opaguy Review of The Einstein of Sex

The Einstein of Sex (1999)

Misunderstood Work of a Great German Filmmaker

[26 August 2006]

This is a great example of how cultures of film-making develop differently in different cultures, different countries - I'm sure this is not counted as Rosa's masterpiece, it is certainly good enough - even in USA - to be an excellent movie of the week or such - shooting on video is still not a very legit popular medium and certainly the American fascination with super-art-directed and glamorously designed film extravaganzas can be persuasive, the idea that it is the ONLY way to accept/shoot film is as ludicrous as the American arrogance that would decry this film as unprofessional. Not only is the subject matter something that American filmmakers - even avant garde - are cowards before, you know it would have been seriously compromised in some way especially, as one of my Berlin friends would say, in terms of sentimentality. Actually, my experience of this film is that it is too American and that the usual unexpected elements one would expect in foreign cinema are somewhat lacking. In any case, the European actors in this film are beautiful enough to merit serious enough consideration. A couple of years ago I met one of Mr. Praunheim's crew making a documentary on him and I learned enough about his artistry and intentions to be convinced that a film such as this merits more careful thought than as if you were watching some hastily conceived movie slotfiller that is so tragically common in American film/TV.