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Eraserhead plays in a grim, strange world. Probably in the post-apocalypse. At the center of the film is Henry Spencer (Jack Nance), who wears his hair as if he had just reached into the socket. One evening Henry returns to his shabby apartment to find out that he was invited to dinner by the parents of his girlfriend Mary X (Charlotte Stewart). The worst possible family scene! Mary's mother even lets Henry answer particularly unpleasant questions twice and licks his face after a certain point in time. The grandmother is sitting in the corner. Maybe she is already dead. The father boasts in a good mood that his left arm is deaf. The dinner consists of chickens, which secrete disgusting mass, one cuts into it. And Mary gave birth to a child! A premature birth. But nobody is sure if it is a baby at all? Anyway, the parents insist on a marriage. And what does the baby look like? Like a tormented exorcist worm that permanently segregates innards. A tortured creature that whines and moans. Mary flees and Henry remains alone with the worm. Driven by hallucinations, a prostitute appears to the young father. His baby screams and pukes purulent phlegm. In order to save himself, he is forced to do something terrible... Eraserhead - as we can read - was shot by David Lynch in stages over years. Nevertheless, the film is harmonious and in an uncanny way even beautiful. Eraserhead stubbornly resists any explanation. There is something like a narrative structure, but in the course of the events it is lost in avant-garde experiments. For me it was always important: I had something to hold on to. And that is increasingly losing itself. It's precisely this residual logic that I miss in so many experimental films.

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How on earth did it come to this? In 1979, the long-divided left in Iran rallied behind the ‘revolutionary’ Khomeini, who was able to establish a theocracy right before their eyes. It is hardly surprising that the left, the so-called ‘79ers’, do not command much respect in Iran. Instead, there is a movement that longs for the days before 1979. A movement outside Iran, led by the Shah’s son. Within the country itself, a heavily armed minority has the population under its thumb, slaughtering and robbing them. The people are so desperate that they pin their hopes on a war to bring them relief. Asghar Farhadi has made his films within this system. He has won numerous film awards. His debut, Dancing In The Dust, was acclaimed by critics worldwide. Farhadi’s films are not explicitly political. They are moral. Dancing In The Dust is about marriage and money. Nazar (Yousef Khodaparast) loves his wife Reyhane (Baran Kosari), but there are salacious rumours about Reyhane’s mother, which is why Nazar is preparing for a divorce. Nobody wants this divorce. Reyhane’s life will be ruined. But Nazar has no money and is in arrears on a loan. He flees, hiding in the car of a grumpy snake charmer. Two men with very different temperaments: Nazar, who talks non-stop, and the snake charmer, who never speaks, in a hostile environment. If one interprets the artwork from a very broad perspective, might one still draw conclusions about life in Iran? In Iran, where tens of thousands of people are simply being slaughtered in a matter of days?

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There are plenty of dramatic scenes in John Hughes’ *Pretty in Pink*, but my favourite ones are the quiet moments where a boy plucks up all his courage to speak to the girl. Who still remembers when your dreams were so much bigger than your self-confidence? Pretty in Pink is all about this dilemma of teenage life. It’s about those moments when you think, ‘That’s exactly how it was when I was 16.’ Molly Ringwald plays Andie Walsh, a poor girl from a humble background. She lives with her unemployed father (Harry Dean Stanton), whose first words in the morning are “Where am I?” Andie works in a record shop. Her high school is full of rich snobs, and Andie has fallen for one of the rich boys – Blane (Andrew McCarthy). His best friend is called Duckie (Jon Cryer). A prime example of the sort of lad who thinks he can win a girl’s heart by acting silly. Or Iona (Annie Potts), who sports one radical hairstyle after another. The plot is an old one: the poor girl falls in love with the rich boy. She doesn’t want him to find out what a shabby house she lives in. In the end, she’s supposed to find her true love... Who knows, perhaps John Hughes could have given this old story a bit of a modern twist? After all, it’s full of universal truths that apply to every teenager. James Spader is brilliant as the arrogant snob who claims money means nothing to him (would he otherwise treat his parents’ house like that?). Molly Ringwald is THE face of the 80s; she conveys vulnerability and depth. She never comes across as cheesy or affected. Her conversations with Duckie – played by Jon Cryer – reveal one profound truth after another. That is probably exactly why some stories never fade away. We’re all familiar with the clichés; we already know what’s going to happen, and yet we feel that immense satisfaction when the girl and the boy – who are meant for each other – finally end up together.

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Has the century of the selfish mind already begun? Man has always been a being who has tirelessly sought a reality beyond himself. We have sent people to the moon and flown all manner of objects to other planets. Our signals are reaching out into the universe (and will probably only be received once we have become extinct). And we store and transmit digital data. All of this reflects our urgent need to communicate beyond our own minds....

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Things must have been a right mess when they were writing the script. Swordfish is gripping and skilfully directed, but it’s such a convoluted maze that by the end you’re guaranteed not to know who’s actually with whom... As far as I can tell, there is actually just one hero in the film – but are the villains actually villains? Are they even themselves? Hugh Hackman plays Stanley the hacker, who has just spent two years in prison. Today he lives in a caravan. He longs for his daughter (whose mother is lost in a drunken stupor). Then Ginger (Halle Berry) appears, wearing a skimpy red dress. She is there to recruit Stanley for a secret project headed by Gabriel Shear (John Travolta). Stanley hesitates, as the court has banned him from touching computers. But Ginger won’t give in and forces him at gunpoint. And who is Gabriel? A patriot? A villain? A double agent? Ginger’s lover or her target? Stanley shows little interest in Ginger, who is supposedly Gabriel’s girlfriend. Nevertheless, she bares herself to Stanley. Incidentally, there’s also a bank robbery and a car chase, but that’s not really the point. It’s more about pulling the rug out from under our feet every five minutes. Perhaps white and black cowboy hats should be brought back in films like this, so we don’t lose our bearings?

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Umberto is an upright and correct man. The style of his clothes shows that he was once in better circles. Now he is a pensioner, but the state's income is not enough to live on. Not even for his sparsely furnished room and a decent meal. Umberto and his dog are threatened with dismissal by the greedy landlord if he does not pay the increased rent. It's a shame, because she rents his room in the afternoon to couples who use his bed. Vittorio de Sicas Umberto D. shows a man's fall from poverty to homelessness. Of all Italian neorealistic films, Umberto D. is certainly the best. Simply because he is himself. Umberto D. tells his story without digression or lying dramatic effects. Even Umbertos dog is introduced without sentimentality - and that is unusual enough for a film in which a dog is involved! Umberto loves his dog and the dog loves him because that's his nature. The film never runs the risk of turning Umberto into a typically lovable Hollywood grandpa. Umberto just wants to be left alone and we can only hope that in his situation we would react the same as he did: Courageous and imaginative. The movie follows him as he becomes aware of the possibility of actually having to leave his room. Umberto always paid his bills, but this month it won't be enough. During the opening sequence we experience Umberto protesting with other old people against the low pensions. We know this from the media. But then de Sica does something that only FILM can do: He tells Umbertos personal fate. He, one of the crowd of demonstrators. That's how we are introduced to his life. 

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A film dedicated to God. Like in religious education? But director Majid Majidi is sincere and doesn't mean by "God" the one above all others. The Color Of Paradise also has nothing to do with the usual "consumer" children's films we make in the West. The focus is on a blind boy, of quick comprehension, very friendly and eager to learn. Mohammad is always attentive and loves to go to school. His grandmother and the two sisters love him. But his father does not love him. His father is a bitter widower who hopes to marry again, into a wealthy family. Maybe she wouldn't agree with a blind son? At the beginning of the film we see all the children being picked up after school. Only Mohammad waits in vain for his father, who doesn't come. In a particularly beautiful scene, he hears a beep. A sparrow fell out of his nest. Mohammad picks up the bird, climbs onto the tree, puts it back into the nest. Finally the family comes, but Mohammad has no illusions about his father's lack of love. Although he is good at school, his father doesn't want Mohammad to visit her any further. He would probably like to have an invisible blind son. The Color Of Paradise is a melodrama, but one that doesn't manipulate us. It's too simple, even plain - and sensitive! Instead of a score we hear the chirping of birds, insects and voices. The world as a blind man perceives it. Once Mohammad cries with despair - and that doesn't seem like a spectacle at any moment, but like real grief. 

FREE ON CINEGEEK.DE Daisies + The Czech New Wave 

Like no other movement in European film, the Czech New Wave was an intellectual movement. Not least, it also resulted from literary renewal, such as Kundera's novels and a whole series of contemporary literature that was filmed. The attempt to find a new literary language was accompanied by cinematic forms such as flashbacks in the film. In Western Europe, the role models were pop culture, comics and American films; in Eastern Europe, on the other hand, national folklore was the focus of attention. In a completely different way to the Heimatfilm, the needs of mass culture were excluded - the Czech New Wave was an intellectual movement! The early films of Milos Forman, Vera Chytilova, Jiri Menzel, but also those of older directors such as Karel Kachyna and Vojtech Jasny are counted among the new wave. Jan Nemec combined avant-garde with literary film adaptations based on historical material in his very own mixture. The function of film, indeed of all the arts, changed, positioned itself in a publicly effective and political way. The change from a relatively moderate censorship to the occupation of the country was made possible. Milos Forman: "Usually only the film in which political content is presented is regarded as a political film. However, I am of the opinion that even films with completely apolitical content like Lasky jedne plavovlasky (Love of a blonde) are political. For the tenor of this film is the examination of one's own existence, the question of what happens to us and around us. The question of the future is no longer far away." 

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I wanted to watch John Frankenheimer's The Birdman Of Alcatraz with my girlfriend (she refused, no Prison Break please) - but in the end, we both loved this unusual intimate play! Because The Birdman Of Alcatraz is really no Prison Break in the traditional sense! The film simply reverses the usual formula, bringing depth and humanity to this film adaptation of the life of Robert Stroud. After a true story. For 53 years the over 70 year old "Birdman" was in prison. Burt Lancaster vividly shows how this time leaves deep scars, how one forces something like privacy in prison. Highlight of the film: Birdman's clash with the vindictive prison warden. Robert Stroud, convicted of murder, continues his education behind bars, dedicates himself to bird breeding. In fact he discovered cures for bird diseases, which he eventually published. Like in the biggest and most important movies of Frankenheimer during the 60's, The Birdman Of Alcatraz is about the dignity of man. The redemption of the dignity of the individual in an inhuman system. Because true freedom, it always comes from within! By the way, the hateful prison warden finds out the opposite. One day he must realize that he has grown old with Birdman. Just like his inmates, he has spent most of his life behind bars. Both men, the Birdman and the prison warden, have to realize that they spent their lives on Prison Island of Alcatraz...

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 There is this one scene that encapsulates the whole gentle worldview of Hal Ashby’s classic: there are just 90 minutes to go before they arrive at Portsmouth Naval Prison. Buddusky (Jack Nicholson) and Richard ‘Mule’ Mulhall (Otis Young) are accompanied by their 18-year-old protégé, Larry Meadows (Randy Quaid). Buddusky and Mule have been assigned, as soldiers, to escort Larry there. He is due to serve an eight-year sentence for stealing money. So what does he want to do with these last 90 minutes? Let’s recap: over the past five days of their crossing, they’ve plied Larry with alcohol, got him high and treated him to a trip to a brothel. They’ve had a fight with some marines and bought Larry the best sandwiches in the world (with Italian sausage). What else is there to do? The three of them walk along a snow-covered street in Boston. Buddusky thinks the weather is rubbish. If it were summer, they could have a picnic right now. So he tries to light a fire, whilst Mule crouches beside him, shivering. That’s how brilliant *The Last Detail* is! We witness these three men, frustrated as they try to comply with the unyielding military bureaucracy (while being forced to fight an immoral war). It is precisely people like Buddusky and Mule who, despite everything, manage to show HUMANITY towards their fellow men within such a system. 

Iran Filmlist on CINEGEEK.DE 

“As we stand here, the state of Iran is gunning down protestors and a savage massacre continues, blatantly, on the streets of Iran. I consider it my duty to call on artists and members of the global film community to speak out and not remain silent. Use any voice and any platform you have. Call your governments. Call on your governments to confront this human catastrophe rather than turn a blind eye.” (Jafar Panahi)

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Out of the clear white light, a few people emerge. Who are they? We are in an ordinary building with a blurred background. People are greeted by employees. It almost looks like a government building. They are told they are dead. The here and now is a stopover before it becomes final. They will spend a week here. During this time they are allowed to choose a memory from their lives. Not just any, but the most beautiful! This memory will be their life in eternity. They assemble a film out of it and take it with them. Everything else will be forgotten. This is the idea behind Hirokazu Kore-eda's After Life, a film so friendly and warm-hearted that it can join the ranks of the great humanists of cinema. What is the one great moment that constitutes a life? We are invited to explore it. One of the newcomers pretends to have only bad memories. A co-worker admonishes him to think deeper. Of course: A bad memory for eternity; that would be hell in the true sense! After Life doesn't need any special effects, bad choral music or similar swirls for this scenario. Instead, there's a lot of work: memories have to be collected and assembled into films. In this active zeal we recognize true happiness! 

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Natürlich bi ich nicht alt genug, um mich an das Studio 54 zu erinnern. Vielleicht war es so ähnlich wie das Berghain - mit dem Unterschied, dass im Studio 54 meistens wer Berühmtes beteiligt war. Angeblich kam man auch WIRKLICH nie an den Türstehern vorbei. Es war der Ort, an dem man gesehen werden musste. Eine Glamour Grube der Dekadenz. Bestimmt hatten die Insassen mehr Spass in ihrem Leben als ich mir je vorstellen könnte. Heute scheinen mir viele Berliner davon besessen zu sein, eine Art neues 54 zu schaffen. Eine Besessenheit, die von Mark Christophers fiktivem Spielfilm "54" aber kaum gestillt werden dürfte. Der Film hat leider ein unbefriedigendes Problem: Er ist viel zu zahm. Doch der von Steve Rubell und Ian Schrager geschaffene Club verdient etwas Dekadentes! 54 dagegen gibt nur vor, die New Yorker Disco Kultur einzufangen - nimmt ihr gegenüber aber eine merkwürdig distanzierte Haltung ein. Immerhin war das das Moment, bevor es Aids gab, als üppiger Hedonismus zu einer kollektiven Massen-Hysterie wurde. Sex, Drugs & Disco. 54 entwirft eine inoffizielle Geschichte aus dem Studio 54, bevor die Steuer-Behörde den Laden auseinander nahm. Frage: Ist 54 nun a) eine Retrospektive, b) eine Saturday Night Fever Runderneuerung, c) eine Parodie? Oder etwa ein verwirrender Mischmasch aus allem? 

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When we first see Mario (Massimo Troisi), we have to assume that he is still mentally a child.. He talks to his father, who seems to be debil too. Or just weird. In the next scene we realize that Mario is of normal intelligence, but grew up in an area where there isn't much to tell. But that's going to change... Mario lives on an island in the south of Italy where new things arrive very late, if at all. But one day Mario is hired as a temporary postman. He has only one customer, a stranger. It's the famous poet Pablo Neruda (Philippe Noiret) who fled Chile and went into exile on the island. Mario is fascinated by Neurda, who receives countless letters, especially from women. He discusses with his boss, the postmaster, about Neruda: The expelled communist rebukes Mario: Neruda is a political writer! Neither the one nor the other understands Neruda, but Mario decides on the job to visit Neruda daily - and maybe there are girls too! Slowly a relationship develops between the two. Peruda lives quietly and withdrawn with a woman, maybe his wife. Anyway, Mario notices that both love each other deeply. Mario takes every opportunity to talk to Neruda (which is very cute) and has him sign a book. Mario reads the book and says, "How can this book attract so many women? But in the end he goes through a development. He's no longer the naive postman, in the end we think we've discovered the soul of a poet in him (only that he didn't grow up in this environment). But Neruda also learns from the people on the island, whom he describes as the simplest in the world. Mario smiles knowingly - so he can't be that simple anymore.