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Die Patriotin [The Patriotic Woman] (Alexander Kluge, 1979)
Mar
29
秦始皇兵马俑
Teacher Gabi Teichert (Hannelore Hoger), knee-deep in a puddle with a shovel, inspecting a find. DPs: Guenter Hoermann, Werner Lüring, Thomas Mauch & Jörg Schmidt-Reitwein.
A German history teacher, unhappy with the standardised history textbooks she has to work with, literally digs up her nation's past and sees how it is reflected in modern society.
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Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders, 1984)
Mar
27
94th Academy Awards
Travis (Harry Dean Stanton) wandering the desert. DP: Robby Müller.
“The Dust has come to stay. You may stay or pass on through or whatever.”
– gas station sign
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Ludwig (Luchino Visconti, 1973)
Mar
25
Elton John – 1947
Elisabeth “Sissi” of Austria (Romy Schneider) and King Ludwig II of Bavaria (Helmut Berger) in his beloved Venus Grotto below Schloss Linderhoff. Ludwig wanted blue light in reference to the Grotta Azzurra in #Capri, and had electricity installed in the grotto, which was the first usage of electricity in Austria. DP: Armando Nannuzzi.
A flamboyant character for Elton John’s birthday (1947).
“I want to remain an enigma forever. To others, and also to myself.”
– Ludwig II
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Grauzone [Zones] (Fredi M. Murer, 1979)
Mar
21
1976
The anonymous, urgent newspaper announcement referencing the oath of secrecy considering a mysterious epidemic, starting March 21, 1976. It lists all the symptoms. DP: Hans Liechti.
Eine mysteriöse EPIDEMIE ist ausgebrochen.
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Die große Ekstase des Bildschnitzers Steiner [The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner] (Werner Herzog, 1974)
Mar
13
Walter Steiner, flying. DP: Jörg Schmidt-Reitwein.
“Ich sollte eigentlich ganz allein auf der Welt sein, ich, Steiner, und sonst kein anderes lebendes Wesen. Keine Sonne, keine Kultur, ich nackt auf einem hohen Fels, kein Sturm, kein Schnee, keine Straßen, keine Banken, kein Geld, keine Zeit und kein Atem. Ich würde dann jedenfalls keine Angst mehr haben.”
– Walter Steiner
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Fata/Morgana [Left-Handed Fate / Panik 75] (Vicente Aranda, 1966)
Mar
9
Gim (Teresa Gimpera) modelling in a photo studio. The photographer, another woman in silhouette, has an identical hairstyle and outfit. DP: Aurelio G. Larraya.
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Io la conoscevo bene [I Knew Her Well] (Antonio Pietrangeli, 1965)
Mar
5
Crispus Attucks – 1770
Adriana (Stefania Sandrelli) seen through her apartment window. Rome is reflected in her face. DP: Armando Nannuzzi.
A wasteful act: Crispus Attucks, (arguably) the first American victim in the American Revolution, dies on March 5th, 1770.
“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
An ambitious but aimless girl – she wants to be loved, and to be a model, a proto-Edie – mills about her day.
Sublimely shot, we see Adriana through glass panes, in reflections, in an off-focal plane, in other people's words.
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Der große Verhau [The Big Mess] (Alexander Kluge, 1971)
Feb
19
Copernicus born
Space ships made out of all sorts of junk pass a moon. DPs: Thomas Mauch & Alfred Tichawsky.
A film about outer space for Nicolaus Copernicus' birthday (1473).
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Der Riese [The Giant] (Michael Klier, 1983/1984)
Feb
15
freebie: a movie from 1984
A woman, we only see her hands, waits at a counter while clutching her purse. Her handbag is next to her. The camera focusses on the small space reserved to count out money. DP: n/a.
January 21 redux: a film from 1984 on the date Orwell died (1950).
“The film is about observing, about glances that see without being seen, a dubious art of light and visibility.”
– Michael Klier, via
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Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant [The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant] (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1972)
Jan
31
freebie: high fashion
Fashion designer Petra von Kant (Margit Carstensen) – pouting in her emerald-green dress – is kneeled on a large, sheepskin carpet in front of a huge Baroque painting (Nicolas Poussin's Midas und Bacchus, ca. 1624). In front of her a small bottle of gin and a phone. DP: Michael Ballhaus.
A freebie for someone's birthday, with bonus points for high fashion. Petra von Kant is a fashion designer who, during a particularly icy birthday party, tells the world that her new lover is a woman. Then, one day, said lover returns home to her husband.
– You have a good figure. You could use it to your advantage. Get in touch with me some time.
– I'd love to.
With its exuberant costumes and set design, a Greek chorus of mannequins, and Sirk-ish larger- than-life melodrama, Fassbinder's Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant delves deep into the absurdities of love and fancy.
