Die Zettelwirtschaft.

A month of movies: January.

2012-01-30T00:26:00.000+01:00

This month's episode of "Ben very unsurprisingly falls for a perky and well-calculated movie" is featured by "Beginners" (trailer), which everybody else has seen a year ago. On the completely opposing side of the spectrum is the excellent war (not anti-, not pro-, but challenging) documentary "Restrepo" (trailer, which makes it look a lot more light-hearted than it is) that everybody who can stomach it should see before feeling qualified to engage in any kind of serious discussion about the war in Afghanistan. The rest is quickly told: Sean Penn as Robert Smith in "This Must Be The Place" (trailer), George Clooney as George Clooney in "The American" (trailer) and nuclear waste as a future liability in "Into Eternity" (trailer).

The short -
Go and see: Beginners (DVD) & Restrepo (DVD).
Well worth watching: /
Also deserving a chance: Into Eternity & This Must Be The Place.
Average: Trust (DVD).
If you're into George Clooney looking constantly stressed: The American (DVD).

The long -
The rules: Only movies seen at cinemas during the month referred to in the post title and recent DVD releases (which will be noted as such) are eligible. This excludes films seen on video or television. Also excluded are movies from festivals, which may or may not get treated in separate posts. Premieres and previews, however, are fine. The reviews are listed in alphabetical order. Finally, ratings are given on IMDB's 1-10 scale. These rules, likely to be broken at the discretion of yours truly, solely exist because no rules are fun, and we cannot have that here, now can we?

Beginners (DVD release). Perky and sweet, as is how I like my rom-drama-coms. The director's background in music videos and design is visible throughout, but an excellent script and a lot of love for the characters prove it's more than a study or feature piece. Maybe that's due to it relating so closely to Mike Mills' own life. It makes for an excellent movie, in any case. 9/10

Into Eternity. Uncertainty is what this documentary is about, and an imagery oscillating between being brilliantly sharp and fading into shades of black is the means chosen to convey it. While the arguments delivered by a questioning narrator do rely on commonplace facts at first, they eventually focus on one of the most basic dilemmas faced by the constructors of the nuclear waste storage site - suggesting that there is no definite master plan, and that these sites face a future as uncertain as anything that involves the unpredictable behaviour of humans. Excellent music score. 7/10

Restrepo (DVD release). In "Restrepo", the war in Afghanistan is shown as the American soldiers on the ground perceive it: As something they don't understand, believe in (despite the motivational speeches and reassurances about how they're doing "something") and as something they're constantly threatened by. Most firefights follow the same formula: They get shot at, they shoot back in the general direction they got shot from and try to keep under cover, attempting to make sense of the situation. Escape is brief and seems superficial. The directors, one of which died in last year's civil war in Libya, manage to filter out a few faces and their thoughts, hopes and fears from the noise, thus bringing back the human factor to the foreground, which is the main achievement of this documentary and what sets it apart from others focusing on more general aspects of war. Morality and politics aren't discussed, but implied in almost every scene, left for the viewers to draw inferences from. 9/10

The American (DVD release). George Clooney walks through an Italian town, somewhat paranoid. Rinse and repeat, add a reason to be paranoid about, set up some beautiful shots and we have an Anton Corbijn movie that makes an effort to keep from gaining momentum, but in the process forgets to at least become interesting. 5/10

This Must Be The Place. Sometime along the way, the humour of the film is lost and things begin to grow a lot darker, culminating in an ending that won't fit. This is unfortunate, as up until then I quite enjoyed the wry comments by Sean Penn's blissfully weird version of Robert Smith. Paolo Sorrentino is trying too hard to put in too much (David Byrne's cameo is great, but completely irrelevant) in a movie that is saved by its characters. 7/10

Trust (DVD release). What starts off as the poor depiction of yet another threat against the all-American family eventually turns around into a decent drama about the psychological effects of sexual assault and the question of how much of the victim's private sphere can, should and will be opened to public scrutiny. 6/10

Previous months of movies: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December.

Journalismus, oder: Warum Zeitungen in Untertiteln die Beantwortung von Fragen in Aussicht stellen.

2012-01-21T15:04:00.001+01:00

Der aktuelle an Relevanz kaum zu unterbietende Journalismusersatz auf ZEIT Online (und offenbar auch der gedruckten Ausgabe vom Donnerstag) könnte ebenso mit "Warum früher auch im Kapitänswesen alles besser war", "Wie wir kurz vor Redaktionsschluss gemerkt haben, im Reiseressort fehlen noch ein paar Zeilen und bis Hamburg-Rahlstedt ist es doch gar nicht so weit" oder "Weshalb wir unsere Leser nicht ernst nehmen" untertitelt sein. Karin Ceballos Betancur faselt sich in Rage über Ehre, Verantwortung und große große und kleinere große Schiffe und findet dabei in Uwe Bech, "Kapitän vom alten Schlag", und einer mit Pathos schwanger gehenden Sprache willfährige Kollaborateure.

Angefangen mit der Charakterisierung des Kapitäns als trotz einer 48-jährigen Dienstzeit in sein Fach in fundamentalen Punkten betreffenden Rechtsfragen unbewandert, aber immerhin und immerzu (und immer wieder:) ehrenvoll, die im Stern-TV-Beitrag vermutlich mit Klaviermusik unterlegt worden wäre, während eine Off-Stimme erzählt, was wir sehen; über die zahlreichen Fragezeichen im Text, die einen Hinweis darauf geben, dass der Artikel vielleicht auch in Interviewform hätte veröffentlicht werden können müssen sollen (oder ganz ehrlich: besser gar nicht); bis hin zu der Fakten schaffenden Wortwahl, die zeigt, dass die Unschuldsvermutung zumindest nicht im Qualitätsjournalismus gilt - auch wenn sich die Autorin vergeblich mit Wendungen wie "wenn es stimmt" oder "Meldungen, die ihn der Feigheit bezichtigen" aus der Doppelrolle der richtenden Anklägerin herauszuwinden sucht. Zwischendrin, und überall: Die Egalitäten in Szene setzende Adjektive und sprachliche Bilder aus der Alptraumwelt des "Traumschiffs". "Bech sieht noch immer aus wie ein Bilderbuchkapitän, mit kräftigen Brauen über blauen Augen und noch kräftigerem Händedruck. In seiner rauen Stimme klingt der Norddeutsche durch, aufgewachsen ist Bech in Hamburg-Ottensen, wo die Nebelhörner der Schiffe nachts wie streunende Tiere rufen." Das steht da wirklich so, und das schmerzt.

"Als das Gespräch zu Ende ist, wartet der Kapitän a.D. noch einen Moment an der Tür seines Hauses. Mit verschränkten Armen sieht Uwe Bech dem Taxi nach, das in falscher Richtung in das Ende der Sackgasse fährt. Mit verschränkten Armen sieht er dem Taxi entgegen, als es nach einem Wendemanöver erneut sein Haus passiert. Der Kapitän wartet ab, bis das Taxi auf Kurs ist. Dann geht er ins Haus und schließt die Tür." Als der Artikel zu Ende ist, kann ich ein Würgen und die Autorin die Verschriftlichung des Wunsches, fortan historische Liebesromane bei Bastei Lübbe zu veröffentlichen, nicht länger unterdrücken.

Aus der vielleicht schon zu lange vernachlässigten Rubrik "Zwei Minuten Hass". Früherer Beitrag: "Tatort, oder: Warum mein Kopf schon ganz wundgefasst ist.".

Walking the right of way.

2012-01-18T13:07:00.001+01:00

(As always when I don't tell, you may try and guess what movie the still is from. Prize's a cookie.)

We need new stories.

2012-01-09T15:14:00.000+01:00

This broadcast is briefly interrupted by Tumbler content on account of yours truly seeing "Beginners" last week.

The regular schedule will resume shortly.

Best of 2011 - The movies.

2011-12-31T16:10:00.001+01:00

This is the post in which I curtly repeat and emphasize my love for cinema and the movies and appraise this year's film companies' output to be pretty fucking good. And I haven't even yet seen "Drive" (January release in Germany), "The Ides Of March" (just released), "Hugo" (February), "Shame" (March), "The Help" (just released), "The Artist" (January), "Beginners" (missed it)...

That's why this list isn't close to being any kind of complete and subject to change, as are the ratings. It is, however, in order of preference. The rules: eligible for this list are all movies that were released in Germany this year, which in some cases is earlier than in other countries, and in most cases, later. Secondly, only full length feature films (meaning no short movies) are considered. Ratings for movies are always given on IMDb's 1-10 scale, where 1 is an utter and unbelievable abomination, 5 sub-average, 6 slightly above average, 7 good, 8 very good, 9 excellent and 10 a masterpiece.

1. Pina. After seeing this beautifully shot hommage to a great of performance, I finally understand what Pina Bausch meant when she said that dancing is a language. In every scene there's so much to decipher and translate from the moves, and a most beautiful rhythm to follow. Wim Wenders was right to choose 3D technology for this project: instead of drawing all attention to itself, it works to enhance the visual experience, especially in those shots on location in the town of Wuppertal, where Bausch founded her dancing theater group. 10/10

2. Jodaeiye Nader Az Simin (Nader & Simin, A Separation). This movie is speaking on a multitude of layers, resulting in a complex, yet not perplexing piece of cinematic art, so excellently brought from script into film that it's a pleasure to be able to enjoy it. Themes covered include social classes, religion, women's position in society, law and security, but instead of overwhelming the viewer with input, it does so with the depiction of a emotionally loaded situation. Because all of this seems, and probably is, very real, it's reminiscent of a documentary. The people are real, their lives are real, and the situation is for the viewer to resolve - or not, as sometimes there aren't solutions and judgement isn't easily placed. 10/10

3. Tyrannosaur. A sad old man, angry at the world and with himself, constantly lashing out against others, meets a woman who would be right to act as he does, but instead is in an endless spiral of receiving blows, deluding herself and forgiving. We witness two brilliant lead performances (as well as a downright intimidating supporting one) that make every aspect of the characters entirely convincing. Coupled with a setting so bleak that everyone's depression and being fed-up with their miserable lives is easily graspable and an excellent soundtrack, we have a winner on our hands. And win it should, in next year's award races. 9/10

4. Black Swan. "Intense" doesn't start to describe it. This tour de force will throw you into your cinema seat and leave you thoroughly upset and agitated. At the height of tension and trance, it ends and I'm still undecided whether that's brilliant, or whether Darren Aronofsky simply is an evil son of a bitch. Natalie Portman is the sole star here, and her amazing performance will make up for the film's few shortcomings, such as the relative flatness of all support characters - there's their monomania and little else. 9/10

5. Unter Schnee (Under Snow). Quite the experience, this film had a tremendous calming effect on me (and almost everyone else at the theater). The intense sound (amplified, but never artificial) and the beautiful pictures combine into an almost eerie sensation of serenity. A movie that you have to let go for. 9/10

Honourable mentions (no order in these ones): "The Guard" (8/10), "Submarine" (8/10), "Blue Valentine" (8/10), "Winter's Bone" (8/10), "Passione" ("Passion", 8/10), "Wer, Wenn Nicht Wir" ("If Not Us, Who?", 9/10), "Another Year" (9/10), and "Was Du Nicht Siehst" ("What You Don't See", 8/10).

Biggest letdowns (movies I went into expecting much and went out severely disappointed): "Loong Boonmee Raleuk Chat" ("Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recount His Past Lives", 4/10) and "Les Amour Imaginaires" ("Heartbeats", 4/10).

Best of 2011 - The music.

2011-12-30T14:07:00.002+01:00

The songs (in no particular order, and ignoring last year's restriction to five tracks)...

Austra - Beat And The Pulse (official video)
*Technically, the single was released in 2010 already, but the album came out this year.

Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat - The Copper Top (official video)

The Antlers - No Widows (live video)

When Saints Go Machine - Kelly (absolutely positively awesome live video, official video version here)

Peter & Kerry - Knees (official video)

Trust - Candy Walls (official video)

J Mascis - Listen To Me (no video)

Very notable mentions:
Alex Ebert feat. RZA - Truth (everyone loves the Ebert song, but the version with RZA is even better).
The Antlers - Putting The Dog To Sleep.
Zola Jesus - Vessel.
Fotoshop - Too little, too late.
John Maus - Believer.
Austra - Darken Her Horse.

...and the shows:

06.04. Belle & Sebastian - Columbiahalle (Berlin).

- and that is that. Unlike last year, there simply weren't enough concerts amazing enough to list here. This is partly due to the fact that I didn't see as many shows in the past months, but there were also enough that should have made this list, but didn't quite live up to my expectations: Austra and Lykke Li come to mind immediately. Some were fine, but not exceptional: We're talking Zola Jesus, iLiKETRAiNS & When Saints Go Machine here. On the other hand, the single concert that stood out this year, Belle & Sebastian's, also stands out as one of best I have attended my entire life. There's nothing quite like one of your most favourite bands ending their show with the very first song of theirs you loved ("Judy & The Dream Of Horses", if you care to know).

A month of movies: December.

2011-12-29T13:35:00.001+01:00

~~People will hate me for this comparison~~ No one reads this anyway, but if you enjoyed "(500) Days Of Summer", treat yourself to this year's perky rom-com "Submarine" (trailer). If you didn't, you should still give the film a chance, especially considering this month's alternatives: Lars von Trier continuing to lose his touch with "Melancholia" (trailer) and Andreas Dresen delivering the well-meant and well-done "Halt Auf Freier Strecke" (German trailer), but with Dresen, "well" is less than it could have been.

The short -
Go and see: /
Well worth watching: Submarine.
Also deserving a chance: Halt Auf Freier Strecke (Stopped On Track).
Average: Melancholia.
If you're into Germans, or alcoholism, or German alcoholics: Portraits Deutscher Alkoholiker.
Forget about: Hanna (DVD).

The long -
The rules: Only movies seen at cinemas during the month referred to in the post title and recent DVD releases (which will be noted as such) are eligible. This excludes films seen on video or television. Also excluded are movies from festivals, which may or may not get treated in separate posts. Premieres and previews, however, are fine. The reviews are listed in alphabetical order. Finally, ratings are given on IMDB's 1-10 scale. These rules, likely to be broken at the discretion of yours truly, solely exist because no rules are fun, and we cannot have that here, now can we?

Halt Auf Freier Strecke (Stopped On Track). Dresen's latest drama about a family man diagnosed with terminal brain cancer oscillates between excellence and falling just short of good. Most of the fault found lies with some of the acting - and interestingly, not with that of the amateurs that fill the movie around the core group of professionals with realism (especially the home doctor is a great addition), which has always been the director's strength. More problematic are the performances of some members of the family, particularly the two kids. Nevertheless, what we see is touching exactly because it is so believable: The family and the involved relationships are a kind of normal rarely seen on the big screen. 7/10

Hanna (DVD release). German hitmen wear tracksuits. With the one-sided and stereotypical characters, this feels like a comic book-adaption, which it isn't. It's not entirely clear what it is, or tries to be though, because for some reason the writer forgot to include a plot that makes any kind of sense. Or scenes that do, for that matter. On the positive side, the acting is more than solid (when everyone keeps saying that Saoirse Ronan is going places, everyone is right) and the wonder the long-sheltered girl experiences with every step into the real work is well-translated into what we see. 4/10

Melancholia. So-so. Is Lars von Trier testing us, or why does he so heavily rely on actors that so obviously cannot do what they're supposed to? Throughout the movie I expected Kiefer Sutherland, shouting "Unbelievable!", to draw his gun and evacuate everyone from the estate while a split-screen would pop up to show that Udo Kier has just turned into a vampire. Let's not talk about Kirsten Dunst, who for some reason everyone considers a great actor for this movie. I do not. On the other hand, we have the imagery: The "planet" (this isn't one, but astronomical details should be no matter for von Trier) drawing ever closer, the sisters, as the celestial bodies, circling around one another and the grand mansion, in which the people lose each other and finally themselves. With better actors and improvements in dialogue, and with a different angle (and I mean this as literally as the movie handles the majority of its symbols: a different camera angle) on the ending scene, this could have been so much more. 6/10

Portraits Deutscher Alkoholiker. A documentary in which alcoholics from the middle of society tell the story of their addiction and how they see it. For most of them, it's nothing short of a constant effort to delude others and sometimes themselves. The film handles the issue of anonymity by separating audio from video, and instead of the people themselves showing images of what I take to be their everyday surroundings, or representations of them. This works fine at first, but further on feels increasingly redundant - the confessions might have transported better in a different medium, like an audio book. 5/10

Submarine. Another perky picture, and, not surprisingly, another one I liked. It is very aware that it's trying to be clever and on occasion makes fun of the fact. The film also pays homage to the Nouvelle Vague, features characters acting awkward and a lot of wit. If you didn't already know, that's three additional kinds of win in the eyes of yours truly. 8/10

Previous months of movies: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November.

A month of movies: November.

2011-11-30T19:38:00.003+01:00

This is the month where being angry at Duncan Jones (who debuted with the excellent "Moon" just two years ago) for his sorry excuse of a science-fiction movie "Source Code" (trailer, if you must) is by far outweighed by the appearance of another exciting new director: Paddy Considine. His "Tyrannosaur" (trailer) is among the best films I have seen this year. That, however, is not even my personal favourite of the month, as I finally had the chance to see the Greek production "Kynodontas" (trailer), runner-up in last year's Best Foreign Oscar race. It's unsettling, to say the very least, in every single minute of its span. I urge you to not miss out. Further recommendations: "The Guard" (trailer), an Irish comedy by the brother of the head behind (and featuring the same lead as) everyone's darling "In Bruges"; and "Putty Hill" (trailer), an intelligent and low-key pseudo-documentary. It's been a good four and a half weeks, kids.

The short -
Go and see: Kynodontas (Dogtooth) (DVD), Tyrannosaur.
Well worth watching: The Guard.
Also deserving a chance: Le Nom De Gens (The Names Of Love) (DVD), Putty Hill, Hævnen (In A Better World) (DVD).
Average: Hors-La-Loi (Outside The Law) (DVD).
If you're into CGI disguised as sci-fi: Source Code (DVD).
Forget about: Red (DVD).

The long -
The rules: Only movies seen at cinemas during the month referred to in the post title and recent DVD releases (which will be noted as such) are eligible. This excludes films seen on video or television. Also excluded are movies from festivals, which may or may not get treated in separate posts. Premieres and previews, however, are fine. The reviews are listed in alphabetical order. Finally, ratings are given on IMDB's 1-10 scale. These rules, likely to be broken at the discretion of yours truly, solely exist because no rules are fun, and we cannot have that here, now can we?

Hævnen (In A Better World) (DVD release). The film tackles the question of the appropriate reaction to violence: withdrawn acceptance or retribution ("Hævnen", the film's original title, aptly translates into "Revenge"). The answer it seems to present is that violence will be met in kind, creating a spiral increasing in intensity - which is what you'd expect. The conclusion to that, however, is the somewhat unsettling suggestion that it will culminate in one explosion of force that will act as a moment of cleansing, creating "a better world" and absolving everyone of their misdeeds. I'm not quite sure yet what to make of that. On a technical note, the positive impression left by the crisp photography and the strong visuals in general is balanced out by the contrived characters (made hard to fit the theme) and the awfully cliché use of ethno music in the scenes set in Sudan. 7/10

Hors-La-Loi (Outside The Law) (DVD release). This film tells the very interesting story of the FLN's fight within France, but unfortunately does so with too much pathos and in a manner as straight-forward as possible. It makes for a good account of history, but not necessarily for a good movie, as no surprises and the lack of tension result in a lack of drama. 6/10

Kynodontas (Dogtooth) (DVD release). A radical (to get away from the "shocking" and "provocative" used in many reviews) account of the power attained through conditioning, e.g. education (made more pervasive by the inclusion of language as a source of power). Especially noteworthy are the brilliant performances by actors playing the three captives: When the few small parts of self retained, or especially in the case of "Bruce", produced by the three captives occasionally flash through, their characters attain some sense of humanity for the first time and the movie in turn another quality of haunting. The visual style is very reminiscent of Haneke's, which is yet another reason to check it out. 10/10

Le Nom De Gens (The Names Of Love) (DVD release). The beginning, a quirky yet beautiful introduction of the main characters' backgrounds, sets the tone for this romantic comedy that playfully questions everyone's background. It's not deep, but it's right. 7/10

Putty Hill. The movie's theme is the absence of close relations between people, as witnessed in the reactions to the death of a young member of the community, and the fact that everyone had only little to say about him. People aren't necessarily indifferent or numb, but perhaps ground down by experience to a point of acceptance of whatever is going on around, or going past them, as long as it doesn't hit them head-on. I appreciated how the characters, coming from a lower-class background, were portrayed very sympathetically and with respect. The idea behind this film is definitely interesting beyond the fact that it's yet another mockumentary. 7/10

Red (DVD release). Stupid. 3/10

Source Code (DVD release). Groundhog day (getting the girl equals saving the world) meets J.J. Abrams (many mysteries left unexplained and simple developments not making any sense). There is so much wrong with this movie (the horrible, horrible, horrible supporting performances by Jeffrey Wright and Michael Arden do deserve extra mention) that the awful ending should not come as complete surprise. It's a classic case of "please, don't do that - that would be so cheap, just don't... aww, he's gone and done it". Way to disappoint after a brilliant first film, Duncan Jones. But hey, there's crisp CGI and some explosions. 5/10

The Guard. Finally a comedy movie that doesn't rely on flat laughs, but instead on jokes aimed at film clichés. Great dialogues, especially by the drug runners philosophizing about the dirty nature of their business and derived from that, the scum they have to do business with. A brilliantly laconic Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle, stoutly accepting his supporting role both within the movie and as an actor, move the film forward. 8/10

Tyrannosaur. A sad old man, angry at the world and with himself, constantly lashing out against others, meets a woman who would be right to act as he does, but instead is in an endless spiral of receiving blows, deluding herself and forgiving. We witness two brilliant lead performances (as well as a downright intimidating supporting one) that make every aspect of the characters entirely convincing. Coupled with a setting so bleak that everyone's depression and being fed-up with their miserable lives is easily graspable and an excellent soundtrack, we have a winner on our hands. And win it should, in next year's award races. 9/10

Previous months of movies: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October.

War is hell, Mr. Thornhill, even if it's a cold one.

2011-11-07T12:11:00.001+01:00

"Honest women frighten me." - "Why?" - "Somehow they seem to put me at a disadvantage." - "Because you're not honest with them?" - "Exactly." (Roger O. Thornhill & Eve Kendall)

"Men like you..." - "What's wrong with men like me?" - "They don't believe in marriage." - "Oh, I've been married twice." (Eve Kendall & Roger O. Thornhill)

"I've got a job, a secretary, a mother, two ex-wives and several bartenders dependent upon me... and I don't intend to disappoint them by getting killed." (Roger O. Thornhill)

"I'm a big girl." - "Yeah, and in all the right places too." (Eve Kendall & Roger O. Thornhill)

"I've never trusted neatness. Neatness is always the result of deliberate planning." (Leonard)

(Screenshot und Zitate aus North By Northwest.)

A month of movies: October.

2011-10-30T16:01:00.000+01:00

Due to work and more work and lack of sleep and everything else I haven't really been able to go to the movies the past month, or to update this blog for that matter. The way things look this won't change in the next four weeks either, but fret not: Sometimes around the end of the year, things should get livelier again. Until then, watch "Blue Valentine" (trailer) if you haven't already and have a fine Sunday evening!

The short -
Go and see: /
Well worth watching: Blue Valentine.
Also deserving a chance: /
Average: Nowhere Boy (DVD).
If you're into Scandinavian films: En Familie (A Family) (DVD).
Forget about: TRON: Legacy (DVD).

The long -
The rules: Only movies seen at cinemas during the month referred to in the post title and recent DVD releases (which will be noted as such) are eligible. This excludes films seen on video or television. Also excluded are movies from festivals, which may or may not get treated in separate posts. Premieres and previews, however, are fine. The reviews are listed in alphabetical order. Finally, ratings are given on IMDB's 1-10 scale. These rules, likely to be broken at the discretion of yours truly, solely exist because no rules are fun, and we cannot have that here, now can we?

Blue Valentine. This film's main strengths clearly are its sense of reality and the fantastic acting by the two leads Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling. It's amazingly well written, featuring dialogue so believable it appears to be taken from a documentary. And a documentary it is, in a way, showing the inch-by-inch decline of the love between two common people. 8/10

En Familie (A Family) (DVD release). There is a very simple reason why this movie doesn't compare well to other recent family films such as "The Kids Are Alright" or "Blue Valentine", discussed above: people don't take like that. A lot of the dialogue, especially between the two leads (whose acting generally is quite good), is contrived to the point of making it very obvious that this is fiction - which doesn't work very well for a drama aiming at realism. Additionally, the soundtrack is horrible. 5/10

Nowhere Boy (DVD release). Regular biopics that don't attempt to break out of their tight mold are somewhat boring. This is no different, telling the story of young John Lennon up until his first glimpse of fame. Sepia colouring, a strict continuity and adherence to the historic matter - it's what you'd expect and simply not enough. 6/10

TRON: Legacy (DVD release). What a load of stupid. This sequel takes everything that made the first Tron so special, especially the sound and graphic design, and then shits all over it. What was once revolutionary, the look and style of the digital age brought into film, is now a fest of easily exchangeable CGI drivel. Additionally, the film misses no chance to break its own internal logic, dispelling any chance of creating some suspension of disbelief in the viewers. 3/10

Previous months of movies: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September.

Fire, walk with me.

2011-10-11T10:44:00.000+02:00

(Alle Screenshots aus Twin Peaks.)

Laura Palmer's dead.

2011-10-08T13:18:00.001+02:00

(Alle Screenshots aus Twin Peaks, Musik von "You Say Party~~! We Say Die!~~".)

A month of movies: September.

2011-10-04T22:14:00.000+02:00

Please remind me not to get excited about the cinema culture of a whole country because a single movie has made a deep and long-lasting impact. This month saw the fifth installment of the Argentinische Filmtage (Festival of Argentine Film) in Leipzig, and the three movies (as well as a block of short films not discussed here) that I got around to see left me largely unimpressed. It is well, especially considering this month's share of awful DVD viewings, that this was balanced by two remarkable productions: "Unter Schnee" (trailer) by Ulrike Ottinger and the Russian "Kak Ya Provel Etim Letom" (trailer). Both have seen (and should continue to see) some screenings at festivals around the globe.

The short -
Go and see: Unter Schnee (Under Snow).
Well worth watching: Kak Ya Provel Etim Letom (How I Ended This Summer) & Toy Story 3 (DVD).
Also deserving a chance: Gainsbourg (Vie Héroïque) (Gainsbourg) (DVD) & Kick-Ass (DVD).
Average: Revolución: El Cruce De Los Andes & Im Winter Ein Jahr (Aftermath) (DVD).
If you really care about Argentine cinema: Adopción (Adoption) & La Vieja De Atrás.
Forget about: Giulia Non Esce La Sera (Giulia Doesn't Date At Night), The Expendables (DVD) & Resident Evil: Afterlife (DVD).

The long -
The rules: Only movies seen at cinemas during the month referred to in the post title and recent DVD releases (which will be noted as such) are eligible. This excludes films seen on video or television. Also excluded are movies from festivals, which may or may not get treated in separate posts. Premieres and previews, however, are fine. The reviews are listed in alphabetical order. Finally, ratings are given on IMDB's 1-10 scale. These rules, likely to be broken at the discretion of yours truly, solely exist because no rules are fun, and we cannot have that here, now can we?

Adopción (Adoption). A make-believe documentary based on a true story, which probably is another way of saying that it includes re-enacted scenes (which I abhor in documentaries). This isn't doing the film its whole justice, but it's what stayed with me more than its (admittedly interesting) topics and its artistic choices (which you may argue for, but which left me largely cold). 5/10

Gainsbourg (Vie Héroïque) (Gainsbourg) (DVD release). Better than I anticipated (and not deserving the derision it got from some critics), but worse than it could have been. Of all the ideas that went into it to set it off against other musical bio-pics, I appreciated the depiction of the flamboyant 'La Gueule' alter ego the most. It is no surprise then, that the movie suffers a decline in its last third, becoming increasingly episodic, and when his second self takes a back seat to the character of Ellen Birkin (charmingly played by the died-too-young Lucy Gordon) and alcoholism (overdone by Eric Elmosnino, who otherwise does a good job). Watch out for the cameo by Claude Chabrol. 7/10

Giulia Non Esce La Sera (Giulia Doesn't Date At Night). Boring. 4/10

Im Winter Ein Jahr (Aftermath) (DVD release). This starts off well, mostly due to the strong opposition between the characters of Josef Bierbichler (as good as always) and Karoline Herfurth (initially for once playing a different type of person than she usually does). That is only slightly marred by the recurrence of the overused (in German cinema, anyway) element of the flashback. When memories are filtered through persons, like they are here, a re-imagination is not needed. Unfortunately, that is not the real problem of this film, which breaks apart due to unbelievable character development towards the middle - the female lead returning to her standard role, Bierbichler's character following en suite. 6/10

Kak Ya Provel Etim Letom (How I Ended This Summer). I'll admit I dig the aesthetics of snow and bare rock more than the average person, and let it influence my opinion of movies more than I probably should. This film, however, has a lot more than just that going for it: an intriguing study of two characters in an original setting, a fair amount of existentialism, radioactivity and radio activity. (Sorry for that one.) 8/10

Kick-Ass (DVD release). Entertaining, yes, but not nearly as much as everyone would like you to believe. This could have used more humour. In my opinion, it should have stayed as lighthearted as the beginning was during its entire run, because the increasingly dark tone that plays out later is nothing more than a recurrence to classic superhero movies - which we all need a break from. 7/10

La Vieja De Atrás. The story of a country boy not fitting into the city told again, in an angle slightly more boring than usual. The story of a woman alone in the impersonal city told again, in an angle slightly more boring than usual. Combined, this adds up to a movie a lot more boring than usual - with the odd moment of awkward fun thrown in. 5/10

Resident Evil: Afterlife (DVD release). In keeping in spirit of the movie, let me tell you in slow-motion: W-h-a-t-a-c-r-o-c-k-o-f-s-h-i-t. 2/10

Revolución: El Cruce De Los Andes. A movie so shockingly anachronistic that it goes all the way around to somehow work again. Honestly, a large part of it would have fit well in a 50's John Wayne piece, and perhaps it is only the cheek to present something that male again today that makes this tale of the historic crossing of the Andes during the Spanish American wars of independence worth seeing after all. 6/10

The Expendables (DVD release). Horrible. If it was trying to aim to re-enact those 70's and 80's blood, muscle and gore movies, it failed because other than the actors, everything about it was modern. If it was trying to parody them it failed because it's lacking any kind of self-irony. There really is no point to this movie, and no excuse for its existence. 3/10

Toy Story 3 (DVD release). A fine addition (that feels like a conclusion) to an excellent movie series. It is also a departure: it's more dramatic than its predecessors, and features less fun of the absurd variety (with the hilarious exception of a Buzz Lightyear in Spanish mode) that practically littered the first installment, but with Toy Story, a little different works as well as sticking to the same formula. 8/10

Unter Schnee (Under Snow). Quite the experience, this film had a tremendous calming effect on me (and almost everyone else at the theater). The intense sound (amplified, but never artificial) and the beautiful pictures combine into an almost eerie sensation of serenity. A movie that you have to let go for. 9/10

Previous months of movies: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August.

Along the Danube, stop #3: Belgrade.

2011-09-23T12:22:00.000+02:00

Short Cut #6: "An Occurence At Owl Creek Bridge".

2011-09-19T16:26:00.001+02:00

Weil es mal wieder Zeit für Kurzfilme ist: Der Klassiker "An Occurence At Owl Creek Bridge" (sic!, "La Rivière Du Hibou", 24:58 Minuten) von Robert Enrico, in der Version als Folge von "Twilight Zone", inklusive einführendem Blah-Blah von Rod Serling und spanischen Untertiteln, da bei den gängigen Videoportalen das (bessere, weil unveränderte) Original nicht auffindbar ist.

Frühere Short Cuts: #1 ("Where Is My Romeo"), #2 ("Bathtub IV"), #3 ("La Vie D'Un Chien"), #4 ("Lucía, Luis Y El Lobo"), #5 ("More").

Maria The Poet (1913).

2011-09-09T17:24:00.002+02:00

Europe After The Rain.

2011-09-08T19:36:00.000+02:00

La Haine.

2011-09-01T16:47:00.000+02:00

A month of movies: August.

2011-08-31T16:24:00.001+02:00

It's been one of those months that more than make up for previous ones. With trust in the film industry restored, I welcome a brilliant Iranian production into the club of 10/10s: "Nader & Simin, A Separation" (trailer). "Confessions" (trailer) being an equally demanding movie (yet in a very different way), this month's excellent performance is completed by recent DVD releases "Carlos" and "Never Let Me Go" (which I both liked more than most), as well as "Entre Les Murs", which I've been meaning to see for quite a while now. With all these, it's easy to dismiss Joaquin Phoenix' could-almost-have-passed-off-as-a-Jackass-episode "I'm Still Here" (trailer).

The short -
Go and see: Jodaeiye Nader Az Simin & Entre Les Murs (DVD).
Well worth watching: Kokuhaku, Carlos (DVD) & Never Let Me Go (DVD).
Also deserving a chance: Waste Land.
Average: Die Vaterlosen.
Forget about: I'm Still Here & Goethe! (DVD).

The long -
The rules: Only movies seen at cinemas during the month referred to in the post title and recent DVD releases (which will be noted as such) are eligible. This excludes films seen on video or television. Also excluded are movies from festivals, which may or may not get treated in separate posts. Premieres and previews, however, are fine. The reviews are listed in alphabetical order. Finally, ratings are given on IMDB's 1-10 scale. These rules, likely to be broken at the discretion of yours truly, solely exist because no rules are fun, and we cannot have that here, now can we?

Carlos (Carlos The Jackal) (DVD release). I saw the cinematic version that spans a little less than three hours. The full mini-series runs 330 minutes. To that I can attribute the one major complaint I have with the film: At times, the plot forwards too jumpily, skipping whole years in which the political framework in which Carlos acted changed completely, turning the following scenes a game of catch-up. Besides that, we are presented an excellent (fictionalized) character and history study, that succeeds at deconstructing the myth around one of the most prolific names in terror. 8/10

Die Vaterlosen (The Fatherless). Well-told flashbacks in colours reminiscent of old photographs and overusing an ever-present blur explain why family members coming together to mourn their former head didn't have much to do with each other for years. Perhaps this could have worked out were any of the characters shown likeable for longer than a few minutes at a time, but this way, one only wants them to go back to what have become their lives without family. Everyone's better off that way. 6/10

Entre Les Murs (The Class) (DVD release). A very strong movie about the realities of teaching and learning in a French school. "Realities" seems the right choice of words here, because if it wasn't for the way the shots were set up, this could pass as a documentary. It continues to surprise by not following well-tread paths, creating what could be interpreted as a new genre of "docu-drama" - very different from the banal account of "real life" that is served under the same name on television. 9/10

Goethe! (Young Goethe In Love) (DVD release). Will somebody save me from German historic productions? 4/10

I'm Still Here. It's not funny, which turns the joke on Joaquin Phoenix himself. The only semi-amusing bits are the reactions of others who fail to see through the charade. Why they don't is beyond me: His acting can easily be described as "over the top", which is all the more obvious as his co-conspirators manage to be both subtle and believable. Perhaps more of that could have saved this admittedly ambitious enterprise. 4/10

Jodaeiye Nader Az Simin (Nader & Simin, A Separation). This movie is speaking on a multitude of layers, resulting in a complex, yet not perplexing piece of cinematic art, so excellently brought from script into film that it's a pleasure to be able to enjoy it. Themes covered include social classes, religion, women's position in society, law and security, but instead of overwhelming the viewer with input, it does so with the depiction of a emotionally loaded situation. Because all of this seems, and probably is, very real, it's reminiscent of a documentary. The people are real, their lives are real, and the situation is for the viewer to resolve - or not, as sometimes there aren't solutions and judgement isn't easily placed. One of the best movies of the year so far. 10/10

Kokuhaku (Confessions). Disturbing and stylish. School violence has been dealt with before extensively, but here the tables are turned when the teacher hits back in a vicious match of psychological warfare. The brilliant soundtrack carries the sinister mood, the sharply contrasting colours and the sound effects continue to assault the viewer's fading sense of safety in a cinema seat. Make no mistake: There is none, the plot turning and twisting sharply guarantees that, leaving the viewer shell-shocked and bruised. Expect a mediocre Hollywood remake soon. 8/10

Never Let Me Go (DVD release). Very beautifully shot. First off: I haven't read the novel yet, which is likely to have an influence on my opinion of this (what I believe to be a) very good movie. It feels as if the director is skipping over quite a few details, leaving the viewer to fill the inbetweens, and given the inspired performances especially by Carey Mulligan and Andrew Garfield, this works out remarkably well. I enjoyed being handed non-sequiturs instead of endless exposition for once. On the other hand, there are some aspects that don't seem to connect (well and at all) this way, and Keira Knightley's character as well as acting certainly isn't helping in that regard. 8/10

Waste Land. This is one of the two documentaries dealing with modern art I have recently seen, "Exit Through The Gift Shop" being the other. Even though both are depicting outsiders (or used-to-be-outsiders) to the art world, they're very different from each other, both in style and content. During most of its run, "Waste Land" is a lot more about the people and their lives than their art or the art they're contributing to. It is also very positive - perhaps too much, missing some grit. 7/10

Previous months of movies: January, February, March, April, May, June, July.

Along the Danube: Traveling companions.

2011-08-27T13:20:00.000+02:00

Ein Widerspruch.

2011-08-22T18:17:00.000+02:00

"Nicht der Ruhe wegen suchte der Einsiedler die Einsamkeit, denn wie das zufällig auf Brachland gefallene einzelne Weizenkorn sechzig Ähren bilden konnte, während das Korn auf dem Acker nur zwei hervorbrachte, weil es von Millionen anderen auf dem Boden eingeengt wurde, so konnte das Individuum, das nach einer reicheren Entwicklung als die übrigen strebte, nur in der Einöde wachsen."

(August Strindberg, in: "Am offenen Meer", S. 171)

"Man selber zu sein bedeutet, nicht jemand anderes zu sein. Und das ist alles! Aber nicht jemand anderes sein kann man nur inmitten von anderen."

(Andrzej Szczypiorski, in: "Eine Messe für die Stadt Arras", S. 139)

Along the Danube, stop #2: Novi Sad, untitleds.

2011-08-20T23:25:00.000+02:00

Along the Danube, stop #2: Novi Sad, well-balanced.

2011-08-14T23:27:00.000+02:00

Along the Danube, stop #2: Novi Sad, off-balance.

2011-08-07T10:54:00.000+02:00

A month of movies: July.

2011-08-02T23:13:00.001+02:00

It's been one of those months where if it wasn't for that one movie, I could lose faith in one of my favourite pastimes. We have major disappointments (especially everyone's darling "Four Lions" and Xavier Dolan's second feature "Les Amour Imaginaires", in which he convincingly defends himself from any allegations of being brilliant that might have come up after his excellent debut "J'ai Tué Ma Mère") and movies we didn't expect much from and which delivered just that ("Das Blaue Vom Himmel" being an excellent example). And then there's "Was Du Nicht Siehst", initially raising fears that we might have to endure yet another German social drama but quickly coming around and enchanting with great visuals and a haunting mood alike. If you have a chance to see it at a local cinema (people in Germany) or maybe during a festival (in other countries), give it a go.

The short -
Go and see: /
Well worth watching: Was Du Nicht Siehst (What You Don't See).
Also deserving a chance: Stalags, Micmacs À Tire-Larigot (Micmacs) (DVD) & Io Sono L'Amore (I Am Love) (DVD).
Average: Life In A Day, I Love You Phillip Morris (DVD), Four Lions & Das Blaue Vom Himmel.
Not Yet Over Hollywood?: Ocean's Thirteen (DVD), Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (DVD).
Not Yet Over Yugoslavia?: Žena Sa Slomljenim Nosem (The Woman With A Broken Nose).
Forget about: Les Amour Imaginaires (Heartbeats).

The long -
The rules: Only movies seen at cinemas during the month referred to in the post title and recent DVD releases (which will be noted as such) are eligible. This excludes films seen on video or television. Also excluded are movies from festivals, which may or may not get treated in separate posts. Premieres and previews, however, are fine. The reviews are listed in alphabetical order. Finally, ratings are given on IMDB's 1-10 scale. These rules, likely to be broken at the discretion of yours truly, solely exist because no rules are fun, and we cannot have that here, now can we?

Das Blaue Vom Himmel. Most noticeable here is the overacting by pretty much everyone involved in the project, most of all Hannelore Elsner. Besides that, we have on our hands an overall good story developed at a reasonably slow pace and well-bracketed by historic events - without confusing the viewer with too many cuts between the two time planes. 6/10

Four Lions. Fails to live up to the hype. Everyone is stupid here, and when that is the case, comic relief ceases to exist. Humour doesn't come in the way of characters or dialogue, but cheap laughs, only occasionally managing to get in a provoking stab at violent Islamists or the London Police. 6/10

I Love You Phillip Morris (DVD release). Funny, especially considering some of the con-man exploits depicted actually happened, but that's one part of it only. In its other half, the movie doesn't work as a drama at all, as the level of abstraction, coming in form of real-life caricature, is too high to make one care about the characters. Adding to that is Jim Carrey's acting, which once again relies too much on drawing exaggerated faces. 6/10

Io Sono L'Amore (I Am Love) (DVD release). The orgasmic food scene is rather funny than anything else, and it's not the only one that can be said about. But then, on the other hand, we witness moments like the one where the cook undresses the lady - which is unbelievably sensual and intense. The movie plays out as an epic family drama, going the direction Visconti took, but set against a modern background and, while following his footsteps, neither walking new ground nor reaching his brilliance. 7/10

Les Amour Imaginaires (Heartbeats). Tumbler: The Movie. Self-indulgent to the point of being annoying. I might as well have visited Tumbler while drinking a red wine and listening to string music. When I was at the cinema, I experienced the added bonus of having hipsters attend the screening and laugh every other moment to let me and everyone else know which were the ironic bits. 4/10

Life In A Day. Largely unimportant. Perhaps for a project like this the filmmakers should have left their classic Hollywood craft behind and not have thought of the material in terms of dramatic arcs. This way, it doesn't impress as much as similar-themed films such as "Home" or "Baraka". 6/10

Micmacs À Tire-Larigot (Micmacs) (DVD release). Incredibly dark in humour and visually stunning, "MicMacs" is another gem in Jeunet's already impressive portfolio. Unfortunately, at times the pace is too fast for a story so intricately told and it becomes increasingly hard to follow all details, causing the film to lose some coherence. 7/10

Ocean's Thirteen (DVD release). More of the same and although there are less of the glaring plot holes of the second, this isn't all that cool anymore. With a bit of luck (and George Clooney is giving us hope), we won't be seeing more of this self-serving star vehicle. 5/10

Stalags. A well-crafted documentary about the Nazi-exploitation genre of pornography, its roots and their lasting impact on Israeli society. It was interesting to learn that in some aspects, the Shoah has been and is as much of a taboo in Israel as in Germany. 7/10

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (DVD release). A very strong cinematography where the aisles of the NYSE mirror the streets of New York both in look and feel. This is where the excellent stops. The soundtrack is great, if somewhat unsuited. This is where the good stops. In acting, plot and plausibility, the movie falls far short. It's been quite a while since Oliver Stone has made a good movie, and if he continues on the path of continuously preaching his political agenda, we're likely to not see one again. 5/10

Was Du Nicht Siehst (What You Don't See). Great cinematography (by Martin Gschlacht, who's becoming quite a name - he also worked on the excellent "Women Without Men" and "Revanche") for the brilliant scenery of the Bretagne. And the rest of the movie isn't taking a backseat to that, at times feeling quite Lynch-ean in mood and style. Perhaps only the ending should have been more subtle, more ambiguous as I felt it closed the movie off a little too nicely - taking away some of the uncertainty and doubt that was seeping through every moment before. 8/10

Žena Sa Slomljenim Nosem (The Woman With A Broken Nose). Four people from Belgrade are somewhere on the road - or to stay within the imagery of the movie, the bridge - between the past and a possible future. What their past consists of, we learn in the film's run, what their future could look like, we have an idea of toward its end. All this could theoretically turn out to be a pretty solid the-road-and-the-city-movie, but fails to captivate for the longest time. It's got a lot of the elements (oddity, melancholy, slapstick, music) that made other Yugoslavian movies so enjoyable, but in here, they simply don't add up. 5/10

Previous months of movies: January, February, March, April, May, June.

It's all a blur to me.

2011-07-31T20:16:00.002+02:00

Along the Danube, stop #1: Budapest.

2011-07-20T23:51:00.000+02:00

Liebe Lesben und Schwule und so weiter.*

2011-07-10T14:44:00.000+02:00

*Eine Rednerin auf dem Christopher-Street-Day Leipzig mit Schwierigkeiten beim Durchdeklinieren der Zielgruppe.

Buchbesprechung: Jovan Nikolić "Seelenfänger".

2011-07-08T16:01:00.000+02:00

Nach metafiktionalen Bücherträumen (Goran Petrovićs "Die Villa am Rande der Zeit" und Zoran Zivkovićs "Der unmögliche Roman") und niedlich-naiver Weltbetrachtung (Dragan Aleksićs "Vorvorgestern" und "Im Ministerium für Mamas Angelegenheiten" von Bora Ćosić) mal was Neues: Unverhohlen vorgetragene Misanthropie und lähmende Angst. In vier Abschnitten zeichnet Jovan Nikolić ein Bild von der menschlichen Existenz voll Krankheit, Schmerz - der sich hier dankenswerterweise auch einmal physisch manifestieren darf - und Unsicherheit, das nicht unbedingt Freude auf den nächsten Tag macht. Dafür aber umso mehr auf die nächste Seite. Vor allem im ersten Abschnitt "Hypochondrie" (auch die anderen sind nach Geisteskrankheiten benannt: "Apathie", "Somnambulie" und "Familie") überschlägt sich Nikolić beinahe mit Beschreibungen von innerlich faulen Körpern, fieberndem Wahn und überempfindlichen Organen am Rande des Versagens.

Dass diese Betrachtung des Verfalls und der Qual vor allem eine Selbstbetrachtung ist, daran lässt Nikolić keinen Zweifel. Dafür aber - dank leicht erhobener Braue über dem manisch zwinkernden Auge - daran, dass das alles so ernst gemeint ist, wie es klingt. "Hoffnungslos, aber nicht ernst. Eine Lektion in Galgenhumor", so dann auch der Einband, den das vielleicht abgründigste Titelbild dieses Jahres schmückt. Und selbst wenn es doch um den Körper so schlimm steht, wie in den Zeilen beschrieben, kommt der Autor nicht umhin, dem noch etwas Gutes abzugewinnen: Lieber Hypochondrie anstatt echter geistiger Leere, lieber ein alle Sinne schärfendes Fieber, lieber ein von der Fäule ergriffener Körper als ein gesättigter, der auch den Geist zufrieden und träge macht. Ekel als Herausforderung.

weiter...

A month of movies: June.

2011-07-04T17:00:00.000+02:00

It's been a slow movies month for me, if only because of the fact that for a large part of it I was extremely busy and for another one and a half weeks on vacation. I did finally catch up on everybody else though and saw two recent DVD releases that have made it into the IMDB Top 250 - and while I enjoyed both (if for entirely different reasons and to a different degree), I cannot quite agree with their rank. But go ahead and read it all:

The short -
Go and see: /
Well worth watching: How To Train Your Dragon (DVD).
Also deserving a chance: The Social Network (DVD), 9 Leben & Joschka Und Herr Fischer.

The long -
The rules: Only movies seen at cinemas during the month referred to in the post title and recent DVD releases (which will be noted as such) are eligible. This excludes films seen on video or television. Also excluded are movies from festivals, which may or may not get treated in separate posts. Premieres and previews, however, are fine. The reviews are listed in alphabetical order. Finally, ratings are given on IMDB's 1-10 scale. These rules, likely to be broken at the discretion of yours truly, solely exist because no rules are fun, and we cannot have that here, now can we?

9 Leben. The struggles of youths who left home to live on the street. These are gripping stories, often shocking, sometimes funny, about their decision that the street is better than their home. Having a simple blank background, putting more emphasis on the people speaking about their lives was an excellent choice on the director's behalf. Having the band of two of them play lengthy interludes was not, however. 7/10

How To Train Your Dragon (DVD release). In depth, it's no "Wall-E"; and in art design, no "The Secret of Kells", but it's fun and energetic and features rather amazing animations. That and the humour make it one of the more entertaining animated movies of recent years. 8/10

Joschka Und Herr Fischer. Joschka Fischer lectures everyone about the German political history of the last sixty years. There are few new insights here, and they only come in the second half of the documentary, which deals with his and the Green Party's rise to and time wielding power, but those are what make this one worth seeing. The elaborate run down of history can only be interesting to those completely new to it. The only thing I actively disliked though is that parts of it look like a vehicle to let Fischer present himself like a dignified elder statesman. 7/10

The Social Network (DVD release). Flashy and loud, which is not necessarily how I like my movies (exceptions notwithstanding), but then again very much suited to the matter at hand. It was fascinating to see how an arguably dry subject could be transformed this much. What I have problems with is the overly artificial construction of dialogue - no one speaks like that - and the blatant sexism - most women in this movie are portrayed as dumb or ignorant and as little else than targets for the men to prey on. 7/10

Previous months of movies: January, February, March, April, May.

Beograd, te volim.

2011-06-30T18:08:00.000+02:00

Demnächst auch mal wieder Fotos, aber erstmal: Urlaub an der Donau.

And tonight: Austra.

2011-06-16T11:08:00.001+02:00

Programmhinweis.

2011-06-15T13:14:00.001+02:00

Besetzungswechsel.

2011-06-13T22:17:00.000+02:00

"'Das Spiel ist aus!' riefen in der Schlußszene die endlich siegreichen Gegenspieler den entlarvten bösen Machthabern zu, verstellten ihnen den Weg zur Flucht oder zu den Waffen, nahmen sie fest und führten sie, ohne sie noch eines Blickes zu würdigen, in die Kulisse ab, während der Vorhang fiel. Als er dann aber zum Applaus wieder hochging, kamen die besiegten Machthaber schon Hand in Hand mit den neuen Siegern zurück, und alle verneigten sich artig vor dem Publikum, das ihnen zurief und wie von allen guten Geistern verlassen Beifall klatschte."

(Erich Fried, in: "Mein Heldenzeitalter", S. 176, "Die Tragödie")

"Wer, um frei zu sein, die Macht stürzt, übernimmt das Gegenteil der Freiheit, die Macht."

(Max Frisch, in: "Graf Öderland", S. 136)

"Alle Rechtdenkenden sind meistens nur eine einzige Person. Heute bin ich es und die Meinen, morgen bist du es und die Deinen. - Man wird dazu ernannt, oder besser, man ernennt sich dazu."

(August Strindberg, in: "Ein Traumspiel", S. 94)

It's just people having a good time.

2011-06-08T12:10:00.001+02:00

Keine Angst, ihr seid nicht bei Tumbler gelandet. Trotz Audrey. Bei mir gibt's zu den Bildern nämlich auch Inhalt, der nicht selbst dazu gedacht werden muss: Filme raten, virtuelle Kekse gewinnen! (Und eines Tages gegen selbstgebackene Chocolate Chip Cookies eintauschen können. Versprochen.)

A month of movies: May.

2011-05-31T18:13:00.002+02:00

In order to deal with what I previous month coined "Leipzig's critical lack of movies presented in original language", I decided to change the rules of the game and start presenting mini-reviews of recent DVD releases as well. This will also allow me to get to some of the... shall we say more popular titles, as witnessed in this installment, in which I say a few words about two movies I've been wanting to see for quite a while and fewer words about two I didn't really feel like watching. You may guess which is which. On to the show:

The short -
Go and see: /
Well worth watching: Passione & Im Himmel, Unter der Erde (In Heaven Underground).
Also deserving a chance: Lebanon (DVD).
Average: Un Homme Qui Crie (A Screaming Man), Utopia Ltd., Buried (DVD).
For lovers of German comedy: Polnische Ostern, Vincent Will Meer (Vincent Wants To Sea).
For the Action Man® in you: Robin Hood (DVD), The A-Team (DVD).
For documentary enthusiasts: Kleinstheim.
Forget about: V Subbotu (Innocent Saturday).

The long -
The rules: Only movies seen at cinemas during the month referred to in the post title and recent DVD releases (which will be noted as such) are eligible. This excludes films seen on video or television. Also excluded are movies from festivals, which may or may not get treated in separate posts. Premieres and previews, however, are fine. The reviews are listed in alphabetical order. Finally, ratings are given on IMDB's 1-10 scale. These rules, likely to be broken at the discretion of yours truly, solely exist because no rules are fun, and we cannot have that here, now can we?

Buried (DVD release). An original idea, to be sure: An American is captured in Iraq and buried alive. So far, so interesting. However, it gets too boldly political in more than one scene, for example when it screams understanding for the Iraqi hostage takers, which very well may be right in intention, but feels terribly unsuited for the situation the hostage finds himself in. Also, the claustrophobia and growing tension doesn't really get transmitted to the viewer. In that aspect, the movie fails dramatically. 6/10

Im Himmel, Unter der Erde (In Heaven Underground). A well-meaning and well-shot film documenting the Jewish cemetery in Berlin Weißensee during the city's and the city's Jews turbulent history. While different governments came and went around it, it stayed largely the same quiet, peaceful place that, as many of the people interviewed state, resembles more a forest monument than a normal cemetery. While the attempts to blend the look of graves fallen into disrepair with photographs showing them in their time of glory sometimes look a little awkward, the visual atmosphere of the movie is mostly awe-inspiring and making this one worth seeing at the cinema. 8/10

Kleinstheim. A documentary with an interesting promise that at multiple times felt very wrong. Despite the filmmakers' insistence to the contrary, in several scenes they seem to breach borders the young protagonists weren't quite ready to give up yet. The questions asked by the two directors feel violating and when a twelve-year-old being cornered aggressively asks "Any more questions?" perhaps the limit has been passed and gone. Besides all that, I wasn't convinced by the cut and the occasional image of natural beauty that may have been intended to give the documentary a background setting but which seemed an indulgence of the directors. 5/10

Lebanon (DVD release). The unique perspective of this movie heightens the images seen in countless other war movies to a new intensity and manages to make them haunting again. It focuses the viewers' attention on what usually gets lost in the visual noise. And of course, that technique also allows for the radical shift in perception when the soldiers trapped in the tin can that is the tank lose control and sense in geography. Unfortunately, the movie doesn't convince as much as a psychological study of young soldiers in a situation they can't deal with it. For that, the dialogue feels too contrived and the acting over-the-top. 7/10

Passione. John Torturro's homage to Napoli and its music enchants and inspires with warmth. Collecting the beautiful, the dramatic and the odd, and combining it with views of the streets and the people on it, he draws a picturesque yet real view of life in the city. When asked who's the best singer Napoli has brought forward, there is much disagreement among the interviewees, and it's colourful and friendly and molto simpatico. 8/10

Polnische Ostern. I really like Henry Hübchen, and I like the admittedly stereotypical characters he usually plays, as he does here, but I couldn't warm to this. It's not playful enough, more reminiscent of family feel-good movies that don't quite take off, and it assembles the usual elements, as well as most of the weaknesses that this type of film falls prey to. 5/10

Robin Hood (DVD release). It's a Ridley Scott movie, starring Russell Crowe. All has been said. 5/10

The A-Team (DVD release). With a little less bang and a little more effort, this could have been a fine action movie. As it stands, it's a good and for the most part fitting remake/reboot/whatever the latest buzzword in film marketing is, and that's more than what you can say for most others. 5/10

Un Homme Qui Crie (A Screaming Man). This had me irritated. The director insists on a distant camera, when every other sign points to immediacy: the lack of background music, as well as quite often sound, the slow pace and the focus on one character at a time. Seldom do scenes get close, for example when the younger main character's girlfriend, realizing her loss, starts to sing, which is repeated in the outro, or when the father finally and literally lets go. 6/10

Utopia Ltd. Following a young band's first steps in the music business, this documentary illustrates how quickly ideas get under pressure from financial concerns. Utopia is limited indeed. And while two of the band's members are building up a fallback plan, to the third one there doesn't seem to be an alternative to a career in music. It becomes clear that at some point, his unwillingness to compromise will either have to be sacrificed to that fact, or that he'll be left behind instead. 6/10

V Subbotu (Innocent Saturday). Superfluous. This movie about the Chernobyl disaster manages to bore and annoy with hysteric people at the same time. But make no mistake: They're not hysteric because a nuclear power plant blew up, but because they're Russians, and drunk, and the Soviet Union is about to collapse. Lengthy takes of fist-fighting, dancing, staggering, drumming and running ensue, leaving the viewer's interest somewhere back at the first overly expositional exchange of lines. 2/10

Vincent Will Meer (Vincent Wants To Sea). I was expecting more from this. Three troubled young people flee from the psychiatry to go on a road trip to Italy. The characters at first seem interestingly drawn and then overdone, when the filmmakers use every chance and moment to further accentuate their peculiarities. Optimistic road movie traps are frequently sprung and fallen victim to, with all too familiar exchanges of highs and comedowns and the occasional montage and too much cheap comic relief. All this to a very bad soundtrack that fills every scene with extra pathos, bringing some of them down to a level comparing to cheesiness. 5/10

Previous months of movies: January, February, March, April.

We live together in a photograph of time.

2011-05-24T04:57:00.000+02:00

Note to self: Kein Antony auf dem Nachhauseweg in der Morgendämmerung.

Buchbesprechung: Bora Ćosić "Im Ministerium für Mamas Angelegenheiten".

2011-05-21T17:20:00.001+02:00

„Mamas Angelegenheiten“ machen da weiter, wo Bora Ćosić in seinem auch in Deutschland bekannten Klassiker „Die Rolle meiner Familie in der Weltrevolution“ aufgehört hat: Mit der Erzählung des Alltags einer jugoslawischen Familie in Belgrad vor, während und nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg. Deren Leben zwischen Normalität und dem Wahnsinn dieser Zeit beschreibt Ćosić wieder aus der Sicht des Sprösslings der Sippe, der die Absonderlichkeiten seiner Verwandtschaft so selbstverständlich hinnimmt, dass sich bald auch Leser und Leserin mit deren Absurdität abfinden. Alle kommen sie zu Wort: Die Tanten ungefragt zu wirklich jedem Thema, der Schürzen jagende Onkel am liebsten über Frauen, Opa weiß es in jedem Fall besser und die vergeblich um Fassung und Anstand ringende Mama weist den schon wieder besoffenen Papa zurecht. Zwischendurch erzählen die Nachbarn die neuesten Gerüchte übereinander.

Von allen Seiten kommentiert wird dabei auch die finstere Realität der 40er Jahre, als erst Deutsche den Ton angeben und Menschen jagen und dann unter umgedrehten Vorzeichen die russischen Befreier Kollaborateure und jene, die sie dafür halten – und das sind viele –, hinrichten. Umgekommen wird leicht im umkämpften und neu gegründetem Jugoslawien, und wen es nicht gleich dahinrafft, der/die wird von Hunger und Kälte geplagt. Umstürze werden hingenommen, in der Schule werden neue Parolen gelehrt, Opa bleibt skeptisch und die Tanten erfreuen sich an der wechselnden Mode. Ganz nebenbei werden in „Mamas Angelegenheiten“ so Triviales und Weltgeschichte vermengt. Das alles passiert aber in einem so liebenswert absurden und vor allem absurd liebenswerten Tonfall, dass der Sprung von der Farce ins Groteske vonstattengeht ohne Narben zu hinterlassen. Mama weiß, „das Leben bleibt bitter und unheilbar!“, also: Weitermachen und sich nicht allzu sehr ins gefährliche Geschehen einmischen.

weiter...

Jahrestag.

2011-05-18T09:31:00.001+02:00

...wut?

2011-05-16T09:22:00.002+02:00

Eurovision '11.

2011-05-13T18:58:00.001+02:00

It's that time of the year again. Cue the best of jingoism, chauvinism, racism and glitter. Someone's country is probably better than somebody else's country and all for the wrong reasons - unless you can make up some new ones, which should include made-in-Moldova-CGI (it's starting!) and plastic surgery. If you ever cared to know about Judith Butler's secret passion for Maltese breasts, do read on. If you ever cared for music, go and watch a recording of Eurovision 2008 or 2009.

Albania: A strawberry ice-cream haircut, America '01 symbology, cloning and an innovative way of zooming into Google Earth. What more could you ask for? Well, plastic surgery actually would do nicely, for starters. Failed to qualify for the final.

Armenia: Boom Boom Chaka Chaka, your love is like a whacka. Well, thanks Emmy, I appreciate the sentiment, but there have been quite enough Eastern European mafia types driving their overpowered sport cars down Unter den Linden while listening to crap techno music before. Failed to qualify for the final.

Austria: Austria is back and may as well go away for a few years again.

Azerbaijan: A duet ballad. If you've forgotten to care, the male singer's face will remind you that Azerbaijan is not exactly a Central European country. The male singer's voice, however, will remind you that you really ought to not keep forgetting to put that nutria trap out at night.

Belarus: Our favourite remaining European dictatorship surprises us with a propaganda anthem originally titled "I love Belarus". I love Belarus cock, feel it in my hand. And I wanna see your bum shake, Aleksandar Lukashenko! Failed to qualify for the final, which back in Minsk qualifies her for the firing squad.

Belgium: Credit where credit is due: At least they're trying to be somewhat different. It still doesn't appeal to me, but I can totally see this ported into South Park. Failed to qualify for the final.

Bosnia & Herzegovina: Yodel-ohoho! Yodel-ahaha! Whoo-ooo-oah-ohoho! Inbetween looking like a harmless member of the British House of Lords, ready to join Prince William in a spree of fox hunting, Dino occasionally glares at the camera, showing his true war criminal face.

Bulgaria: Codename: "Haircut". It almost would have been "Make-Up". Awkward pointing at the blue stage an added bonus. Failed to qualify for the final.

Croatia: Bimbo alarm in, you guessed it, Croatia. Celebrate! Every single step you take! Stop the world for a moment! Shine like a comet! Nothing can stop you now! Besides the remainders of anything that might be considered a taste in music, women or anything else for that matter perhaps. Failed to qualify for the final.

Cyprus: Previous years have taught us that the people from Cyprus have a knack for corny music videos that seem to be shot with a phone camera. This one looks like a trailer for a Mediterranean horror-themed soap opera. Failed to qualify for the final.

Denmark: Winner of the Prince-Memorial-Haircut-Award. When you're beginning to realize the fact that the singer's hair is not actually burning but merely being aimed at by a massive lighting system, the band's producers reconsider and aim it right at your retina in an effort to shell-shock you into liking this crap.

Estonia: Rihanna has finally gone completely insane and bleached both her face and her music.

Finland: Growing hemp is serious business. As is global warming and all that jazz, but hey, it makes for nice ballads and da, da, da, (Three Gorges) dams.

France: Soundtrack to the latest historical movie with an alternate timeline, Christian conspiracy theories and Russell Crowe in the lead? Initial calculations indicate a strong "Yes".

Georgia: Amy Imbruglia on a drug trip that causes her to violently flail her arms. And the rapping guy from Linkin Park. Both missing out on the fact that Earth's rotation could be interpreted as a symbol of time passing, things changing, trends fading.

Germany: Sending previous year's winners doesn't have much of a history of success in Eurovision, but it might actually work out for Germany's entry due to the title winning the straight guys vote. Everyone else will have fallen asleep by the end of the song though.

Greece: Dark, brotha. If you hadn't hired Ricky Martin to do the chorus, that is. Studded bracelet and basecap vs. erratic hand movements and a haircut so gelled up it develops its own conscience and positively refuses to follow on grounds of labour legislation.

Hungary: The United States of Cast Stone and Feeling Hand, clad in leather. Also: A haircut that scares the beeheevus out of me, smudged eyeshadow and disco balls.

Iceland: Having to rip off Germany's pop corpse Sascha is a sad, sad affair. Go back to ten years ago.

Ireland: Finally, regular fags. Attempting to carry on the fine tradition of copying Eleanor Jackson's latest haircut the twins fail spectacularly and end up looking like condoms. I have less nice things to say about their music.

Israel: Ding Dong Same Old Song. Dana International is back, and one can only hope she'll lose her physical balance again. Her vocal balance is fragile as it is. Failed to qualify for the final.

Italy: Honestly, this is okay. You'll be fine. Just stop smiling like that, please.

Latvia: Winner of the annual RHYMECORE-Award. "Kill me with killa kiss, kill me with tempting lips. Stare at me with candy eyes, love me luscious thighs, angel in disguise." Somewhere in the last third of the song, a hipster dwarf unexpectedly attempts to rap while the singer with an emo-haircut expectedly breaks out in "Ohooohhhs" and "Noooohhnoooonooos". Failed to qualify for the final.

Lithuania: A traditional Eurovision entry, to put those to sleep who just have been violently awoken by all the 90's Eurovision entries. Does resemble a hog more often than looking like a Ad&D troll villain.

Macedonia: More hair that will not budge, more guitars that serve as props only and more of the same. The Former Yugoslavian Republic continues to fail to inspire. Failed to qualify for the final.

Malta: Care for Judith Butler and breasts a lot? Maybe I promised too much. Instead we have Warhol, breakdancing, Lichtenstein, a drag queen and "Don't try to judge me, you don't know how I feel" lyrics. They're not even ashamed. Failed to qualify for the final.

Moldova: Franz Ferdinand have relocated to Chişinău. Ben is not fazed.

Netherlands: A dwarf with a guitar, greasy hair, Bono sunglasses and the least interesting song imaginable. Way to not surprise me, Dutchies. Failed to qualify for the final.

Norway: Stella, Stellaaaaaaaaaa! Where did you get than tan in Norway? Eurodance meets supposedly African beats. The Football World Cup was last year, doofus. Failed to qualify for the final.

Poland: Zoom, pan, shake hair. Wave hand. Will fail horribly but following the show net a contract with a shampoo manufacturer. Failed to qualify for the final.

Portugal: The Village People have migrated to Portugal. Telling their new home country's history in six costumes, they dress up as a military dictator, a bureaucratic dictator, a hippie and three odd fags. Failed to qualify for the final.

Romania: Air keyboard! Animated picture frames! Drumming in a lift cabin! Air drumming! These Romanians sure are zany guys. The video also features a song that sadly will not stop by itself.

Russia: I CANNOT FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PRONOUNCE ENGLISH WORDS. I also look funny seen through a fisheye lens. Lou Pearlman, help me!

San Marino: Excuse me, but you've got something in your hair there. When the singer is wearing her hat and Colonel Gaddafi goggles instead, this seems like the official chemotherapy acceptance song. Failed to qualify for the final.

Serbia: Careful, Serbia, for you're going where countless countries have failed in previous years. At this point not even massive amounts of plastic around the stage and in your singer's face will save you.

Slovakia: Albania's evil nationalistic twin. I get it: Slovakia excels at both sports and catastrophes. Failed to qualify for the final.

Slovenia: Clearly too heterosexual for Eurovision, this song fails even the basic requirements for entertainment. It also evokes a constant feeling of "When have I heard and seen this before?". Slovenia must be one little bored conservative country.

Spain: SMILE BROADLY. DANCE. ARTICULATE CLEARLY. SUCK UP TO ALL OTHER NATIONS. LOOK HAPPY. REPEAT PROCEDURE. SMILE BROADLY. DANCE. ARTICULATE CLEARLY. SUCK UP TO ALL OTHER NATIONS. LOOK HAPPY. REPEAT PROCEDURE. SMILE BROADLY. DANCE. ARTICULATE CLEARLY. SUCK UP TO ALL OTHER NATIONS. LOOK HAPPY. REPEAT PROCEDURE. SMILE BROADLY. DANCE. ARTICULATE CLEARLY. SUCK UP TO ALL OTHER NATIONS. LOOK HAPPY. REPEAT PROCEDURE. SMILE BROADLY. DANCE. ARTICULATE CLEARLY. SUCK UP TO ALL OTHER NATIONS. LOOK HAPPY. REPEAT PROCEDURE. SMILE BROADLY. DANCE. ARTICULATE CLEARLY. SUCK UP TO ALL OTHER NATIONS. LOOK HAPPY. REPEAT PROCEDURE. SMILE BROADLY. DANCE. ARTICULATE CLEARLY. SUCK UP TO ALL OTHER NATIONS. LOOK HAP101111011110111010111... "Boss? Boss, something fucked up with our annual robot!".

Sweden: I will be a poplar. Wins male gay vote for being fondled by his oversexed background dancers even on stage. Watch 2:24 for spesszhul effacts and the Star Trek Original Series red alert klaxon.

Switzerland: Dreamy look? Check. Extended cheekbones? Check. Flashbacks? Check. Nananananana? Check. This year's summer blockbuster romantic comedy soundtrack that will make you want to abort puppies.

Turkey: Reamonn have invested into a keyboard and this year are living it up for Turkey. Keyboard cat could have done better and hopefully for all of us, will do one day. Failed to qualify for the final.

Ukraine: Plastic plonde puppet parades past people in a circus. Creepy circus character certainly approves with a leer.

United Kingdom: A fella that will start a fight with the bouncer at the club tonight, a high-pitched yay-sayer who tonight will bring home sushi to his boyfriend, a village idiot that will defend the Palestinians' right to bomb the hell out of Israel tonight at the debate club and a nigger who tonight will spend dreaming about becoming as awesome as Seal. What could possibly go wrong this time, dear Britannia?

Amusing videos: Albania.
Enjoyable songs: /
Endurable songs: Finland, Italy.
Potential winners: Ireland, United Kingdom?

Kommst du raus aus dem Alltag?

2011-05-09T09:43:00.000+02:00

"Die Welt, die ihm gegeben war, mochte er nicht. Darum verließ er Welt, Menschen und sichtbare Gegenstände und begab sich in die warmen, sonnigen Länder der Antike."

(Andrzej Szczypiorski, in: "Die schöne Frau Seidenman", S. 194)

"A true feeler always brings half the entertainment along with him. His own ideas are only call'd forth by what he reads, and the vibrations within, so entirely correspond with those excited, 'tis like reading himself and not the book."

(Laurence Sterne, in einem Brief)

"No wonder that the Mythology, and Arabian Nights, and Shakespeare, and Scott's novels entertain us,--we are poets and fablers and dramatists and novelists ourselves. We are continually acting a part in a more interesting drama than any written."

(Henry David Thoreau, in: "A week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers", S. 75)

"People say that life is the thing, but I prefer reading."

(Logan Pearsall Smith)

A month of movies: April.

2011-05-01T12:36:00.000+02:00

Leipzig is showing a critical lack of movies presented in original language. Why anyone would, why I used to settle for dubbed films is beyond at me this point. It's painful to watch and listen to, prone to awkward translation errors and removes a sizable part from acting performances. I'm not sure why so few movie theaters in Leipzig show original language films, as they're usually just as popular especially at small locations, and I'd imagine there being a big enough foreign crowd as well in this town. Here's what remains:

The short -
Go and see: /
Well worth watching: Winter's Bone & Francesco und der Papst.
Also deserving a chance: Womb & White Box.
For fans of Asian cinema only: Hanyo (The Housemaid).

The long -
The rules: Only movies seen at cinemas during the month referred to in the post title are eligible. This excludes films seen on DVD, video or television. Also excluded are movies from festivals, which may or may not get treated in separate posts. Premieres and previews, however, are fine. The reviews are listed in alphabetical order. Finally, ratings are given on IMDB's 1-10 scale. These rules, likely to be broken at the discretion of yours truly, solely exist because no rules are fun, and we cannot have that here, now can we?

Francesco und der Papst. A dedicated documentary about Pope Benedict XVI and a young boy singing in the choir at the Sixtine Chapel. Both are shown in an increasingly private way, even though at least the footage of the Pope is of official nature. Although they only share a few seconds of screen time, the film manages to convey some similarities between these very different persons - namely, how tied up in their duties they both are. Worth seeing. 8/10

Hanyo (The Housemaid). A dramatic critique of the class-based society in Korea with limited appeal. It reiterates existing stereotypes to a large degree and only one character, showing a second and more interesting side, manages to stand out. It ends in a grotesque, which is either very refreshing and, unlike the rest of the movie, entirely unexpected, or weird and not fitting. The film left me wanting, perhaps wanting more, but "more" as in rather having a look at the original from 1960. 5/10

White Box. Investigating the effects of the seemingly kafka-esque idea of locking rooms of flats to their inhabitants in order not to exceed their living space quota allocated by social services, the documentary crew soon gets an insight into what the people from the town of Löbau really suffer from: unemployment, poverty, not feeling at home even after years (or in some case, decades) of living there. However, it also shows how the people not only make do and keep busy, but are actively involved in building and organizing a series of communities. A documentary that's particularly interesting in content, suffering only from an at times annoying voice-over and very basic technical realization. 7/10

Winter's Bone. This movie is similar to 2008's "Frozen River" insofar as it tells the story of Americans struggling at the lowest end of the scale of social hierarchy in a dark and hostile environment. What's different and in my opinion even better is the steady and immediate feeling of threat that pervades every scene involving the main character's (played by a promising Jennifer Lawrence) attempts to find a resolution to her situation - which, much to the dismay of a group of lawless backwoods mobsters that run the area, requires breaking into the secret of her father's disappearance. 8/10

Womb. Disconcerting and uncomfortable in more than one aspect, we have on our hands an interesting low-key science-fiction film that plays in a future so close that it feels as if it could happen tomorrow. A star of this film is the beautiful landscape setting that works particularly well as a contrast to the science-fiction theme and surprises with originality. However, the film does have a few problems. Most notably, at times, in scenes where the actors get unreasonably loud, the solemn and quiet atmosphere is broken up and only rebuilds in the subsequent minutes. 7/10

Previous months of movies: January, February, March.

Buchbesprechung: Zoran Zivković "Der unmögliche Roman".

2011-04-26T17:17:00.001+02:00

Beim "Unmöglichen Roman" handelt es sich genau genommen um gar keinen – sondern um eine Sammlung von fünf, zwischen 1997 und 2003 entstandenen und zuvor noch nicht auf Deutsch veröffentlichten, Erzählreihen. In jeder einzelnen untersucht Zoran Živković unter dem Deckmantel der Phantastik die Beziehung zwischen Verfasser, Text und der von ihm darin erschaffenen Welt. Das geschieht von Reihe zu Reihe – hier als Bücher bezeichnet – auf inhaltlich unterschiedliche, konzeptuell und sprachlich aber stark vergleichbare Art und Weise. Die Grenzen zwischen Unmöglichem, Erdachtem und Metafiktion verschwimmen dabei spätestens in einer jedes einzelne Buch abschließenden Erzählung, die das verbindende Thema der vorangegangen aufnimmt und ihm eine Pointe hinzufügt.

Das ist nicht besonders revolutionär, weiß aber zumindest anfangs noch zu interessieren. Im ersten Buch ("Zeitgeschenke") tritt der Autor als Vergangenheit und Zukunft verändernder Schicksalsmacher im Text selbst in Erscheinung. Er gibt den Charakteren – seinen Charakteren – die Chance, durch das Eingreifen in einem ihr Leben definierenden Moment eben jenes umzuschreiben. Erhalten bleibt ihnen jedoch das Wissen um die ursprüngliche Realität und die damit einhergehende moralische und geistige Belastung. Ist die Alternative in jedem Fall besser? Mit dieser Frage seine Protagonist/-innen allein lassend, versündigt sich der Autor an ihnen – und tritt dafür auf den letzten Seiten selbst Buße an.

Auch die zweite Erzählreihe ("Unmögliche Begegnungen"), in der sich ein Buch gleichen Namens als Thema durch die Einzeltexte zieht, vermag noch zu überraschen. Hier ist der Autor wieder mit gottgleichen Schöpfungsfähigkeiten ausgestattet, weiß dies aber selbst nicht, bis er in der letzten Geschichte von einer seiner Figuren darüber aufgeklärt wird. Auf diese Weise wird ihm auch die Möglichkeit der eigenen Unsterblichkeit durch die Verschriftlichung, die Fiktionalisierung seiner selbst, offenbart. Erweitert wird diese Metaebene noch einmal durch das vierte Buch ("Die Bibliothek"), in dessen Geschichten nicht nur die gesamte – jemals geschriebene, noch zu schreibende und potentielle – Literatur ihren Weg in virtuelle und vorgestellte Regale findet, sondern auch die Biographien aller menschlichen Leben. Diese sind bis ins kleinste Detail dokumentiert, gebunden und archiviert und von jedem Menschen einsehbar. Auch hier dreht sich Živković also wieder um das Erkennen des Selbst im Schreiben, und um das Leben als Akt des Schreibens der eigenen Geschichte.

weiter...

Leipzig Marathon.

2011-04-24T20:45:00.000+02:00

Kommst du mit in den Alltag?

2011-04-18T10:08:00.000+02:00

"Hoffnung auf den Feierabend, Hoffnung auf das Wochenende, all diese lebenslängliche Hoffnung auf Ersatz, inbegriffen die jämmerliche Hoffnung auf das Jenseits, vielleicht genügte es schon, wen man den Millionen angestellter Seelen, die Tag für Tag an ihren Pulten hocken, diese Art von Hoffnung nehmen würde: - groß wäre das Entsetzen, groß die Verwandlung. Wer weiß! Die Tat, die wir Verbrechen nennen, am Ende ist sie nichts anderes als eine blutige Klage, die das Leben selbst erhebt. Gegen die Hoffnung, ja, gegen den Ersatz, gegen den Aufschub..."

(Max Frisch, in: "Graf Öderland", S. 66)

"'Alles hat nun einmal seine Vor- und Nachteile', und schon wird das Unzumutbare zumutbar - als Nachteil, der wiederum nichts als eine notwendige Eigenheit jedes Vorteils ist. Die Vorteile waren in der Regel nur mangelnde Nachteile: kein Lärm, keine Verantwortung, keine Arbeit für Fremde, kein tägliches Getrenntsein vom Haus und von den Kindern. Die tatsächlichen Nachteile wurden also durch die fehlenden aufgehoben. Alles daher nicht halb so schlimm; man wurde spielend damit fertig, im Schlaf. Nur war bei dem allem kein Ende abzusehen."

(Peter Handke, in: "Wunschloses Unglück", S. 65)

"It's a disease. Nobody thinks or feels or cares any more; nobody gets excited or believes in anything except their own comfortable little God damn mediocrity."

(Richard Yates, in: "Revolutionary Road", S. 62)

"Mit letzter Kraft klammert er sich an die Zweige, die über dem kleinen, Hochwasser führenden Fluss hängen. Der Mann sucht mit den Füßen Halt am steilen Ufer, aber die Strömung ist zu heftig. Er spürt, wie seine Hände von den nassen Blättern gleiten, betrachtet sie, als hoffe er, sie blieben auf diese Weise an ihnen haften. Sein Blick fällt auf die Armbanduhr, und er stellt mit Erstaunen fest, dass er noch keine fünf Minuten im Wasser ist. Während er gegen die Strömung kämpfte, mit Händen und Füßen um sich schlug und den treibenden Zweigen und Gegenständen auswich, hätte er schwören können, er sei schon jahrelang der Kraft des Wassers ausgesetzt. Es wäre besser, denkt er, keine Uhr zu haben, aber er kann sie nicht ablegen, er muss vielmehr zusehen, wie der schmale Zeiger ihm die Sekunden von der Zeit, die ihm noch bleibt, stiehlt, bis er zuerst einen und dann den anderen Zweig aus den Händen lässt."

(David Albahari, in: "Die Kuh ist ein einsames Tier", S. 86)

"Die Menschen, welche nur noch zu atmen vermögen, sterben niemals."

(Émile Zola, in: "Thérèse Raquin", S. 46)

An die Mauer!

2011-04-16T22:01:00.000+02:00

Buchbesprechung: David Albahari "Die Kuh ist ein einsames Tier".

2011-04-10T23:08:00.001+02:00

"Die Kuh ist ein einsames Tier. Kurze Geschichten und dauerhafte Wahrheiten über Liebe, Traurigkeit und den ganzen Rest", so der komplette Titel von David Albaharis Sammlung von Textminiaturen, verspricht schon zu Beginn nichts weniger als die Entführung in eine Parallelwelt der Sprache: "Der Leser, der sich an einer Stelle im Buch verliert, findet sich, allerdings verändert, an einer anderen wieder" ("Der Leser"). Durch diese zweifelt, irrt und kalauert sich der Autor zuweilen so frei, dass zunächst der Eindruck entsteht, er hätte willkürlich den Inhalt seines Notizblocks abdrucken lassen. Tatsächlich stammen die hier vorliegenden und zum Teil erstmals auf Deutsch abgedruckten Kleinstgeschichten zur Hälfte aus früheren Veröffentlichungen Albaharis von 1978 bis 2008, der andere Teil ist bisher noch nicht im serbischen Original erschienen. Hätte es sich wirklich um einen Notizblock gehandelt, so zumindest um einen äußerst relevanten.

Denn vieles, was auf dem ersten Blick unfertig wirkt, offenbart beim nochmaligen Lesen Abgründe voll Witz und Traurigkeit. Die Pointen schleichen sich mit jedem Satz an die Psyche des Lesers und der Leserin heran, um – oft erst in den letzten Worten – gnadenlos zuzuschlagen:

"Meine Frau versteckt beide Hände hinter ihrem Rücken, und ich soll raten, in welcher sie etwas für mich hat. Ich tippe auf die linke, sie streckt mir die Faust entgegen, öffnet sie, zeigt die leere Hand. Ich tippe auf die rechte. Sie streckt mir die Faust entgegen, öffnet sie, aber auch diese Hand ist leer. Meine Frau ist verlegen. Sie dreht die Hände um, schaut um sich, hebt die Füße. Gerade war es noch da, sagt sie, und jetzt kann ich es nicht mehr finden." ("Das Ratespiel")

weiter...

Judy was a teenage rebel.

2011-04-07T01:02:00.001+02:00

So, Judy, where does that leave you?

A month of movies: March.

2011-03-31T22:31:00.011+02:00

It's only March and I already have two standout and favourite movies from this year: "Black Swan" and this month's "Pina". I spot a pattern there, and am off to rewatch "Dirty Dancing", "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" and "Footloose". In all seriousness, go out and watch Wim Wender's latest, preferably in 3D. It's magical and will leave you speech- and possibly breathless, nevermind whether you liked dancing before or not.

The short -
Go and see: Pina & Wer Wenn Nicht Wir (If Not Us, Who?).
Well worth watching: 127 Hours & Russland - Im Reich der Tiger, Bären und Vulkane.
Also deserving a chance: Biutiful & Stadt, Land, Fluss (Harvest).
Average: Potiche.
If you really are into comedy: Diverso Da Chi? (Different From Whom?).
Forget about: Unter Dir Die Stadt (The City Below).
Why would they do that to us?: Lucky Bastard.

The long -
The rules: Only movies seen at cinemas during the month referred to in the post title are eligible. This excludes films seen on DVD, video or television. Also excluded are movies from festivals, which may or may not get treated in separate posts. Premieres and previews, however, are fine. The reviews are listed in alphabetical order. Finally, ratings are given on IMDB's 1-10 scale. These rules, likely to be broken at the discretion of yours truly, solely exist because no rules are fun, and we cannot have that here, now can we?

127 Hours. A MTV movie for the MTV generation. Sporting a distinct visual and editing style that's reminiscent of music videos, Danny Boyle's latest scores high in intensity. The impressions left by the unsettling scenes of Aron Ralston's self-amputation of an arm are aided by the masterful use of sound and music, especially during the final minutes. What I found problematic though, is the overuse of flashbacks and acted-out thoughts (or hallucinations), often taking away from the dramatic experience. 8/10

Biutiful. The most depressing movie released in a while. Throughout, things always get worse, no matter how bad they already have been before. There is no hope, no redeeming moment, only pure negativity thrown at the viewer. When Uxbal - brilliantly played by Javier Bardem - attempts to help his fellow people, he fails, and takes them, himself and his family one step closer to destruction. When he goes on trying, everyone slips even further. This theme is repeated throughout the movie. It very well may be a realistic account of immigrant and poor life in Spain, and it is suitably dramatic, but it isn't enjoyable in a traditional sense. 7/10

Diverso Da Chi? (Different From Whom?). Funny when ridiculing the politics of politics, but in the end just another comedy that draws its jokes from stereotypes - without seriously playing with them. Instead, we see another simple pseudo-reversal that only manages to reiterate the characters and roles ascribed to gays, women, Italians, politicians - pick your favourite stereotype and laugh at it. 5/10

Lucky Bastard. The first movie I ever actually walked out from. For thirty minutes I was hoping this would be a parody of bad soft porn movies, but alas, it seemed as if the people involved meant everything they put on film. 1/10

Pina. After seeing this beautifully shot hommage to a great of performance, I finally understand what Pina Bausch meant when she said that dancing is a language. In every scene there's so much to decipher and translate from the moves, and a most beautiful rhythm to follow. Wim Wenders was right to choose 3D technology for this project: instead of drawing all attention to itself, it works to enhance the visual experience, especially in those shots on location in the town of Wuppertal, where Bausch founded her dancing theater group. 10/10

Potiche. Seen within a month from another, this needs to stand up to a comparison with the similarly-themed "Made In Dagenham". What's similar is that both are feminist in a very blunt way, ignoring subtleties and uncertainties and broadly aiming at grand generalizations. What's different is that the comedy in here is always exaggerated to the point of being a caricature - but that is also the movie's biggest quality. Unfortunately, and that is what in the end makes this the slightly weaker film, this also has a detrimental effect to the acting, with most of the performers seeming to have too much fun appearing over-the-top. 6/10

Russland - Im Reich der Tiger, Bären und Vulkane. An excellent documentary of the beautiful and diverse nature to be found in the biggest country on Earth. The images seen in it are simply stunning. I wasn't as fond of the narrator though, and the choice of music particularly in the beginning and ending sequences seemed a little too obvious. 8/10

Stadt, Land, Fluss (Harvest). An unexcited coming of age and coming out story, taking the time it needs with the images and characters. Remarkable are especially the long drawn out shots where literally nothing happens, without them being particularly arty either - still, they're far from boring and evoke a certain sense of location and way of being that is central to this film. 7/10

Unter Dir Die Stadt (The City Below). German langeweile. Cold, apathetic characters inhabit the cold, sterile world of the financial markets and banks. Their emotions are subdued to the point that the relationship between the two protagonists does not make much sense. And as uninteresting as the idea of seeing scheming bankers once again. Perhaps the aspect of a woman taking the route of slow self-destruction to escape is interesting, but her having gotten there in the first place seems implausible. 4/10

Wer Wenn Nicht Wir (If Not Us, Who?). This is the better "Baader Meinhof Komplex". Instead of stringing action scenes together, here we see an excellent approximation of the psychology behind the Red Army Faction (the filmmaker's background in documentaries clearly visible), finally raising the right questions about the why and how such bright young minds found terrorism to be the only answer to their society's shortcomings. The only aspect that in my opinion still lacked explanation was the final, seemingly sudden metamorphosis of Gudrun Ensslin. 9/10

Previous months of movies: January, February.

Buchbesprechung: Angela Richter "Der Engel und der rote Hund".

2011-03-28T09:57:00.000+02:00

Rechtzeitig zur Leipziger Buchmesse gibt die Slawistikprofessorin Angela Richter eine Anthologie von Kurzgeschichten heraus, die den Anspruch erhebt, die serbische Literatur nach dem demokratischen Umsturz und damit auch bisher in Deutschland weitgehend unbeachtete Autor/-innen vorzustellen. Deren/r finden sich in diesem Band neunzehn und tatsächlich sind, abgesehen von den NIN-Preis-Gewinnern Vladimir Arsenijević, Zoran Ćirić und Vladimir Pištalo sowie dem Leiter der Serbischen Nationalbibliothek Sreten Ugričić, darin weitgehend unbekannte Namen versammelt. In ihrem Vorwort stellt Richter das Gemeinsame der Texte dieser Vielzahl von Autor/-innen heraus: Sie nähmen sich Themen über den "spezifischen serbischen Kontext hinaus" an – ein Ansatz, der angesichts hinreichend eingeübter und automatisch abgespulter medialer Assoziationsketten von Balkan – Gewalt – Nationalismus – Krise geeignet erscheint, ein anderes, ein neues Bild von Serbien zu zeichnen.

Ganz davon befreien kann sich freilich auch dieser Sammelband nicht. Vladimir Pištalos titelgebende Geschichte liest sich dafür zu leicht als Allegorie auf die Immer-Wieder-Betonung ethnisch begründeter Grenzen zwischen den ehemaligen jugoslawischen Brüdern und Schwestern und Ljiljana Đurđićs Beitrag "Schokolade der Marke Pionier" ist eine offen vorgetragene Klage gegen die Kontinuität in den serbischen Eliten. Sie geben sich eine neue Fassade – oder, wie hier, eine neue Werbetafel –, letztendlich bleibt aber das Personal gleich und schaltet weiter nach eigenem Ermessen. Die "Freiheit", in die der Ich-Erzähler am Ende entlassen wird, entlarvt Đurđić so zynisch als Worthülse.

Zuweilen driften einige der Texte inhaltlich ins Belanglose und vermögen auch sprachlich nicht zu überzeugen. Zoran Ćirić ("Auch die Liebe weiß, was sich gehört") mag in seiner südserbischen Heimatstadt Niš mit Schwellkörpern und Schwafel noch provozieren, im von zehn Jahren in der Popliteratur ersoffenen Deutschland bedarf es dazu aber inzwischen minderjähriger Autor/-innen, die sich genauso freizügig wie sie sich in ihren eigenen Texte geben an denen anderer Menschen bedienen. Und Igor Marojević ist in "Der Krieg um die Ehre der Moana Pozzi" alles egal, zuallererst aber die Lesbarkeit: "German entgegnete etwas mit Worten, die Boris vollkommen schleierhaft vorkamen. Er fragte ihn, ob er irgendeines von Moanas Büchern gelesen hätte." Wer fragt hier wen und warum interessiert das nicht einmal den Autoren?

weiter...

Into the new.

2011-03-24T20:15:00.000+01:00

Buchbesprechung: Goran Petrović "Die Villa am Rande der Zeit".

2011-03-18T12:04:00.000+01:00

"Nach der Klassifikation des alten Haarspalters Goethe gibt es drei Sorten von Lesern: Der erste genießt, ohne zu analysieren. Der dritte analysiert, ohne zu genießen. Aber dazwischen gibt es denjenigen, der genießend analysiert und analysierend genießt, und der ist es, der das Kunstwerk im Grunde neu erschafft."

Goran Petrovićs "Liebeserklärung an das Lesen" (so der Klappentext) ist vielmehr als das noch ein Geständnis seiner Liebe für Leserinnen und Leser dieser Zwischenkategorie, fähig nicht nur der Analyse und des Konsums, sondern der Übersetzung von Schriftzeichen in neue Welten. Ein solcher Leser ist Adam Lozanić, am Rande der Armut lebender Slawistikstudent aus dem Belgrad des ausgehenden 20. Jahrhunderts, der den sonderbaren Auftrag bekommt, ein bereits vor Jahrzehnten verlegtes Buch umzuschreiben. Das "Vermächtnis" eines, wie er bald herausfindet, bereits 1936 in der Donau ertrunkenen Anastas Branica.

Schnell wird deutlich, dass die Schaffung neuer Welten und das Eintauchen in ein literarisches Werk hier keineswegs nur metaphorisch gemeint sind - sondern ganz real stattfinden. Adam sieht sich bei der Lektüre des Buches in dessen Welt hineinversetzt, und erfährt dabei nicht nur die im gedruckten Wort beschriebenen Sinnesempfindungen, sondern auch die sich daraus ableitenden Zwischentöne und Folgeeindrücke. Er erlebt den Roman. Damit ist er nicht allein: Bald trifft er in Anastas Branicas "Vermächtnis" nicht nur seine Auftraggeber, sondern auch andere Mitleser/-innen. Da ist der unfreundliche Gärtner, dessen Absichten bis zum Ende unklar bleiben; eine Familie, verfolgt von einem sie überragenden Schatten; eine gehörlose Köchin und vor allem die alte Natalija Dimitrijević mit ihrer jungen Begleiterin Jelena, in die sich Adam bald verliebt.

Die besondere Rolle Natalijas und ihre Verbindung zum unglücklichen Autor Anastas Branica werden in einer zweiten Handlungs- und Zeitebene beschrieben. Auch er hat sich bei der Lektüre eines Buches verliebt - in eine bereits jemandem anderen versprochene Französin, die ihn bei der einmaligen Begegnung jenseits der Literatur, auf den realen Straßen Belgrads, nicht einmal erkennen vermag. So entspinnt sich ihre Liebe nur innerhalb der Briefe, die Anastas ihr schreibt, die sie zeitgleich lesen und vor allem erleben, und die später zu seinem "Vermächtnis" werden sollen. In ihnen beschreibt Anastas in allen Details eine prachtvolle Villa inmitten eines weitläufigen Gartens inmitten eines Tals, fernab sogar der bloßen Möglichkeit eines Rests der Welt - eine "Villa am Rande der Zeit". Ständig auf der Suche nach neuen Phrasen, Beschreibungen und Wörtern, die dieses erlebte Schreiben und Lesen einzigartig machen sollen, beschäftigt er Expert/-innen verschiedenster Gebiete aus der gesamten Welt. Sein geheimes Leben offenbart er dabei nur der jungen Natalija, die ihn in heimlicher Liebe unterstützt.

weiter...

Movie theater etiquette. A manual.

2011-03-08T23:54:00.002+01:00

In light of recent developments:

1. If you're late, find a seat near the entrance.
2. Get seated quickly and quietly. Don't block anyone's view.
3. If there are plenty of unoccupied seats, leave at least one between yourself and the next person you don't know empty.
4. Shut the fuck up.

More | mehr | više?

Bloedworst.

2011-03-05T18:46:00.000+01:00

A month of movies: February.

2011-02-28T20:12:00.001+01:00

The Oscars have come and gone without surprises. Unlike last year, I didn't see enough of the contestants in advance to feel ~~brazen~~ qualified enough to comment on the nominations and predict what will be as well as what should be. Judging by everyone's reactions, at least I didn't miss out on much when not seeing the award ceremony. Fittingly, the past month didn't exactly blow me away with absolute must-sees either - while delivering a lot more solid work than usual. The results are in:

The short -
Go and see: /
Well worth watching: True Grit, J'Ai Tué Ma Mère (I Killed My Mother), Ausente (Absent) & The King's Speech.
Also deserving a chance: La Tête En Friche (My Afternoons With Margueritte), Das Lied In Mir (The Day I Was Not Born) & Made In Dagenham.
Average: Poll (The Poll Diaries).
For those interested in the subject matter only: Die Jungs Vom Bahnhof Zoo (Rent Boys).
Forget about: Hereafter.

The long -
The rules: Only movies seen at cinemas during the month referred to in the post title are eligible. This excludes films seen on DVD, video or television. Also excluded are movies from festivals, which may or may not get treated in separate posts. Premieres and previews, however, are fine. The reviews are listed in alphabetical order. Finally, ratings are given on IMDB's 1-10 scale. These rules, likely to be broken at the discretion of yours truly, solely exist because no rules are fun, and we cannot have that here, now can we?

Ausente (Absent). An interesting concept: seemingly obvious, the largest part of the movie tells the story of a student trying to seduce his teacher and getting him into a moral dilemma. Only in the last fifth ambiguities are at first hinted at, then revealed. Most of the film is dominated by a subtle sense of dread that always is just a little out of grasp - and thus can't be resolved. In that sense, it reminds me of the excellent "Innocence". 8/10

Das Lied In Mir (The Day I Was Not Born). By accident, a German woman learns that she has been adopted from Argentinian desaparecidos as a kid. At first developing too quickly, the story soon calms down, giving more needed room to the characters. Unfortunately, the conflict between the woman and her foster father seems implausible in its intensity, especially on behalf of the former and especially in the beginning. With more details uncovered, things gain a whole lot more weight and thankfully don't get resolved in the ending - which, considering the subject, seems most fitting. 7/10

Die Jungs Vom Bahnhof Zoo (Rent Boys). Too little for feature film format. This would have fared fine as a television documentary, but unless you're really into the topic, it fails to holds your attention for the entire length. Rosa von Praunheim gets his point across just fine, but then keeps telling it for another hour. Without any technical merit, that simply won't suffice. 5/10

Hereafter. The worst Clint Eastwood film to date. It reeks of sentiment, is long-winded - thirty minutes or more could have easily been culled - and for the most part, plain boring. Matt Damon, who I consider to be a hit-or-miss-actor, misses and the other actors and actresses don't fare much better. There was one moment maybe about halfway into the film where I found myself wishing for the story to move away from where it was, into the direction of a cooking show - most likely not the best sign for a movie. 3/10

J'Ai Tué Ma Mère (I Killed My Mother). Les quatre-cents-et-un coups. Much has already been written about Xavier Dolan being a multitalented wunderkind, so let's focus on the movie instead, shall we? It's very reminiscent of Truffaut's classic, not only in content (the coming of age-story) but also in images (the sea) and in spirit (clearly taking sides with the kid). Interspersed are small clips of the main character's thoughts and feelings, sometimes abstract, sometimes spelled out, that add a decidedly hip style to the movie. It's self-indulgent, all right, but it was made by a teenager after all. 8/10

La Tête En Friche (My Afternoons With Margueritte). "Warm and sweet" to the nth degree. What under different circumstances might have collapsed under a sticky barrel of honey is turned into a lovely tale by the gentle (- at least up until the rushed ending) direction and the two leads Gisèle Casadesus and Gérard Depardieu, who are both very much suited for their respective roles. 7/10

Made In Dagenham. Bold, yes, and formulaic, for sure, but still fun. If there's something really wrong with this movie, it's that it's at times doing exactly what it aims to criticize: Being sexist by reiterating tired gender stereotypes. This ruins it as a serious piece, but if you can see past that on account of it depicting another era, it'll serve to entertain. Bonus points for the real footage thrown into the ending credits. 7/10

Poll (The Poll Diaries). A decent historic movie with truly impressive location design set to a background that's not been done to death already. But in the end, it's noticeably over-produced. The kind of music you'd expect from a big production is playing at the moments you'd expect it to play, the plot is structured in obvious and often-tested ways and every detail is polished to the nth degree. That's no fun. Also, the voice-over could have been left out altogether. 6/10

The King's Speech. In terms of production, this is one of the year's great movies. Unfortunately, it lacks additional depth and after the end of it, little will stick with you. Every moment is calculated and every detail aims at winning popular awards - judging by last night, the formula still works. Nevertheless, it delivers very good entertainment and Colin Firth in a truly amazing and Oscar-worthy acting performance. 8/10

True Grit. The Coens have finally gone to the most American film genre, the Western. As expected, they deliver. They seem to deliver a modern anti-Western, full of humour (more often than not: slapstick), non-heroes (and a heroine) and yes, grit. In the Coens' depiction of the American West, a price is put on everything, and everyone seems to be willing to do anything that's required to cash in. The word "seem" is where my criticism comes in, as in the end, unlike previous anti-Westerns, good and bad is allotted quite clearly and little left for the viewer to ponder. 8/10

Previous months of movies: January.

Seltsame Hobbies.

2011-02-12T11:21:00.000+01:00

5. Schon beim Anschauen der Kinotrailer von schlechten Filmkomödien verpasste Pointen bemerken und fassungslos den Kopf schütteln.

B-DR 4242.

2011-02-06T22:48:00.000+01:00

A month of movies: January.

2011-01-31T18:15:00.002+01:00

One thing occurred to me the other day: If I'm already watching all these films, and if I'm already making notes about them - mostly for myself - I might as well post the mini-reviews here in a ~~vain effort to make anyone actually read this piece of accumulated drivel clogging up the Intertubes™~~ heroic effort to caution the world about bad movies and make the very same world aware about the good ones. Welcome to "A month in movies". *insert announcer's fanfare here, or somewhere else, or just leave it out, it's not if anybody was here to notice anyway*

The short -
Go and see: Black Swan, Another Year & Des Hommes Et Des Dieux.
Well worth watching: Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, Howl, 3, El Cuarto De Leo.
Average: Der Letzte Schöne Herbsttag, Satte Farben Vor Schwarz.
A matter of personal preferences: Loong Boonmee Raleuk Chat (Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives).
If you really are into comedy: Tamara Drewe, L'Italien.
Forget about: Brothers.

The long -
The rules: Only movies seen at cinemas during the month referred to in the post title are eligible. This excludes films seen on DVD, video or television. Also excluded are movies from festivals, which may or may not get treated in separate posts. Premieres and previews, however, are fine. The reviews are listed in alphabetical order. Finally, ratings are given on IMDB's 1-10 scale. These rules, likely to be broken at the discretion of yours truly, solely exist because no rules are fun, and we cannot have that here, now can we?

3. The premise is discouraging as to what enjoyment is to be expected from this movie: in this modern age, three modern people fall in love in Berlin, and everything is okay. Unexpectedly, this works without being annoying - at least in that regard. What's too much though is the quirkiness. It sometimes feels as if a kid with ADHD directed it. There's always something happening, something moving, something being needlessly animated, or yet another mini-subplot that distracts you from the decent acting and amusing dialogues. 7/10

Another Year. This is a movie about the real life. Shown is a year, divided into four segments each correlating to a season, of an aging couple and their immediate family and friends. All of them have to deal with their lot in life, but only a few manage. This becomes clear when they come together to eat, drink (and there's a lot of drinking to be witnessed) and talk in each of these four chapters. At first only exchanging commonplaces, they soon share more than that, in looks, the unspoken and sometimes, when breaking down, also in confessions. It's tragic, but it's real, and features amazing acting. 9/10

Black Swan. "Intense" doesn't start to describe it. This tour de force will throw you into your cinema seat and leave you thoroughly upset and agitated. At the height of tension and trance, it ends and I'm still undecided whether that's brilliant, or whether Darren Aronofsky is simply downright evil. Natalie Portman is the sole star here, and her amazing performance will make up for the film's few shortcomings, such as the relative flatness of all support characters - there's their monomania and little else. But let me make my point: go see this. 10/10

Brothers. Sentimental drivel or patriotic propaganda piece? It is both, not leaving out any of the most obvious clichés, making the viewer wince with almost every new scene. It's a few years too late, even for the American market, and thus cannot be saved even by the excellent acting all around. 3/10

Der Letzte Schöne Herbsttag. What at first seemed like a collection of trivialities turned into an enjoyable story about how trivial things are what make a person in the first place. The mockumentary format fit, the actors might not go places but did their job, and there were enough laughs to make up for awkward moments in the script. It's okay to not make masterpieces! 6/10

Des Hommes Et Des Dieux. A movie rich in pictures and rich in scripture. Where it excels in is in the intimate performances by the actors that portray the monks, especially in that - perhaps a little too lyrical - last supper scene. It seems to offer an alternative view to the diminution and belittling of faith that has become so popular today, without being altogether uncritical or unambiguous. 9/10

El Cuarto De Leo. It's sweet and simple, which is not necessarily a bad thing. What I can't forgive are the the-state-of-things-montage and the uninteresting resolution of the two story arcs central to the movie. Giving the viewer exactly what he wants - and expects - is cheap. 7/10

Howl. I was very skeptical before seeing this. However, for the most part, the film version of Allen Ginsberg's poem "Howl" worked - by not sticking to one form of expression but rather combining the reenactment of its famous first reading, a mock-interview of Ginsberg, a dramatized version of the obscenity trial and animated scenes inspired by the poem. These and parts of the interview are a little too hip for their own good, catering perhaps to the target audience, but all things considered, the film proves an interesting blend of genres. In a way, it's a hommage of one medium of art to another. 8/10

L'Italien. One sequence towards the ending adds much needed relevance to an otherwise largely superfluous comedy parading stereotypes. Its wit has clear-cut - and in my opinion, close-cut - boundaries and lacks bite. The characters do not surprise. This is feel-good without the good, unlike the recent "The Kids Are All Right". 5/10

Loong Boonmee Raleuk Chat (Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives). "Barely a film", indeed. Shirin Ebadi's "Women Without Men" recently managed the jump from video art to film - "Uncle Boonmee", however, does not. Maybe it is as free from considerations of time as its eponymous main character, but I was not. Much rather, I was bored by scenes artificially prolonged into what seemed like eternity. The film has its merits in content, but the form simply was not for me. 4/10

Satte Farben Vor Schwarz. A couple growing old is faced with the prospect of death, and has to come to terms with it - as does the rest of the family. Low-key through and through, it lives mostly by its subject and ending. Unfortunately, the strong love between the two is shown so subtly, that at times it doesn't seem to be there. In fact, their life seems to revolve around this one thought only, nothing else, and one begins to wonder how they're not boring each other to death. 6/10

Tamara Drewe. Quite frankly, I'm getting bored with more of the same. The premise offers possibilities, and could have served for a truly morbid comedy. Instead, the viewer is presented yet another variation of how boy and girl get each other after a turn of mildly amusing events. The best thing about this movie are the two small-town teenagers, willing to do seemingly anything to force some excitement into their life. 5/10

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil. Behold, an original horror comedy! The originality doesn't lie in the premise - two hillbillies and a group of college kids taking a few days off in remote woods - but mostly in the fact that it doesn't actually contain any real horror, but an overabundance of abstruse misunderstandings. While there is plenty of blood and gore, Eli Craig in his debut doesn't consider that comical in itself, and instead supplies plenty of slapstick and makes fun of the whole genre. Good for him, and good for me. 8/10

Not to be absolutely certain.

2011-01-26T21:41:00.003+01:00

Tatort, oder: Warum mein Kopf schon ganz wundgefasst ist.

2011-01-23T21:52:00.007+01:00

"Und dann kam die Granate." Drehbuchautor/-innen, die es auch mal kontrovers probieren wollten. "Ziegenficker", aber schön tagesaktuell brisant relevant. "Das ist mir doch scheißegal, ob der ins Bett pinkelt oder ein Trauma hat." Die vor sich hin referierende Bundeswehrpsychologin, die natürlich so eine ganze Menge diagnostiziert ("theoretisch könnte das schon so passen") aber zwischen den vielen Terminen mit den humorherausgeforderten Ermittler/-innen keine Zeit für die Therapie findet. Ein bisschen hingeschissene Kommissarvergangenheit. Hier sind wirklich "alle gestört". Mit einem Tremor, "wie wir das nennen", Posttraumatische Belastungsstörung sowieso, "das ist Krieg", "das war Krieg - KRIEG!", "wir schießen ins Stammhirn", wir scheißen ins Stammhirn, und ja so weiter immer weiter, passt ja auch gerade, von wegen Kriegsdebatte und Theo von und zu und Gorch Fock, und überhaupt: Hier wird unheimlich wichtiges Fernsehen gemacht. Vor sich hin debillierend, sich im eigenen Anspruch windend, Terroregoshooter sowieso: "Code Death, Level Vier". Zoomgeräusche. Harte Sprache, um dem Thema gerecht zu werden. Der Ermittler mag gar nicht drüber nachdenken, dass "zwei so top-ausgebildete Typen mit einem Scharfschützengewehr rumrennen" und ich mag gar nicht drüber nachdenken was so top-ausgebildete Journalist/-innen morgen in den Zeitungen schreiben werden. "Sie können sich nicht vorstellen, was wir zusammen durchgemacht haben." Ihr könnt euch nicht vorstellen, was ich gerade vor dem Fernseher durchgemacht habe. "Heimatfront", my ass. "Rambo: First Blood" hat all das besser gemacht, vor knapp dreißig Jahren.

(Und klar, Matussek danach bei "Anne Will". Ich geh jetzt kotzen.)

Hiermit sei aus aktuellem Anlass die neue Rubrik "Zwei Minuten Hass" in die Welt gesetzt, Verzeihung, "geschissen".

Was mensch braucht Mensch zu sein.

2011-01-16T15:59:00.003+01:00

Kopfschmerzen und so, aber ein freundlicher Buchhändler der nach Verhandlungsabschluss noch einmal einen Handke drauflegt.

Honoré de Balzac - Glanz und Elend der Kurtisanen, Miguel de Cervantes - Don Quijote (Teile I & II, für nur 2,80€!), Fjodor Dostojewski - Onkelchens Traum|Das Gut Stepantschikowo|Die Erniedrigten und Beleidigten, Friedrich Dürrenmatt - Die Physiker, Friedrich Dürrenmatt - Der Auftrag (oder: Vom Beobachten des Beobachters der Beobachter), Bret Easton Ellis - Lunar Park, Umberto Eco - Die geheimnisvolle Flamme der Königin Loana, Max Frisch - Biedermann und die Brandstifter, Federico García Lorca - Die dramatischen Dichtungen, Peter Handke - Die linkshändige Frau, Peter Handke - Die Stunde der wahren Empfindung, Peter Handke - Die Wiederholung, Peter Handke - Ich bin ein Bewohner des Elfenbeinturms, Peter Handke - In einer dunklen Nacht ging ich aus meinem stillen Haus, Uwe Johnson - Begleitumstände (Frankfurter Vorlesungen), Milan Kundera - Abschiedswalzer, Stanislaw Lem - Fiasko, Heinrich Mann - Der Untertan, Vladimir Nabokov - Verzweiflung, Amos Oz - Im Lande Israel, Orhan Pamuk - Istanbul, Arthur Schnitzler - Therese (Chronik eines Frauenlebens), Andrzej Szczypiorski - Eine Messe für die Stadt Arras, Aleksandar Tišma - Kapo, Stefan Zweig - Clarissa & Stefan Zweig - Sternstunden der Menschheit.

Lang und breit.

2011-01-15T01:14:00.002+01:00

Hingehen, weitersagen.

2011-01-10T00:14:00.018+01:00

Samstag, 15. Januar im SchwuZ (Mehringdamm 61, Berlin): Soli-Abend für Queeria, die Veranstalter/-innen der Belgrader Pride-Parade.

Ab 20:30 Uhr: Podiumsdiskussion über den Pride und die Situation von LGBTs in Serbien - mit Boban Stojanović und Adam Puškar (Queeria) | Biljana Stanković (NLO - Novosadska Lezbejska Organizacija) | Rüdiger Rossig (Moderation).

Ab 23:00 Uhr:

(Ovaj krug sam smislio, ovaj krug sam stvorio, ovaj krug sam razbio, u vetar rasuo.)

Was ich mache...

2011-01-04T21:40:00.005+01:00

...wenn ich nicht mit dem Kram beschäftigt bin, der sonst hier zelebriert wird:

Der Westbalkan auf dem Weg in die EU. (aussenpolitik.net, um alle interessanten und herausfordernden Formulierungen gekürzt, September 2010)
Bosnien und Herzegowina vor den Wahlen. (Stiftung Schüler Helfen Leben, September 2010)
Die Situation der Homosexuellen in Serbien. (Stiftung Schüler Helfen Leben, Oktober 2010)
It's not the economy (only), stupid. (Atlantic Community, Titel seriöser gemacht und Tippfehler eingebaut, November 2010)
Roma auf dem Balkan. (Stiftung Schüler Helfen Leben, Dezember 2010)
Das Kosovo in der Krise. (Stiftung Schüler Helfen Leben, Januar 2011)

Sollte nur mal gesagt sein. Weiter im Text.

Best of 2010 - The music.

2010-12-30T12:22:00.004+01:00

The songs (in no particular order)...

Foals - Spanish Sahara (official video)

Future Islands & Katrina Ford - In The Fall (live)

World's End Girlfriend - Les Enfants Du Paradis (official video)

Arcade Fire - Suburban War (no video)

Scanners - Salvation* (official video)
*Technically, the single was released in 2009 already, but the album came out this year.

...and the shows:

25.01. Naked Lunch - naTo (Leipzig)
19.05. Pavement - Columbiahalle (Berlin)
24.05. Broken Social Scene - Kesselhaus (Berlin)
13.09. Julia Kent - Bang Bang Club (Berlin)
03.11. Hauschka/Max Richter Ensemble - Hebbel am Ufer I (Berlin)

Best of 2010 - The movies.

2010-12-28T14:42:00.010+01:00

If everybody else is doing it, I might as well join in. The post is in English as a nod to my nonexistent ~~international read~~ readers.

First off, the rules: eligible for this list are all movies that were released in Germany this year, which in some cases is earlier than in other countries, and in most cases, later. Secondly, only full length feature films (meaning no short movies) are considered. Ratings for movies are always given on IMDb's 1-10 scale, where 1 is an utter and unbelievable abomination, 5 sub-average, 6 slightly above average, 7 good, 8 very good, 9 excellent and 10 a masterpiece.

I declare myself largely unimpressed with the bulk of 2010 works I've seen. Am I simply watching the wrong movies? Or am I misleading myself by mostly picking well-known (and well-known for a reason) films from the Classical and New Hollywood eras and unfairly comparing those to the mass of movies released this year? Looking at my IMDB voting history, 2010 clocks in with two 10/10 movies (that actually both were released in 2009 outside Germany). That might not sound bad by itself, but these are two out of... I'm not sure how many dozen. By comparison, I've seen a grand total of three movies from 1944 (hey, I'm working on it!) and they all were 10/10s. It's not a phenomena of classics only, as I'd consider four movies from 1986 as truly magnificent. Many other years deliver similar results.

Then again, I still haven't seen a fair share of 2010 productions I expect much from: "Lebanon", "The Ghost Writer", "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives", "The Social Network" and especially "Bal" come to mind immediately. But there's quite a number of hyped movies that might have been good, yes, but fall short of excellence. This includes "Fish Tank" (7/10), the entertaining yet insanely overrated "Inception" (8/10) and "Un Prophète" (8/10). Generally, I've observed myself giving most recent productions (not just from 2010, but all recent years) lower ratings than other users, while frequently considering older movies much better than the IMDb average - which is, as I might add, rather typical of me, as I tend to get overly enthusiastic about the things I like.

But let's get on to the list, shall we? For once, I can even say that these are in order of preference:

1. El Secreto De Sus Ojos (The Secret In Their Eyes). Amazing piece of work and a deserved Oscar for Best Foreign Picture winner. A story of love, friendship, (in)justice and South American history is told, and it's told including all aspects in every single shot. The leads and the two most important supports are nothing short of breathtaking, their on-screen chemistry amazing - watch the elevator scene and you will know what I'm talking about. It is fascinating to watch the differences in the interplay between the two main characters in the two stages of the movie, set more than twenty years apart. Finally, the resolution is sure to haunt the viewer's conscience for much longer than the movie runs. (10/10)

2. Mary & Max. How utterly adorable. It's quirky, it's naive, it's random - and unlike many other movies, never annoyingly so. An ode to all the people that understood when no one did, and that made us become the way we are. (10/10)

3. Die Fremde (When We Leave). A very strong movie, with an equally strong Sibel Kekilli leading it. It depicts how traditionalism turns a young woman's family against her, ruining both the life of her and her family. As a character puts it: "God has nothing to do with it." It's all in the forced holding on to an outdated heritage and the inability of most individuals to break out of it. If anything speaks against this movie, it is that it trots similar ground as "Gegen Die Wand", while not quite reaching its brilliance. We'll be hearing from this as the German submission for the Best Foreign Oscar, I believe. (9/10)

4. 11'E 10 Kala (10 To 11). More than a pleasant surprise. Istanbul is changing, and when the owner of the apartment building decides to adapt and profit, the tenant Mithat sees his "collection" of old newspapers and other assorted stuff threatened. He enlists caretaker Ali to help him save it, and while their current lives are much more similar than it at first seems, they're of very different character. Both are also developed in distinct ways: Ali leaves the city quarter for the first time, encountering an entirely new world, while the viewer learns that there's a lot more to Mithat's background than visible. Remarkable in many ways, and definitely worth seeing. (9/10)

5. Moon. This seemingly came out of nowhere. It's original, it features beautiful scenes of the Moon surface, an interesting opposite of HAL and a... err, some great Sam Rockwells. There are some minor (well, major - just not annoying) science mistakes, but they don't really detriment from the believability of the movie. I'm curious about what the sequels will bring. (9/10)

Honourable mentions: "The Good Heart" (9/10, with a little goodwill), "Mr. Nobody" (8/10), "Women Without Men" (8/10) and "An Education" (8/10).

Tempelhof, Siberien.

2010-12-27T16:40:00.002+01:00

Welcome to Sarajevo.

2010-12-16T23:30:00.004+01:00

Der Bäcker auf der linken Seite macht eines der besten Krompiruša (Blätterteig mit Kartoffelfüllung) der Stadt. Der Mann rechts im Bild - die beiden sind offenbar gute Bekannte - wohnt übrigens schon seit dreißig Jahren in Berlin. In Kreuzberg, Neukölln, dem Wedding, und heute in Adlershof. Ihm zufolge gibt es einen guten jugoslawischen Bäcker (mit Burek statt Börek! - wenn ich es denn essen würde) am Kottbuser Tor, gefunden hab ich ihn leider aber auch noch nicht.

Kad smo bili mladi.

2010-12-08T00:35:00.002+01:00

Da li mogu vas slikati?

2010-12-06T21:23:00.005+01:00

Sarajevo (od blata i snega)!

2010-11-28T10:59:00.003+01:00

Ich bin dann mal weg. Für eine Woche. Kein Urlaub, aber ich glaub ich tu einfach mal so als ob es einer wäre. Auf dass es mit dem Schnee, und nicht nur mit dem Schlamm klappt.

Art Forum Berlin '10.

2010-11-26T00:23:00.002+01:00

War nicht so prall.

interfilm Festival 2010.

2010-11-22T21:36:00.012+01:00

In den vergangenen Tagen fand das interfilm Festival statt. Aus Zeitgründen konnte ich leider nur einige der Kurzfilmblöcke anschauen, die, wie ich spätestens am Freitag feststellen musste, doch starke Qualitätsunterschiede aufwiesen. Speziell das "Karambolage"-Programm hinterließ nicht nur bei mir eher Gleichgültigkeit. Zudem kämpfte jede von mir besuchte Filmvorstellung mit (meist eher leichten, aber nichtdestoweniger auffallenden) Technikschwierigkeiten, die alle vermeidbar erschienen. Überprüft vor dem Festival eigentlich jemand ob die DVDs (ja, DVDs) überhaupt laufen? Ärgerlich waren aber vor allem die völlig inhaltsleeren und mehr als einmal schwere Fremdschämattacken auslösenden Kurzgespräche mit den anwesenden Filmschaffenden. Hier wurde eine Chance vertan dem Publikum einen echten Mehrwert gegenüber den Kurzfilmplattformen im Internet zu bieten und Details oder Anekdoten aus der Produktion zu vermitteln. Aber ich möchte Menschen, die genug Begeisterung für den Film aufbringen ein ganzes Festival zu organisieren, nicht zu viele Vorwürfe machen. Was bleibt, ist die Erinnerung an ein paar tolle Beiträge. Am kommenden Freitag laufen die Preisträgerfilme noch einmal im Babylon. Meine fünf Favoriten (ohne Ordnung):

"Aargh" (Trailer) - Ein ehemaliger Animationsfilmstar und Kultfigur in Japan tritt sein nach-Berühmtheits-Leben an. Wunderbar liebenswertes Mockumentary über das Finden eines Platzes im Leben und ein kleines "Fick dich!" an Thilo S. Wenn Aargh akzeptiert werden kann, dann klappt das auch mit meinen Neuköllner Nachbarn. (9/10)

"Teheran Kitchen" (Trailer) - Die drei selbstironischsten Köche der Welt arbeiten übrigens in einer Mensa in Teheran. Dort terrorisieren sie schlimmstenfalls Studierende mit schlechtem Kebab und liefern nebenbei ein sympathisches Bild des Irans abseits des Ahmadinedschad-Atomwaffen-Unterdrückungs-Einerleis. (8/10)

"Die blaue Periode" (Trailer) - Eine Parodie auf den täglichen Soap-Opera-Wahnsinn. Glaub ich jedenfalls. Immer wenn mensch denkt der Regisseur und Drehbuchautor Sergej Moya hat den denkbar am abstrusesten gestellt wirkenden Dialog des Filmfestivals vorgelegt, setzt er noch einmal nach - und trotzdem bleibt immer das Gefühl, das alles tatsächlich schon einmal im deutschen Fernsehen ertragen haben zu müssen (hier setzt es Verbkonstruktionen die an einem Montag um diese Zeit nur gefährlich sein können!). (9/10)

"Der kleine Nazi" - Es lässt sich inzwischen wohl eine Korrelation zwischen Lustigkeit des Films und meiner Bewertung desselben ausmachen. Auch hier wird gelacht, wenngleich auf andere Weise, da der Film mit Subtilitäten eher geizt. Aber ein Weihnachtsfest mit dementer Oma, Nazi-Andenken und ja, richtig geraten, jüdischem Gast? Geht natürlich immer. (7/10)

"Smolarze" (Ausschnitt) - Es geht aber auch mit nur wenig Humor. Eine überzeugende Charakterstudie aus der polnischen Provinz im bedachtsamen Takt, komplettiert von wunderschönen Bildern (und Hund- & Katzencontent). (8/10)

Drei Variationen eines Problems.

2010-11-12T21:49:00.004+01:00

Don't worry, we're in no hurry.

2010-11-07T21:55:00.001+01:00

School's out, what did you expect?

Pfefferberg.

2010-11-03T00:26:00.001+01:00

In dir muss brennen.

2010-10-26T23:54:00.002+02:00

...und noch ein paar Fotos vom F/Stop.

Short Cut #5: "More".

2010-10-21T23:31:00.003+02:00

"More" (6:23 Minuten) von Mark Osborne, der zehn Jahre später mit "Kung Fu Panda" richtig erfolgreich wurde, ist einfach, ohne Worte, darin überzeugend und von New Order bespielt. Mehr muss eigentlich auch nicht mehr gesagt werden.

F/Stop Leipzig '10.

2010-10-18T00:43:00.009+02:00

Das 4. F/Stop Leipzig ist zwar jetzt auch wieder schon zwei Wochen vorbei, aber ich brauche ja traditionell immer etwas länger, um Kopf, Kamera und Kopfkamera zu ordnen und die Ergebnisse in Text und Bild zu überführen. Mensch könnte es auch "abgelenkt" nennen.

Ich war dieses Mal leider vom Fotografiefestival weniger begeistert als noch im letzten Jahr, was zum einen einer vielleicht etwas übertriebenen Erwartungshaltung meinerseits geschuldet ist, zum anderen aber auch dem Abfall vom Unerwarteten seitens der Kuration. Zu vieles ist schon einmal dagewesen. Tschernobyl und Prypiat sind und bleiben fesselnde Themen, nur scheint es mir, als wurde bereits jedes denkbare Motiv aus der Geisterstadt in den vergangenen Jahren gefühlte 229683615 mal abgelichtet. Insofern hat auch Andrej Krementschouk, dessen weitaus bessere Serien "No Direction Home" und "Come Bury Me" hiermit empfohlen sein sollen, dazu nichts Neues zu bieten. Auch Meike Fischers Arbeit "Was übrig bleibt" ist zwar emotional einer meiner beiden persönlichen Favoriten, erinnert dabei aber stark an das schon auf dem letzten F/Stop zu sehende "Elisabeth & Wilhelm" von Daniel Schumann. Und selbst die gleich nebenan gehängte "Morgenliebe" von Katrin Trautner, meine zweite Lieblingsserie der Ausstellung (mit dem meiner Meinung nach auch stärkstem Einzelbild, ärgerlicherweise im Gegensatz zu allen anderen online nicht aufzufinden), kommt für den im Programm verkündeten Tabubruch ein paar Jahre zu spät.

Nun ist dieser natürlich nicht zwingend nötig, und bietet die Vielzahl von ausgestellten Künstlerinnen und Künstlern trotz größtenteils ausbleibenden Hin-Und-Weg-Momenten genug Abwechslung und Eingebung für mehrere Stunden entspanntem Sehens. Geholfen haben mag dabei auch die überraschend geringe Besucherzahl zumindest am abschließenden Sonntag. Richtig zur Geltung kam so auch der wahre Star des Festivals: Das eigens dafür noch einmal in lädierter Verfassung geöffnete Ringmessehaus. Ein kurzer Blick in die F/Stop-Flickr-Gruppe zeigt, dass das die anderen mit Kameras bewaffneten Besucher/-innen ganz ähnlich sahen.

P.S.: Mit einer Klage kann ich doch noch aufwarten - die überaus detaillierten Erläuterungen bei Thomas Kerns Haiti-Fotos mögen zwar informativ sein, haben aber zumindest mich massiv von den Bildern selbst abgelenkt. Sowas gehört in den Katalog.

Berlin von hinten³.

2010-10-10T22:03:00.004+02:00

Berlin von hinten².

2010-10-04T11:05:00.002+02:00

Berlin von hinten.

2010-09-29T23:56:00.002+02:00

S41.

2010-09-26T00:12:00.002+02:00

Einmal rundherum.

Short Cut #4: "Lucía, Luis Y El Lobo".

2010-09-21T00:07:00.004+02:00

...und zum Abschluß des Tages ein unerwarteter (und unerwartet guter) Alptraum: "Lucía" (4:01 Minuten) und "Luis" (4:09 Minuten) von Cristóbal León, Niles Atallah & Joaquín Cociña. Lässt sich der Anfang noch scheinbar unschuldig an, führt jeder Satz tiefer in eine dunkle Fantasie, die durch eine hingebungsvoll arrangierte stop-motion-Animation zum Leben erweckt wird.

Ich möchte (kein) Teil einer Jugendbewegung sein.

2010-09-19T02:01:00.003+02:00

Flohmarktcontent.

2010-09-12T23:07:00.005+02:00

Alfred Döblin - Berlin Alexanderplatz, Jeffrey Eugenides - Middlesex, Günter Grass - Die Blechtrommel, Peter Handke - Langsame Heimkehr|Die Lehre der Sainte-Victoire|Kindergeschichte|Über die Dörfer, Hermann Hesse - Der Steppenwolf, Michel Houellebecq - Ausweitung der Kampfzone, Ödön von Horvath - Jugend ohne Gott, John Irving - The Fourth Hand, John Irving - The World According To Garp, Rudyard Kipling - The Jungle Books, Milan Kundera - Die unerträgliche Leichtigkeit des Seins, Gabriel Garcia Marquez - Hundert Jahre Einsamkeit, David Mercer - Plays: One, Philipp Roth - The Human Stain, William Shakespeare - Titus Andronicus, August Strindberg - Ein Traumspiel, Antonio Tabucchi - Indisches Nachtstück & Stefan Zweig - Leporella. Einkaufen macht Spaß.

...und morgen kommt die wunderbare Julia Kent in die Stadt. Eines Tages lerne ich auch noch Cello.

(...und B. ist ärmer denn je, aber das ist auch gut so. Dann reicht es bei Gelegenheit mal wieder für einen richtigen Blogeintrag. Der ist nämlich kostenlos.)

Ten thousand drunken kids in a field can't be wrong.

2010-09-11T17:30:00.004+02:00

Oder aber doch. Gerade auf der Freiheit statt Angst-Demo gesehen: Stuttgart-21-Gegner/-innen, anti-Polizeigewalt-auf-pro-kurdischen-Demos-Aktivist/-innen, Menschen die für die Legalisierung von Drogen eintreten, pro-Medienpiraterie-Pirat/-innen, Protestler/-innen für ein bedingungsloses Grundeinkommen, irgendwelche Leute die sich mit Chemtrails befassen und schlußendlich natürlich 9/11-Truthers (zu den beiden letztgenannten Gruppierungen äußere ich mich jetzt besser mal nicht). Prima, liebe Kinder. Und in der nächsten Unterrichtsstunde lernen wir, wie mensch auch eigene Demos anmelden kann.

...aber ich freu mich aufs Stars-Konzert heute Abend.

Über das Schreiben.

2010-08-30T20:58:00.001+02:00

"Der Philosophie scheint es nur um die Wahrheit zu gehen, aber vielleicht phantasiert sie, und der Literatur scheint es nur um die Phantasie zu gehen, aber vielleicht sagt sie die Wahrheit."

(Antonio Tabucchi, in: "Erklärt Pereira", S. 31)

"Meiner Ansicht nach sollte aber der Schriftsteller seinem Witz mit Skepsis und seinen Tränen mit einem Taschentuch begegnen..."

(Truman Capote, in: "Baum der Nacht", S. 169)

"Truth must of necessity be stranger than fiction, for fiction is the creation of the human mind, and therefore is congenial to it."

(G.K. Chesterton, in: "The Club Of Queer Trades", S. 80)

"Bei der Literatur ist es ja so, daß jeder glaubt, er weiß, wofür sie gut sein soll. Der, der schreibt, hat meistens ganz andere Probleme."

(Jörg Fauser, in: "Rohstoff", S. 285)

In Brandenburg.

2010-08-22T19:14:00.002+02:00

Windräder inmitten des Tagebaus, Mauern, Industrieruinen und Kinder, die hoffentlich nur leere Flaschen eingesammelt haben. Viel mehr gibt und gilt es eigentlich über Brandenburg nicht zu berichten.

Dahinter.

2010-08-21T21:52:00.007+02:00

Einer der Hauptthemen des von mir geschätzten Jürgen Noltensmeier sind nordrhein-westfälische Hausfassaden (I, II, III). Wenn den Aussagen der Kuratorin der Ausstellung, bei der ich letztes Jahr ein... sehr unterhaltsames Praktikum (Text, Bild) absolviert habe, Glauben zu schenken ist, verarbeitet er damit unter anderem die Unmöglichkeit, das Haus seiner früh gestorbenen Eltern zu betreten. Bei meinem Provinzbesuch in der ersten Hälfte dieser Woche, den ich in erster Linie mit Fahrradfahren, Fotografieren und schlechtem Essen (da zeigen sich die nicht immer gleich offensichtlichen Qualitäten Berlins und Leipzigs) verbrachte, stellte sich dieses Problem für mich nicht: das Haus, in dem ich die ersten Jahre meines Lebens, an die ich mich heute noch zumindest bruchstückhaft erinnern kann (die Wohnung davor ist mir völlig unbekannt geblieben), gewohnt habe, war unverschlossen. Deswegen nach einer kurzen Betrachtung der - wirklich sehr schönen - Fassade gleich den Blick dahinter:

Vor dem Eingang habe ich schon bei einem früheren Besuch Stolpersteine, fünf an der Zahl, entdeckt. Es handelt sich dabei um die der Familie Gutkind und deren Eltern, Adele und Georg Schlesinger. Stolpersteine vor einem Haus, in dem mensch selbst einmal gewohnt hat, aufzufinden ist eine Erfahrung, die sich gänzlich von der Entdeckung solcher anderswo unterscheidet.

Das Haus ist in den seit meinem Auszug vergangenen Jahren, inzwischen schon erschreckenden achtzehn an der Zahl, stark heruntergekommen. Wahrscheinlich war es schon damals nicht mehr im Idealzustand, die Zeit ohne Renovierung oder nennenswerter Reparatur macht sich jedoch selbst meinen wenigen Erinnerungen gegenüber bemerkbar. Vor allem aber ist es dieser Tage, trotz der guten Lage (soweit man davon in einer Stadt wie Cottbus reden kann), nur zu fünfzig Prozent, den oft mit seltsamsten Kram zugestellten Wohnungseingängen nach zu urteilen dabei eher an sozialökonomisch benachteiligte Schichten, vermietet.

Ich kann mich entsinnen, dass auf dem Innenhof früher tatsächlich Teppiche ausgeklopft wurden. Macht das heute jemand noch? Bei dem Fenster im zweiten Obergeschoss, das der Wand am nächsten liegt, könnte es sich um mein ehemaliges Kinderzimmerfenster handeln. Ich bin mir nicht einmal mehr völlig sicher, in welcher Etage ich gelebt habe. Dafür erinnere ich mich an das Doppelstockbett und die ausklappbare Modelleisenbahn darin.

Alles ist viel dunkler, als ich es in Erinnerung habe. Das wenige Licht im Treppenhaus rührt von den trüben Fenstern in den Hof, die elektrische Beleuchtung ist noch weitaus schwächer. Die Tapete ist unverändert, die Treppen sind steil - und ich bin mir nicht wirklich im Klaren darüber, ob ich sie auch früher so empfunden habe.

Ich glaube der Keller war damals für mich entweder nicht weiter von Interesse, oder im Gegensatz zu heute abgeschlossen. Nicht zugänglich ist nun aber der Dachboden, an den - und insbesondere an dessen Taubenkolonien - ich mich viel besser erinnern kann. Mir kommt es vor, als ob es dort durch die zahlreichen (Dach-)Fenster (auf dem Fassadenfoto gut zu erkennen) auch am hellsten gewesen wäre, kann es aber leider nicht nachprüfen. Fast zeitgleich mit mir verlassen zwei andere Personen das Gebäude, anscheinend Studierende, aber ich spreche sie nicht an und ärgere mich immer noch darüber.

Endland.

2010-08-17T00:08:00.002+02:00

I went to see the end of Germany* and lived to tell of it.

*Damit sei nicht nur die deutsch-polnische Grenze, sondern die Stadt Forst als Ganzes gemeint. Da ist nichts, und da kommt auch nichts mehr.

Hochwassertourismus.

2010-08-16T00:59:00.001+02:00

Am Kanal.

2010-08-08T21:24:00.002+02:00

Seltsame Hobbies.

2010-08-05T22:45:00.001+02:00

4. Menschen beim Bücherkauf beobachten.

Die Rückeroberung der verlorenen Zeit.

2010-08-01T20:31:00.005+02:00

Oder: Wie Berlin und ich doch noch Freunde werden, Folge V.

Freitagabend musste ich mal wieder feststellen, dass ich das Publikum im Magnet Club nicht mag. Vielleicht bin ich auch einfach zu alt. Die Musik war auch nicht wirklich hilfreich. Jedenfalls wurde das Wochenende von da an als "zu retten" deklariert, und ich muss sagen, ich habe mich dabei diesmal gar nicht so blöd angestellt. Am Samstag Falafel und Fries im Yorck52, Sojaeiskrem am Lausitzer Platz, Besuch beim Plattenladen in der Oranienstraße (erstanden: Explosions In The Sky - All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone, für viel zu viele Währungseinheiten) und Lesen und Menschen beim sich-am-Sommer-erfreuen (Pétanque und den vorbeifahrenden Touristendampfern zuwinken) beobachten am Kanalufer. Inklusive fremden Menschen beim Couch tragen helfen. Heute dann Flohmarkt auf dem Boxhagener Platz, für 28 Euro 14 Bücher erstanden (Boris Pasternak - Doktor Schiwago, Max Frisch - Don Juan oder Die Liebe zur Geometrie, Max Frisch - Homo faber, Maxim Gorki - Die Feuersbrunst|Erzählungen, Peter Handke - Wunschloses Unglück, Victor Hugo - Der Glöckner von Notre Dame, Hermann Kant - Der Aufenthalt, Milan Kundera - Abschiedswalzer, Stanislaw Lem - Solaris, Alexander Puschkin - Ägyptische Nächte|Erzählungen, Erich Maria Remarque - Die Nacht von Lissabon, Erich Maria Remarque - Im Westen nichts Neues|Der Feind, Antonio Tabucchi - Der kleine Gatsby|Erzählungen & Roger Willemsen - Der Selbstmord), danach zum Vöner und schließlich wieder an den Kanal. Alles in allem eine unverantwortliche Überstrapazierung meines Budgets (und meiner Abwehrkräfte gegen solare Strahlung) und das war auch gut so.

How I wish we were here with you now.

2010-07-29T00:59:00.002+02:00

Deutschland muss sterben, damit wir tanzen können.

2010-07-23T00:37:00.001+02:00

Auf Arbeit.

2010-07-15T01:12:00.002+02:00

Schon blöd.

2010-07-12T01:32:00.005+02:00

Wenn Klageschriften ob eines kalten Bettes wegen der subtropischen Temperaturen zumindest logisch nicht haltbar sind.

(Die Filme dürfen wie immer erraten werden.)