; a film which is a countdown to the New Year. OK, it's the Persian New Year, but nevertheless.
I liked Taxi Tehran so much that I wanted to see more by this director. Taxi Tehran showed an overflow of irony and creativity. These same qualities we find again in his first feature film, but also an immense distress.
The film focuses around little Razieh, who wants to buy a chubby goldfish for the Noorooz celebrations. Now, I didn't know this before, but in Persian culture these fishes are a symbol for life. The skinny fishes at home are not enough for her. Thus Razieh is targeting for the plenitude of life. Her brother is going to help her and he talks their mother into letting her buy a fish, Happily she runs a way with a 500 toman bill. Although this doesn't sound much, it still was a substantial amount of money, as director Jafar Panahi declared in an interview.
Roaming on the street, Razieh becomes interested in the performance of snake charmers. She was told that this was unsuitable for her, but she also wants to know why it is not suitable for her. She manages to get rid of the money and get it back from the snake charmers. On the way to the fish shop she loses the money again. A friendly elderly lady helps her to find the money again, but it is now lost in a cellar duct. Her brother has been looking for her and together they try to acquire the bill again. At this point the tiny plot is overshadowed by a rich collection of supporting actors: a tailor who owns the shop next to the duct, the owner of the closed shop, a soldier who hasn't the money to buy a bus ticket to go home -- and a Hazara boy from Afghanistan, selling balloons. We saw this boy in the beginning when Razieh had disappeared from her mother. Then he had many balloons, now only a few are left.
Together they manage to get the bill out of the duct; the children run happily away, the seller remains with the white balloon, alone.
This film has been called heart-warming and life-confirming. Is it really like that? In Umberto D., one of the most touching dramas of Italian neo-realism, a living being whose life is even more miserable than the life of the eponymous main-character, helps him to return to life. That was solidarity among the outcasts. What do we have here? Selfishness! The two kids may be lower-middle class, and they use the Afghani seller for their purpose. Razieh's brother even thought that taking away things from him was OK, while he still has scruples to steal from a blind chewing-gum seller.
I have been told that the supporting characters were carefully cast from different parts of society: the tailor a Turk, the old lady a Polish refugee from the Gulag, the soldier and the fish seller from other parts. The snake charmers certainly also from abroad. What is the bottom line then? Maybe that a society needs all segments, if it is supposed to work as a society? It's a guess. However, it still seems to me that this film has an unhappy ending.
Busy viewers might think that the plot is moving too slowly. This is not Fast and Furious, but a chance to meet ordinary citizens from Iran. Panahi used only amateur actors and he has a unique talent to evoke the best of their performing abilities. They act naturally and this is quite amazing. Aida Mohammadkhani, the actor of Razieh is awesome: within seconds she changes from close to tears to happiness. It seems a pity that she didn't become a professional actress. The story is told from her perspective. We never see a general view from a grown-up perspective, but always close-ups that might confirm to the height of the girl. Especially in the beginning I sensed a certain impatience - until the film, so to speak, found its direction.
Unfortunately there are also cultural references that I cannot decode. E.g. Razieh once says that her father has two professions, but they don't elaborate on that any further. And there may be other allusions which I simply didn't catch. Likewise the foreign viewer has no chance to hear the different accents used by the characters, but none of these diminished the pleasure it was to see this film.
9,5/10