The film Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum gives me an uneasy feeling, and this alone is of course a merit. On the other hand, during the film I had high hopes about the climax, and the actual ending became a disappointment. I still think that the director and the writer have missed an opportunity. Unfortunately it may well be that the silly unraveling is actually their intention. Most part of the film seems to be a warning to the viewer, that he or she can become a victim of the public opinion and the judicial system. Since this is both true and ill understood, the film could bring some enlightenment. In the Netherlands there used to be a PR campaign proclaiming that "the police is your best friend". In fact the interest of the police and the accidental bypasser are seldom coinciding, and paragraphs about extorted false confessions are not uncommon. And although the highly subjective gathering of news by the media is well known, most people still tend to believe what is in print or on the screen. The story is located in the turbulent Germany in 1975, at a time when violent revolutions still seemed a viable alternative. The anarchist Rote Armee Fraktion scored its first terrorist successes. The Berlin journals of Springer Verlag started a right-wing campaign, which had some resemblance to the American McCarthy years. Civil rights were curtailed, and radical citizens were excluded from certain professions. In this political climate the famous left-wing politician Rudi Dutschke was shot by an idiot. The film hitches on to these living conditions, when the main character Blum experiences love at first sight for a suspected and wanted "terrorist". Actually, the story is not quite clear about his criminal past, and it may consist of conscientions objection, verbal agitation or being member of a subversive organization or so. After a one night stand with the man (a quickie) Blum is arrested on suspicion of accessory. The man himself has somehow disappeared in a miraculous way. The police officer/interrogator is an unpleasant character, but to me his behavior seems to be within the usual limits. His main fault is a collaboration with an unscrupulous newspaper journalist. They exchange information, which is indeed penal and an official abuse, but I fear also quite common. The journalist even obtrudes himself on the dying mother of Blum, and writes a distorted paragraph about it. Characteristic is the reaction of the pertinent surgeon in response to the article: "If he indeed has entered the intensive care station, the hospital will sue him. However I think it is impossible". Consequently the public opinion condemns Blum as a terrorist, and she is spit at etc. So far so good. But then the story takes a bizarre turn. We discover that Blum has actually organized the escape of the "terrorist", and his going into hiding. Apparently she is indeed an accessory and guilty. In the end, she actually murders the journalist (and it is suggested also his photographer). The tables are turned: Blum is an unscrupulous criminal and the police officer and the journalist are effective professionals, albeit human, who deserve our admiration. The film ends with the burial scene of the journalist, where in a moving speech the liberty of the press and its vital importance for the democracy are professed. We are back with the fairy tale that the police is your best friend and the media tell the truth. In a world full of power abuse this is not the most helpful message, and therefore I can not frankly recommend this film. If you are captivated by the theme of state oppression in some form, you may consider seeing Fatherland, Man of Marble, Einer trage des anderen Last, or Die Architekten. In addition my list of reviews contains lots of films about unionism.
Review of The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum
