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Reviews
Heidi (1952)
Affectionate, careful children's film not only children can appreciate
This is the first film version of the famous children's book by Johanna Spyri in German language. It tells the story of a little swiss girl who lives with her grandfather Alp-Öhi solitarily in the swiss mountains. Someday Heidi is taken away to Frankfurt/Germany where she makes friends with Clara, a little girl who sits in a wheelchair, but becomes homesick... "Heidi" is a carefully made, affectionate film with good actors and good direction by Luigi Comencini, an Italian director who has had made some film in the neorealistic style and later entertainment films with the best known Italian actors. The film certainly benefits by the fact it was made in Switzerland, where the story in fact takes place. The style of this film is influenced by the visually ambitious so called "Bergfilme" (mountain-films) for example by Arnold Fanckh or Luis Trenker, as well as it seems influenced a little by the style of the Italian "Neorealism". This film version even tells about the social reality of the 19th century. Enjoyable is it's absence of kitsch so many mountain-films as well as children's films are infected by.
A good film. (Much better than it's sequel "Heidi und Peter" which I saw the day after)
Der Fall Rabanser (1950)
Dark faces and rooms
On the surface of the story "Der Fall Rabanser" is a solid, quite interesting thriller about a journalist who is suspected of a murder. Director Kurt Hoffmann is known for competent entertainment and for bright comedies, but what is strange and very interesting about this movie is the dark mood which surrounds everything. The characters in it seem secretive, melancholic, as if they were burdened with something from the past. The criminal case entraps innocent people. And above all there is this dismal illumination, the shadows eclipse the faces of the people in their dark rooms and shades the whole scenery. The good cast includes some well known German actors of the times during the WW II and the post war era. Watch out for the 'young' Inge Meysel in a little part, one of Germany's best known television actresses in one of her earlier roles (although she was around forty then) before she became known as Germany's so called "mother of nation" ("Mutter der Nation") in television series and TV movies. A good movie from a period you maybe wouldn't expect it from. 7,5 out of 10.
Flight from Ashiya (1964)
Ridiculous
If you want to see this film it helps being not too attentive. This film has a nice surface which promises an entertaining, adventurous film but unfortunately "Flight from Ashiya" instead is full of clichés, stereotypical characters and of often unintentionally funny story lines. "Highlight" is the story of Yul Brynner which takes part in Africa and which involves a super-exotic woman and a doll's house's Africa. The end of this part of the film is ridiculous and at the same time disgusting and a perfect example of the exploitation of a character for a very cheap effect. The most funny is the pathetic narrative voice-over commentary which claims that everything in this film really happened - which indeed would surprise me... All in all "Flight from Ashiya" unfortunately is a perfect argument for all the people who despises classic Hollywood films for being stereotypical and false, which this film surely is.
Die Sehnsucht der Veronika Voss (1982)
Memories are made of this
Like many other Fassbinder films "Die Sehnsucht der Veronika Voss" tells about a decline and is very depressing. It is a visually stunning film that shows how much Fassbinder admired the classical Hollywood cinema and especially the films of Douglas Sirk. Like the films of his idol this film is stylish and artificial to an extreme extent which creates quite a distance between itself and the audience. Probably an even greater distance, since the style and the artificiality are used more consciously here, even as a instrument of alienation. So it is more fascinating than touching or even moving and might leave one even cold. Nevertheless the story is intriguing and it really tells something about the post war society in West Germany, so the film is interesting and even fascinating to watch. The scene where Rosel Zech as Veronika sings "Memories Are Made Of This" is very haunting, a gem.
The Devil Makes Three (1952)
Impressions of Germany after the war
The film's plot is solid yarn but not much above average. What makes the film interesting are two things: First Pier Angeli as the girl. And more than that, that the film gives a strong impression of how Germany looked like during the first years after WW II. There is a very atmospheric photography which shows some original locations in Munich and Bavaria: the Bavarian landscape, some villages, the post war Munich. Beyond it the film focuses on the everyday life of the German people more than other films with a similar topic, and it does it in an interesting way: you see some clothes, cars or flats of that time for example and some of the cabarets, clubs ore Night Shows, which obviously where quite typical for the post war era in Germany (and can be found in some other films about post war Germany ). And by this "The Devil Makes Three" manages to be a nice contemporary document along the way.
Charlie & Louise - Das doppelte Lottchen (1994)
Nice
The story of Erich Kästner is transfered to the presence and some differences are added which obviously should reflect the society reality of contemporary Germany: Wheras in Kästner's story the father is a successful composer who lives in old fashioned prosperity and, and the mother is a modern and hard-working journalist who lives in more simple conditions, now it's the mother who is very successful whereas the father is unsuccessful as an composer and quite chaotic. Other differences: In Kästner's story and the earlier film the girls meet in Bavaria whereas nowadays it's more likely to send children to Scotland for vacation. The differences aren't obtrusive and seem reasonable - as opposed to the 2001remake of another Kästner story, Emil und die Detektive / Emil and the Detectives which tries to ingratiate itself with the nowadays audience in a very fashionable and superficial way. This one instead manages to keep faith to Kästner and the atmosphere he wanted to create then. Certainly it's a mainstream entertainment film, and it's not a great one (like some Astrid Lindgren films by Olle Hellbom) but entertaining it is and it's sometimes even quite moving indeed, the old story has some good turnarounds and ideas which don't spoil the original story and the actors are very good and take it seriously. All in all it's a nice film: 6 out of 10
The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
Generally entertaining but highly conventional
After a ship accident which turns the SS Poseidon upside down a small group of survivors tries to find a way out of the ship while the waters are rising in the ship. The basic constellation and the story which results from it sounds not too original and indeed it's the classic but usual stuff we have here: The usual bunch of different characters within the group which together with the dramatic action results in rising conflicts among the passengers. Setbacks, heroic rescue operations, sacrifices all along the attempt to survive. Sometimes the cliché prevails over lively and sensual action. Very good performances especially by Gene Hackman and Shelley Winters. Generally entertaining but highly conventional.