Jadup und Boel was very consciously modeled on other European art films, including Andrzej Wajda's MAN OF MARBLE with its Citizen-Kane-inspired flashback investigative structure. The dreamlike quality of its flashbacks is also often typical of Bergman. To castigate Simon for "glacially slow tempo" is asking this film to be something it isn't trying to be: namely a Hollywood mainstream picture. Antonioni's L'AVVENTURA also doesn't solve its main mystery, nor does BLOW-UP, nor do many other art-house films: this is deliberate in them as it is in Simon. This film is one of the most poetic and understated films ever made in East Germany, and repays careful re-watching. Simon imparted mythological qualities to the film that aren't in the original novel (which I have read), such as the film's beginning in dark depths and ending on the illuminated heights of a church tower, symbolizing the main character's progress toward self-knowledge. The main actor, Kurt Boewe, was called "The Columbo of the East;" watch it and you'll see why: he's winningly earthy as Peter Falk. Boel's mother was played by a famous actress who was Bertolt Brecht's last mistress; the great Polish actor Frantiszek Pieczka is also in this film. Be patient and your viewing will pay off.
Review of Jadup und Boel
