FREE ON CINEGEEK.DE Peter Weir - The Last Wave 

The films of the Australian Peter Weir seem like ghostly daydreams. Sometimes images linger like a vision of ghosts. The Last Wave, the great follow-up to Picnic At Hanging Rock, has an unsettling, surreal energy. It is elusive and can only be interpreted from the moment when something as mundane as the weather becomes an instrument of terror, of horror. Suddenly everything around us, the birds, the grasses, the sky seems threatening. The title The Last Wave is not meant as an allusion. Rather, you can simply take it literally. Very slowly, the water seeps in. From storms, dreams and prophecies to the finale, the end of the world. Water remains the central motif of The Last Wave. Yesterday a storm passed over Berlin. The water suddenly came from everywhere. What would happen if it never stopped? And how does a person who thinks logically in himself react the moment he realises that he is part of a mystical narrative? A narrative that has to do with the Dreamtime? Peter Weir shows all this quite realistically, even if his story slides into the fantastic. At the centre is the lawyer David Burton (Richard Chamberlain), who defends a group of Aborigines. They are accused of murder. The cause of death is uncertain. No one can be persuaded to testify. David is obstructed at every turn in his investigation and comes to the conclusion that it must be some kind of tribal ritual. Will this serve as an argument in court? A colleague, however, implores David that Aborigines have long since ceased to exist. Their rituals, ceremonies, songs and dances have long since been destroyed by us. Then one of the five people accused of murder appears in David's dreams. From the subconscious into real life. In court, Western "civilisation" now tries to rationalise the ancient spirituality of the Aborigines - an attempt that is doomed to failure. For what are we against the mighty forces of nature? How could we react other than with complete helplessness? Peter Weir made his film in 1977, but in view of the consequences of the climate catastrophe, it seems almost prophetic today and not at all outdated. And the way Peter Weir sets turning points that have to do with mysticism and the end of time is breathtaking! Because very slowly we become aware of how a series of personal turbulences are connected to a much bigger, more far-reaching dilemma.... 

FREE ON CINEGEEK.De Jean-Jacques Beineix - Betty Blue 

Love is not synonymous with nudity. A basically obvious fact, which Jean-Jacques Beineix refuses to accept. He has filmed a romantic obsession - with a lot of naked skin. It was the Frenchman's third work, who revamped French cinema during the 80s, but was also laughed at by many cineasts. Beineix polarizes and he does that with Betty Blue. At the beginning we see how a couple loves each other under the portrait of Mona Lisa. The narrator introduces us, they would do this every night. The sex scene lasts for minutes and even today, 30 years later, it is still unusually revealing! By the way, the narrator is the man in bed. His name is Zorg and he is played by Jean-Hughes Anglade. He lives with Betty in a prefabricated house on the beach (both have only known each other for a week). Outside the season there are only a few neighbours, basically they are alone. Zorg is exploited by his greasy landlord. He works as a kind of caretaker and is now supposed to paint all 30 bungalows - by the way. Betty hates the landlord, throws him out of the house naked, pours a bucket of pink paint over his car and burns down a cabin. Anyway, she's not easy. Zorg has to watch as she throws all his stuff out of Fesnter. But suddenly she finds his manuscript. From that moment on Betty Zorg thinks he is a genius and cares for him. Although he asserts that no publisher is interested and that he has never written anything again - for Betty Zorg's brilliance is now out of the question. Who is wondering in which world such a story should play? In no real one. Who would endure a violent and impulsive woman like Betty in the long run? Basically nothing works outside the bed. Whoever read the underlying novel by Philippe Djian soon knows that Betty is suffering from mental illness. The reader becomes aware that she is abusing medicines and is in a downward spiral. Everyone notices that, except Zorg. I have always been able to show little interest in this character, as he has almost masochistic traits. Just a blind lover? Or is there more? But the questions don't arise, because Betty Blue plays in a different world. It is Betty's world. She is played by Beatrice Dalle, around whom a cult quickly developed. In the film she appears as often naked as dressed (the same goes for Zorg). In the 80's many articles appeared that portrayed Betty Blue as a feminist film. All this misses the heart of the work: Betty Blue is Beatrice Dalle's film and she looks best naked. Betty Blue is above all a film about her curves! Beineix draws on the tradition of nude films, which had been shown in train station cinemas a decade earlier. These skin flicks had a certain animal character and that comes through in Betty's being. Betty Blue marks a turning point. The French Arthaus film is no longer synonymous with Art. Arthaus in the sense of Betty Blue means above all a lot of skin. Every "Cinephile" knew this and could use it as a shield. You didn't have to expose yourself any more and sneak into the station cinema. Betty Blue ran quite comfortably in the arthouse cinemas. A comic for adults - garish and obscene and incredibly beautiful!

FREE ON CINEGEEK.DE Peter Bogdanovich - The Last Picture Show 

In the best scene of Peter Bogdanovich's The Last Picture Show, Sam The Lion goes fishing with Sonny and Billy. They go out to a lake you might call a hole. In the middle of the Texas prairie. Actually there are only turtles in the lake and no fish at all. But Sam doesn't care about that. He doesn't like fish anyway. "Try one? - Sam offers Sonny a hand-rolled cigar. Then he tells how twenty years ago he went to this lake with the girl he loved. They swam and rode their horses through it. Sam's girl, however, was already married and he hadn't been young for twenty years... As he tells, we realize that we are listening to the myth of Sam's life. His vision of beauty that keeps him alive in the wasteland of a dying city: Anarene, Texas. Sam, played by Western actor Ben Johnson, is the soul of Anarene. He runs the Diner, the Billard Halle and the Royal Theatre. The only places where there's anything going on. Otherwise you can only go to bed early in Anarene! This explains the lonely desperate adults of the city and the bored teenagers whose only pastime seems to be sex. Sam's protégés are Sonny Crawford (Timothy Bottoms) and Duane Jackson (Jeff Bridges), the heroes of the local football team. Peter Bogdanovich's film is set in 1951 - the Korean War begins and the time of the big cinemas comes to an end. But classic films are still running in Sam's Royal Theater, especially Western. Sonny tries to fiddle with his clumsy girlfriend in the cinema and Duane kisses the beauty of Anarene; Jacy Farrow (Cybill Shepherd). Meanwhile, the great Western classics that gave Texas its legends are running. Anarene is a place where it's either too hot or too cold. Sometimes the wind blows a few dried bushes through the streets. Bogdanovich has captured this scenario as if a great emptiness surrounds the buildings of the city. Infinite vastness, as in the classic Western movies. Duane and Sonny both have a home, but they almost exclusively hang around with their cars. Once we hear a lecture by their teacher (John Hillerman) about the power of beauty, the truth. But there is not a trace of it in her own life. Sonny's best experience is sex with an older housewife. Duane, on the other hand, is used by Jacy - while she is looking for a rich son from the neighbourhood. Finally, she attends the pool party of the rich idiot Lester (Randy Quaid), where she will unlearn in front of everyone... Jacys mother Lois (Ellen Burstyn) is rich and still attractive - although she lies on the couch most of the time, drinks and zips her way through the TV program. Lois is pragmatic, advises her daughter to just sleep with Duane to find out how little it means. Her own life is empty, the dream of escaping from Anarenes past. Unlike her mother, Jacy is nothing special. She loves sex and wants to settle down sometime. I think Bogdanovich's film can be called a sensation at its premiere in 1971. A sensation whose effect lingers to this day. The Last Picture Show looks old-fashioned on the one hand, but on the other hand also very modern. The pictures are based on the Hollywood classics of the studio system of the past. Bogdanovich gives these pictures a soundtrack with pop songs, which wasn't common in the early 70s. The songs of Hank Williams aren't just scattered. They run when a jukebox is operated: "Cold, Cold Heart". In The Last Picture Show the songs comment on the action. The faces of the actors were still unknown (except for Ben Johnson). They should be the stars of the future like Jeff Bridges. Bogdanovich has succeeded in making a tremendously honest film! While other filmmakers of the New Hollywood generation were striving for the greatest possible freedom, Bogdanovich drew back to the simple beauty of the big western. When I saw the film again, I noticed how many scenes deal with sex - but are not erotic at all. I think sex is only a means to an end for most people in Aanarene. They try to do the best they can for themselves - just like Jacy. In Anarene, however, life passes by. Only Sam The Lion keeps a secret of how it feels to love. Sonny and Duane will probably grow up drinking too much whiskey. Maybe they'll talk about the past. Jacy becomes an ordinary housewife and probably the wife of an entrepreneur. In the credits, Bogdanovich emphasizes his still unknown actors. Almost twenty years later he was to gather them together again in front of the camera for a kind of sequel. Many films will follow his example as portraits of Generations.

Spain after 1979 

Like no other cinema, this one from Spain is a reflection of society and the country. Spanish film was doomed to eternal hibernation, missed the heyday of European auteur film after the Second World War and was basically non-existent. In 1975, the dictatorship of the fascists under Franco ended and decades of chains of oppression were discarded. La movida madrilena in all areas of Spanish culture! Cinema flourished, discovered the eccentric, the insane! 

Magic Realism 

One of the main characteristics of magical realism: it is not easily defined. One associates mythical elements in otherwise real fiction, and some also think of literature from South America, such as that of Gabriel Garcia Márquez. But the "genre" of magical realism quite simply refrains from definition. Instead, it simply wants the fantastic elements to be understood as part of life! For how else could one express emotions better than through the power of images? This is why magical realism is most effective when it blends seamlessly with reality. We are not supposed to bother trying to figure out what is behind the magic! 

FREE ON CINEGEEK.DE Richard Limklater - Tape 

In the end, I thought to myself that the things that happen in Richard Linklater's Tape would probably have happened the same way in real life - a big deal for a movie! Yet Tape would have to seem artificial through and through: Everything takes place in a hotel room, there are only three characters, dialogue, and all of this is also based on a theater play. Nevertheless, the direction, script and actors are so convincing that everything seems real! One no longer thinks about the limitations of Tape, but the freedoms! Especially the freedom not to present silly characters saying silly things. On the contrary; Amy (Uma Thurman), Vince (Ethan Hawke) and Johnny (Robert Shawn Leonard) are articulate and smart. They put each other to the test. But Tape also takes the liberty of NOT showing off any big events for once. And Tape takes the liberty of NOT putting a bombastic score underneath. He takes the liberty of NOT showing what we expect. Certainly the filming was very special. Together in a motel room with no place to hide from the camera. Tape was shot as video, which is why the camera is free to turn back and forth, taking up all the space. But it's also not one of those jerky nervous handheld camera movies thankfully. First we see Vince, alone in the room. He seems to be getting ready for something. He's drinking beer, putting the furniture together. Then there's a knock at the door. Johnny walks in. They used to go to high school together, now Johnny returns to town because his movie is playing at an indie festival. So what? Are they happy to meet? Or are they trying to be? Johnny seems poised, confident and solid. Vince snorts some cocaine. He's unstable. He steers the conversation to Amy, his first love. But: Amy and Vince never loved each other. Amy and Johnny, on the other hand, made love during their senior year. Then Amy knocks. A surprise for Johnny. And then we get to the tape. On this tape, the past is captured.... Richard Linklater has the gift of using the video format without it using him. He uses it to approach his characters intimately and freely. It's never about the style. It's about the ideas in Tape. And they are fresh and never stifled by style. 

FREE ON CINEGEEK.DE Claire Denis - Beau Travail 

Have you read Melville's Billy Budd? Beau Travail by Claire Denis may be called a homoerotic reworking in Africa. There is nothing left of the French occupation but darkness. We meet a group of mercenaries. They are stateless, never ask questions and proceed with relentless toughness and cruel brutality. This is what Beau Travail is about. Soldiers' lives. The film is strangely stylized. And beautiful - even if it sounds like a contradiction. Denis observes the male codes in the group and thus an intense drama is created in the midst of Africa's magnificent landscape. In this paradise, on the other hand, the male body is tested mercilessly and to the point of destruction. Just as the male soul is tested. You have to imagine this musically, because the film does not obey any common narrative principles. Sometimes, in the glistening midday sun, all this seems like a hallucination. Like when the men start dancing. At some point, during a birthday party, we notice that Denis' men are actually just children. But isn't that always the case?