And steamy it is. This is one of Ozon’s sexiest films with its ambiguous sexuality and its themes of submission and domination. Water Drops on Burning Rocks is a Fassbinder play, written when he was as nineteen years old as Franz (a pseudonym Fassbinder used many times throughout his career) is in the Ozon film. […]
Tag Archives: Fassbinder
April
16
Water Drops on Burning Rocks – Ozon uses Fassbinder to get steamy. (film review)
posted by lisathatcher
March
24
Katzelmacher – Fassbinder makes his first “bourgeois” film. (film review)
posted by lisathatcher
When Fassbinder called Katzelmacher his frist “bourgeois” film (it was made in August 1969 over nine days and is his second feature ever made) word has it he called it that because it is a film conceived against real life rather than other films. The first film he made, Love is Colder than Death (a […]
February
27
Side Effects – Steven Soderbergh and the twisting plot combined with the old chestnut. (film review)
posted by lisathatcher
Steven Soderbergh started his career with Sex Lies and Videotape and for that one film alone, he has a lot of credibility with me, no matter how high is “Ocean’s” count goes. He’s an interesting director, the way he can move rather seamlessly between big budget, low substance, Hollywood blockbusters and high-grade art house films. […]
February
12
Whity – Fassbinder and the dark side of the Western. (film Review)
posted by lisathatcher
How interesting to see Whity just two weeks after I saw Django Unchained. Both Fassbinder and Tarantino pay homage / deconstruct the Western in the two films, while Tarantino goes the Blacksploitation route and Fassbinder goes the gay/subteranean-fucked-up-route. It will come as no surprise to readers of this blog that I preferred Whity. It displays […]
January
14
Fear of Fear – Fassbinder predicts the medicated society. (Film Review)
posted by lisathatcher
One of Fassbinder’s very favorite places to play out madness and violence (besides supermarkets) is the family and suburban dynamic. Fear of Fear is a perfect example of a housewife, who starts to recognize severe anxiety and panic attacks while she is pregnant and perfectly situated within a ‘happy home’. She knows something is wrong, […]
January
13
God’s of the Plague – Fassbinder and the haunted power of the image (film review)
posted by lisathatcher
God’s of the Plague is a very underrated film (so many of Fassbinder’s are) and one of Fassbinder’s favorite that he made. It has a thin plot, and is the second in the gangster trilogy, coming in An American Soldier and after Love is Colder than Death. We are following Fanz Walsch now that he […]
January
08
Querelle – Fassbinder does Genet. (film review)
posted by lisathatcher
“Objectivity is the partner of total power.” How does one value the quality of a film? If film is art, then like all art, it’s value can’t necessarily be measured in as pure quantifiable logic but must be felt. And yet those “feelings” need to be of a certain quality. It needs to challenge, have […]
December
12
Martha – Fassbinder takes us to the darkest place. (Film Review)
posted by lisathatcher
The 720 degree shot shown above becomes a favorite of Fassinders after Martha, and he will go on to use it many times, particularly in Berlin Alexanderplatz. It left me breathless when I first saw it, right at the start of this long film. These are two people who do not know each other, but will become terrifyingly important […]
December
03
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul – Older Woman Younger Man Fassbinder style (Film Review)
posted by lisathatcher
Since the dawn of time older chicks and younger dudes have been gettin’ it on, but it’s remained a societal taboo despite its ubiquity. There’s definitely something about it that offends us – misogynistic mythology will be at the heart of the offence and there are probably countless decent books on the subject. However, film […]
The American Soldier – Fassbinder does Godard
posted by lisathatcher
It can be difficult with Fassbinder films over and over again. I’ve said on this blog in the past that he is one of my favourite directors and yet I can only take him in certain doses. If I were locked on an island with nothing but a screen and Godard films I’d think I’d […]
Lisa Thatcher 