squirm

when the future was still shiny and new

cyclemaniacs assaulting and killing for thrills!

 

in celebration of the biker movie blowout currently on offer at the otto mannix report, the united provinces of ivanlandia, toestubber, and american national standard. gentlemen, start your engines!

The Cold Weekend

seems just a bit more sufferable now that I've discovered European Film Treasures, a partnership between a few dozen film archives around the continent dedicated to preserving the early history of European cinema. Browse their listings, watch the films online and read about their creation. Thus far I've thrilled to the exploits of Danish stuntwoman Emilie Sannom, witnessed Kaiser Wilhelm II pop by the neighbors, and dreamed of summer afternoons frolicking at the Wannsee. And that's just in the first ten minutes!

Raise the Red Lantern

finally some good news

crumpets

and coffee saturday at a villa in berlin-dahlem. here i would meet my first actual anglicans - they seemed almost normal! of great interest was the vacant lot next door at number 24. a hillock of clay and a dozen small rosebushes huddled together providing the only evidence that the lot had once been the site of a luxurious villa, home to swedish chanson and film star zarah leander. the following day found us wandering through friedrichshagen, marvelling at the lakefront villas before venturing into the waterworks museum, which provided a look into the murky history of berlin's water systems. afterwards by tram and ferry to a late lunch in rahnsdorf where, at twilight, mosquitoes the size of small birds emerge from the pines.

i don't speak frog but

in an interview over at telerama director michael haneke criticizes the present state of american cinema stating that it makes

"violence a product for mass-consumption. ... [the] loss of standards gets a little worse everyday in the media orgy of brutal images: a real pornography of violence. with the development of communication in every direction, it's even more present today. and art has not been spared. for many filmmakers, exploiting the distracting qualities of violence has become the pinnacle of cool. ... violence has always profoundly revolted me ... how can we revel in the suffering of others, even on the screen? i don't understand. as long as this unhealthy fascination exists, i won't stop speaking out about it and opposing dominant cinema." (thank the goodly folk at euro|topics for the translation).

while i can appreciate his revulsion, it is a bit specious to argue that america's fascination with violence is novel. the nation was formed from and girded with violence from the very start and its ferocious proclivity has only accelerated as its capacity for violence has grown exponentially. it's as american as apple pie and carjacking!

the bees knees

dropped into the extraordinary popular delusions & madness of crowds that is the Berlinale last night to see sexed up snail Isabella Rossellini's Green Porno open for Guy Maddin's hometown remembrance My Winnipeg. Rossellini's sexy shorts, commissioned by a sundance project for the "small screen", recounted the erotic intrigues of flies, snails and spiders - while further episodes take on bees and dragonflies. As it wasn't actually the premiere (that was two days earlier) I was pleasantly surprised when both Rossellini and Maddin came out to introduce their films and later engage in a post coital Q & A. While i had no doubts that the directress would prove scintillating and seductive i was happily surprised by how charming and playful she turned out to be. Maddin was engaging and witty as well - reinforcing my opinion of him as one of the most creative and visually arresting filmmakers working today. His homage to Winnipeg, his hometown of sleepwalkers and snow, is one of the finest examples of a love letters written to a place that i've had the pleasure of watching. His trademark black and white, dimly focussed camerawork (and additional antique film stock) proved just the ticket to summon up memories of retreating childhood and youth, flickering across the silver screen and disappearing like fading family photos in the sun.

the long crawl

watching burt lancaster cut through the cold water of an unendurable reality as he makes his way upriver to his lost dreams i think i learned few pointers to improve my own strokes. in fred perry's 1968 film the swimmer, lancaster plays ned merrill, who has removed his white shoes and stripped off his brooks brothers suit as he swims from pool to pool across posh society suburbs on his way to retrieve himself from the deeps. while each of us that takes those long laps in the blue has ample opportunity, between the edges of the pool, to contemplate the why's and wherefore's of our damp compulsion, it seems that ned's belief in his swimming abilities has us all outclassed. as is often said - denial is not just a river in egypt, it seems to also flow through a series of connecticut backyards....

Pimpin'

last night's screening of The Last Pimp the story of Düsseldorf's larger than life fancy man Bert Wollersheim was well received by the audience which applauded throughout Ingo Hamacher's film as Bert described his life philosophies and insights into the business of sex. beginning as a hair stylist, his extravagant personal style and ability to cut the latest hair fashions brought him to the attention of the sexy underworld of seventies west germany and before long he had his own brothel which he grew into a world renowned sex emporium in the course of his long career in the skin trade. today he's a local pimp celebrity (prostitution being legal in Germany at present) and auto collector and the new documentary follows this rise to stardom.
   during the question and answer session after the screening Bert made it clear that he considers prostitution to be one of the most difficult professions and wouldn't recommend it to anyone if they have any other options. he also pointed out that the underworld in which he came of age no longer exists due to the globalisation of crime. the questions and answers soon narrowed to a discussion of the current state of prostitution in germany and its legalisation which, while originally hoped to improve the working conditions for prostitutes, has created a liberalisation of the labor market which has resulted in reduced prices and increased competition - a difficult situation when your capital resources are your own body and psyche....