Author Archives: yearof44films

A Few Words on Substances and the Artist (Prompted by Philip Seymour Hoffman, R.I.P.)

Posted on February 6, 2014 by yearof44films

Like pretty much everyone, I reacted to the news of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s untimely death from a drug overdose with utter shock and profound sadness. After a little reflection, however, I realized the shock was probably misplaced. The real surprise … Continue reading →

Posted in Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Uncategorized | Tagged | 1 Comment

Berlin Alexanderplatz – Part X: Loneliness Tears Cracks of Madness Even in Walls (1980)

Posted on January 31, 2014 by yearof44films

Part X opens in Eva’s elegant flat—not the one she lives in with Herbert, but the one her wealthy gentleman has installed her in, the one Franz stumbled upon that day selling shoelaces, way back when he had two arms—to … Continue reading →

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Berlin Alexanderplatz – Part IX: About the Eternities Between the Many and the Few (1980)

Posted on January 24, 2014 by yearof44films

I think it’s strange. . . That it’s possible to talk and think for and against the same thing at the same time. It’s really strange. —Franz Biberkopf Franz Biberkopf is not accustomed to entertaining thoughts that appear to contradict … Continue reading →

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Berlin Alexanderplatz – Part VIII: The Sun Warms the Skin, but Burns It Sometimes Too (1980)

Posted on January 10, 2014 by yearof44films

I don’t think I’ve mentioned the opening credit sequence in Berlin Alexanderplatz yet. That’s odd, since the credits are obviously the first thing you see in every episode and they’re always the same. A scratchy tenor on the soundtrack over … Continue reading →

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Berlin Alexanderplatz – Part VII: Remember—An Oath Can Be Amputated (1980)

Posted on December 30, 2013 by yearof44films

And so Biberkopf has come to Berlin for the third time. The first time the roofs were about to slide off, then the Jews came and he was saved. The second time Lüders cheated him, but he swigged his way … Continue reading →

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Berlin Alexanderplatz – Part VI: Love Has Its Price (1980)

Posted on December 27, 2013 by yearof44films

Cursed be the man, saith Jeremiah, that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh but … Continue reading →

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Berlin Alexanderplatz – Part V: A Reaper with the Power of Our Lord (1980)

Posted on December 17, 2013 by yearof44films

Part 5 seems to mark a transition from one set of concerns (how is Franz Biberkopf going to make a life for himself outside of prison?) to another. Whatever those new concerns turn out to be exactly, they are, at … Continue reading →

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Berlin Alexanderplatz – Part IV: A Handful of People in the Depths of Silence (1980)

Posted on December 6, 2013 by yearof44films

Franz Biberkopf awakens in a dark, dingy, down-market room, a castaway in a sea of empty beer bottles, on a bender to beat all benders. Otto Lüders’ duplicity was just too much to bear; Franz has hidden himself away from … Continue reading →

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Berlin Alexanderplatz – Part III: A Hammer Blow to the Head Can Injure the Soul (1980)

Posted on November 25, 2013 by yearof44films

Style and form—everything rested on this. No style without morals, no morals without style. —Ingrid Caven, Interview with Katia Nicodemus, signandsight.com, 5/31/2007 Part 3 picks up where Part 2 left off: outside Max’s bar where Franz, still shaken by the … Continue reading →

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Berlin Alexanderplatz – Part II: How Is One to Live If One Doesn’t Want to Die? (1980)

Posted on November 20, 2013 by yearof44films

After the roller coaster ride of Part 1, reality. We knew Franz’s euphoria couldn’t last. Struggling under the impossible reparations imposed at Versailles, in the midst of a global economic depression, it turns out Weimar Germany is just not a … Continue reading →

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