GOETHE FILMS screens “Barbara” by Christian Petzold (2012) on Oct 2, 6.30pm. "We didn’t want to film a portrait of an oppressed nation and then juxtapose it with love as this innocent, pure and liberating force. We didn’t want any symbols. You just end up decoding them and what’s left is what you knew all along.
We watched several films in preparation for BARBARA. One film that deeply impressed us was TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT by Howard Hawks. Two lovers, Bacall and Bogart, suspiciously eyeing each other, who cheat and lie, with secret police all around them and so constantly forced to speak between the lines. Strangely enough though, they can both handle it and they enjoy watching each other deal with the situation: the elegance, the intelligence, the precise skirmishes of their dialogues, as though seemingly ignited by the censored and controlled world around them. You clearly see how circumstances can produce new types of people who kiss, speak and look differently.
Another film that impressed us was Fassbinder’s THE MERCHANT OF FOUR SEASONS. Continue reading "Christian Petzold on what influenced..." »
