Change Your Image
pchmela
Reviews
Die Hitlerkantate (2005)
When Will it Be in English? It's Wunderbar!
An unexpected and welcome treatment of an interesting constellation of acquaintances during WWII. At first the overdone make-up, washed out appearance and overly dramatic acting leave the viewer in doubt as to the caliber work, but after 10 minutes of hanging in there, an intriguing story unfolds with some very convincing acting and scenery. The characters become increasingly more human, and their lines and connections develop into unusually veritable ones. The camera-work is clever and aesthetic, framing the lives of Ursula, Ernest, Gottlieb, Gisela, and Fritz. Ursula, a Nazi-brainwashed girlfriend of an SS officer, wants to compose the Hitler Cantate based on Third Reich regulations, but ends up helping Ernest out, not as Komponistin, but as Assistentin. This is the germ of the film which grows into an intricate story. It winds like ivy, tieing in the doeppelganger, the photographer, the Jewish opera singer and the SS General. There are some great lines in it as well. Hopefully this movie will be in English soon, as it is well worth seeing and quite convincing (with the exception of the moonlight scene on the see and the hokey MTV-like Hitler film).
Aus der Ferne (2006)
No Comment Euro News
A road movie originating in the Director's "home town" of Istanbul winding through the country to the Iran border. Just like No Comment on Euro News, the camera reels without comment, (well, except for very occasional comments from Arslan) and thus actually documents points of life along the way. The images are the story. This is a good movie for anyone who simply wants to sit back and experience real life in Turkey without actually going and not have to think too much about the political, environmental, or developmental issues there. The images are sometimes quaint, sometimes striking, though some scenes go on long enough to let the mind wander...outside of the film. For people who have been through Turkey, this could feed their notalgie. Just as Arslan seems in some way, to wax sentimental in his journey following his roots. Come with your curiosity peaked, or you might get sleepy. This film was part of the 2006 Berlinale.
Casanova (2005)
lack-lustered
What wonderful costume!!! If only johnny Malk could show up to give some dowdy justice to an otherwise flimsy film... something like a Disney bawdiness, not even teasing, just jerking, the age old stereotypes - without an ounce of cream. By the way, was this THE Casanova? Not one of us found him sexy... even without thinking "enough" ... we wanted to leave, even before the film was over..Jeremy, aren't there some better parts out there for you? Frankly, the film was inspiring... for the next and better Casanova film. A picturesque film which could do more, albeit stuck with one pearl earing, this was a film that like dogville should have a voice.... Veneziaville? Amen.