view
Io la conoscevo bene [I Knew Her Well] (Antonio Pietrangeli, 1965)
Apr
2
cocktails
A lone Roberto (Enrico Maria Salerno) at a lively cocktail party in Rome's hypermodern EUR district. DP: Armando Nannuzzi.
“Trouble is, she likes everything. She's always happy. She desires nothing, envies no one, is curious about nothing. You can't surprise her. She doesn't notice the humiliations, though they happen to her every day. It all rolls off her back like some waterproof material. Zero ambition. No moral code. Not even a whore's love of money.”
– the writer
view
Herz aus Glas [Heart of Glass] (Werner Herzog, 1976)
Mar
13
tea
“I look into the distance to the end of the world. Before the day is over, the end will come. First, time will tumble, and then the earth. The clouds will begin to race… the earth boils over; this is the sign. This is the beginning of the end. The world's edge begins to crumble… everything starts to collapse… tumbles, fall, crumbles and collapses. I look into the cataract. I feel an undertow, it draws me, it sucks me down. I began to fal, a vertigo seizes upon me.”
– Hias
view
Mord und Totschlag [Degree of Murder] (Volker Schlöndorff, 1967)
Mar
4
juice
A pensive Marie (Anita Pallenberg) drinking something red from a bottle with a green straw. DP: Franz Rath..
view
Nasser Asphalt [Wet Asphalt] (Frank Wisbar, 1958)
Dec
20
National Greg Day
“Sie können sich einen anderen Beruf aussuchen. Sie sind ein toter Mann.”
view
Angst vor der Angst [Fear of Fear] (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1975)
Nov
29
freebie: Housewife Day
Margot (Margit Carstensen) seeing herself reflected twice in a triple mirror. We see her from the back, which blocks out the third reflection. DP: Jürgen Jürges.
November 3 redux
“I'm calm. I'm completely calm. You can leave me alone now”
– Margot
view
Weihnacht (Roland Klick, 1963)
Nov
24
Black Friday
The miracle of Christmas, as seen in a fancy shop window. A dress shirt is on display among Sputnik-style decorations and an entranced toddler is reflected in a gilded mirror. From across the street, “Woolworth's” in neon text bounces off the window pane. DPs: Jochen Cerhak & Roland Klick.
A little boy takes in the magic of pre-Christmas, while the adults rush and worry about all that must to be bought.
view
Tätowierung [Tattoo / The Delinquent] (Johannes Schaaf, 1967)
Nov
18
National Adoption Day
Benno (Christof Wackernagel), a pensive young man with dark hair and dark eyes. DPs: Petrus R. Schlömp & Wolf Wirth.
view
Decoder (Muscha, 1984)
Sep
28
International Right To Know Day
“Information is like a bank. Some of us are rich. Some of us are poor, with information. All of us can be rich. Our job, your job, is to rob the bank. To kill the guard. To go out there to destroy everybody who keeps, and hides, the whole information. Simple. Special. Information. Power.”
– The High Priest
view
Warum läuft Herr R. Amok [Why Does Herr R. Run Amok] (Michael Fengler, 1970)
Sep
11
National Boss Employee Exchange Day
Der Chef (Franz Maron) berates Herr R. (Kurt Raab). DP: Dietrich Lohmann.
“No, no, geh' nicht vorbei, als wär' nichts gescheh'n,
Es ist zu spät, um zu lügen,
Komm und verzeih, ich werd' mit dir geh'n,
Wohin dein Weg auch führt,
Und die Welt, sie wird schön.”
– Christian Anders, Geh nicht vorbei (1969)
So why does Herr R run amok?
view
Stroszek (Werner Herzog, 1977)
Sep
9
German Language Day
A warm Railroad Flats, Wis. “Willcomen” [sic] for (LtR) Scheitz, Eva, and Bruno, with Mr Scheitz's nephew (Clayton Szalpinski) squeezed between his “Onkellein” and Eva. DP: Thomas Mauch.
Bruno Stroszek (Bruno S.), his friends Eva (Eva Mattes) and Scheitz (Clemens Scheitz, responsible for the fairy-tale music you hear in this film) decide to leave dreary #Berlin behind and move to #Wisconsin where the latter's nephew lives. A new life, with dreams of music and animal magnetism, awaits them there.
“Was ist loos? Der Hund is loose.”
– Clayton
As so oft with #Herzog, the story behind Stroszek is as engrossing as the resulting film. Documentary maker Errol Morris and Herzog were fascinated by Wisconsin's own Ed Gein and wondered if Gein had dug up his own mother, as was rumoured at the time. As they would, they decided to open the poor woman's grave. Morris never showed up, and neither did Herzog but only because his car broke down en route to Plainfield, Wisconsin. Trying to get the vehicle fixed, Herzog entered the workshop of a Clayton Szalpinski.
A character in his own right, and a non-actor to boot, Clayton ended up in Stroszek as Scheitz's nephew; a MacGuffin odder than a dancing chicken.