Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse (1933)

The Testament of Dr. Mabuse is a sequel to Dr Mabuse: The Gambler (1922). Both are directed by the same director: Fritz Lang. In the end of Dr Mabuse: The Gambler, Dr Mabuse lost his mind and has been sent to a mental hospital. In this sequel, the original Dr Mabuse is still played by the same actor, Rudolf Klein-Rogge. Dr Mabuse is treated by Dr Baum, who thinks the patient is not a mad criminal, but a genius. After years of treatment, Dr Mabuse can write again, although his mind is elsewhere. Dr Baum reads his notes and finds that they are details for clever crimes. It is clear that Dr Baum is obssessed with his patient and executes what are in the notes. He hires thugs to do the crimes for him, while the thugs never see him because he hides behind a screen. They know him by the name of Mabuse; and this causes confusion with the police who check the facts.

As his nemesis, we have Commissaire Lohmann. Hearing his name only will make the criminals tremble.

For a sequel, I think the story is very well written. The original Dr Mabuse was a hit, a classic; so I am glad they didn't change direction for this sequel. The doctor stays mad and another person follows his path by taking his legacy. Same like Dr Mabuse, Dr Baum do his crimes to terrorize the world. He likes to spread fear, he doesn't want money. It's scary, really, when we cannot negotiate with the bad guy because he doesn't want anything but our fear.

Dr Baum doesn't really hide behind the screen. When one of his thugs - Kent- rebels, he finds that behind the screen there is only a microphone/radio, a desk, and a carton silhouette. I think somewhere in the movie, a thug dies for trying to find out who is behind the screen, so why Kent gets lucky?

Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler - Ein Bild der Zeit (1922)

This is a 4-hour silence movie directed by Fritz Lang, divided into 2 parts: Der grosse spieler and Inferno. Dr Mabuse is a master criminal and very dangerous because he is also a telepathic hypnosis. In the beginning of the movie, he makes so much money by manipulating the stock market. He is also a money counterfeiter. Therefore, he is a scary character because he doesn't do crimes for money, but to make harm. In the first part, he destroys the life of a young man named Edgar Hull. In the second part, he destroys Russian Count Told's life because he wants Countess Told. Dr Mabuse also has his nemesis: state prosecutor Wenk. Wenk encounters Dr Mabuse several times, but as Dr Mabuse is a master of disguise, it's difficult to recognize him.

The movie is called Dr Mabuse The Gambler. Beside gambling with the stock market, that is how he destroys the life of Edgar Hull and Count Told. He hypnotized them so they gamble a whole night long. He also hypnotizes his opponents, so they think they lost the game - when actually they are holding the winning cards. In the 2 pictures below, he hypnotizes Inspector Wenk, who in his investigation disguised as a gambler, so that Wenk only see the words Tsi Nan Fu - and not what's on his cards.

In my opinion, compared to Louis Feuillade's Fantômas, Dr Mabuse is better structured; perhaps because Dr Mabuse was made in later date. At least the DVD of Dr Mabuse is much better, because Fantômas has more missing and destroyed frames. Fantômas has more followers in the criminal world, yet I think Dr Mabuse is more dangerous. Fantômas is actually caught by his nemesis, Inspector Juve, at least once; while it's so hard for Wenk to catch Dr Mabuse. Wenk doesn't even know whom he is looking until the end and when he finally jails Dr Mabuse's accomplice, they are too afraid to or won't speak. Near the end, Wenk is hypnotized again by Dr Mabuse who tells him to commit suicide!

The ending is very good: Dr Mabuse lost his mind. I think if Wenk sends him to jail, he can easily hypnotize the guards to let him go.

The White Ribbon (2009)

Director Michael Haneke says that in The White Ribbon he tried to depict the roots of evil. The movie is very beautiful to look at, shot in black and white - but the contents of it is not; it's about evil. The story is set in the village of Eichwald in 1913-1914, starts with a terrible accident when the village doctor falls from his horse, caused by a wire set up between two trees. When the police come to investigate, the wire is gone. Next, a female worker falls from the sawmill due to rotten floorboards; a baby almost die because an open window in cold winter; the baron's son is tortured; a barn burns; and last: a handicapped boy is attacked and almost blind. Who has done all this?

The story is told from a school teacher's point of view. Near the end of the movie the handicapped boy's mother tells him, "I know who did all this. I'm going to the police." and she goes and never returns, the teacher is also unable to tell the audience who is the culprit. He himself believe that the pastor's 2 children did it. But did they? As the teacher says in the beginning of the movie: "There are some questions unanswered." The doctor and his daughter has left the village. Where to and why? Are all those crimes done by the same person? Is the handicapped boy made blind because he has seen something he has not supposed to see? If the victims are punished, what crimes they have done? The movie offers no obvious conclusion and perhaps the director wanted us to do repeated viewings in order to see the hidden meaning and find more clues.

It makes sense if the teacher thinks the 2 children of the pastor did it. Klara and Martin are brought up in a harsh way by their father, who is a Protestant pastor. The root of evil meant by Michael Haneke can be grown inside the abused and suppressed children. The way Klara and her mother dress, they look like wicked characters in films and books - although this must be how respectable family member of a pastor dress normally at that time. Violence does not only happen in the pastor family, but also in the steward's like when he whipped his son for taking the baron's son's whistle. This must be also a common practice at that time. I remember reading in Laura Ingalls Wilder's book that in her father's era, punishment by whipping was common for children.

White ribbon is a symbol of innocence and by wearing it, the children are expected to behave well. Yet they cannot be what their parents ask and the heavy task can make them express themselves by hurting others. In WW2 the children in this movie have become adults and it could be that they are growing to be the seeds of Nazi.

M (1931)

This movie is very engaging, even though it was made in early 30's. Eight children has been missing in a German town (I believe it's Düsseldorf, since in several countries the movie is called M The Vampire of Dusseldorf). The police has been looking for the killer (the children are presumably dead) for 8 months without finding a single hint. Then the killer sends a letter to the police, and that is where the police get their first clue. They do find the killer's apartment.


In order to find the killer which terrorizes the town, the police swarm the city. The criminals feel they can't move freely and decide to catch the murderer. They use beggars to watch every children. Finally, a balloon seller recognizes the murderer - who whistles In der Halle des Bergkönigs from Peer Gynt - who is soon marked with a letter "M" (Mörder /Murderer) with a chalk. Knowing that he is being followed, M hides in an office building, but the criminals won't give up and raid the building, catch him, and put him before a kangaroo trial.

M suffers a mental illness. If he is tried in a government's court, will he be set free and sent to an asylum instead? Will there be justice to the parents of the lost children? Must M alone bear the responsibility? It is mentioned that M is a former patient of an insane asylum. The doctor who let him go, doesn't he have a moral responsibility, too, to the 8 lost children? If the doctor has decided that M is no longer a danger to the society, but knows if by nature he is a threat, why not put a watch over him? And the parents are also guilty, like the mother say in the end of the movie: "We should keep a closer watch on our children."

Europa Europa (1990)

Based on a true story and memoirs by Solomon Perel, this movie tells the story of a Jewish Boy, born in German in 1925. The movie begins when he was 13, in the beginning of WW2, when his family was attacked by those who hated the Jews - which was probable because of the new law. His father decided that the family should move to Poland, where he thought they would be safe, but they were not. Solomon and his brother Isaak left the house and they were separated. Solomon was in Russia and learned to be a communist. Meanwhile, the father & mother were moving to the ghetto. When Russia was attacked by Germany, Solomon was captured and to save his life, he told the Germans that he was also a German. The Germans recruited him because they needed him as an interpreter. He became a war hero and was sent to Hitler Youth school in Berlin. When Germany lost the war, Solomon told the Russians about his true identity, that he was a Jew.

Real brothers René and Marco Hofschneider play Isaac and Solomon.
The movie flows nicely. Incredible that this is a true story, about a Jew who lived among the Germans, but they didn't realize who he really was. In one class in the Hitler Youth, there was a lesson about 'how to recognize a Jew'. The teacher brought the necessary equipments and he called Solomon as the model and measured his head. Yet he didn't find the truth. I haven't read the book, so don't know if the scene really happened. If yes, the equipments didn't work then. As it could not recognize a Jew, perhaps it could also condemn a non-Jewish person.

Several times Solomon was almost caught because of his circumcision. Circumcision, at that time, was it only done in Europe by Jews? Were there not any moslem in Europe? I don't know if Nazi also have problems with moslems, though. 

"Don't tell your story to anyone. Nobody will believe you." said Isaac to his brother. Indeed, this was an amazing story. We learned about a boy who would do anything to survive, to live. And he succeed. I think he was lucky. He was destined to live.

Lola rennt (1998)

Run Lola Run is one of the most energetic & creative movies I have seen. Lola's boyfriend, Manni, works for the mob as a courier. One that particular day, Manni has lost a bag of money which should be delivered to his unforgivable boss before 12:00. Manni calls Lola, half blaming her, for if she had picked him up on time as promised, this thing would never have happened. Lola promises Manni to bring 100,000 marks before noon, so she has only 20 minutes to do so.

It seemed to me that Tom Tykwer, as the director and writer, had 3 different ideas on developing the story and when he couldn't decide which one was the best, used them all instead. Twenty minutes to save her boyfriend's life is a short time. She runs and runs because she has no vehicle. The 3 story show us how different decisions taken quickly can give different results. The music used underlines Lola's panic situation. I also love the use of animation and the stories about supporting characters.

Ludwig (1972)

This movie is about King Ludwig II of Bavaria (1845-1886), from his coronation until the day he was found drown in the river with his physician. They say this king was mad, and here Visconti takes us to a journey, to know about this king, mostly from the testimonies of the people near to him. Falling in love with his married cousin, Elisabeth of Austria (Romy Schneider reprised her role as Sissi, but different from the sweet character from the popular series. Here, she tells Ludwig bitterly about her loneliness, that Franz Joseph chooses to go to war instead to be with her, and how she never gets along with her mother-in-law.), Ludwig is disappointed when Sissi tries to make him marry her sister, Sophie. Ludwig asks for her hand, but later breaks off the engagement. He spends state money to indulge his favourite musician, Wagner, and his favourite actor, Joseph Kainz. He also spends lots of money to build castles: Linderhof, Neuschwanstein and Herrenchiemsee; which are left empty. Finally his ministers cannot endure his eccentricism anymore and has a physician to declare him mad and unfit to rule. He is taken to Berg Castle, where later he and the doctor are dead.

The movie is extremely beautiful. As I have never been to Germany, I am really grateful with the numerous shots of the castles, i.e. when Queen Elizabeth comes to inspect them. The scene I love most probably when Ludwig feeds the swans.

The DVD comes with a documentary about Luchino Visconti from RAI, which is also included in Masters of Cinema's Rocco and His Brothers. However, there are also documentary about Suso Cecchi d'Amico, the writer who has worked with great Italian directors; and actress Silvana Mangano; both are very interesting.

The Damned (1969)

Luchino Visconti's The Damned is a very complex movie and should be watched more than once. The story is about the Essenbeck family in Germany who owns a steel factory. It begins in February 1933 with the birthday celebration for Joachim von Essenbeck, who has most of the factory shares. In this party we are introduced to the family members: Herbert Thallman, his wife Elizabeth, and their two daughters Thilde and Erika; Konstantin (a member of SA) and his son Gunther (a student); Frederick Bruckmann, an executive from the factory who is also the lover of Sophie (Joachim's daughter-in-law. His only son has died as a war hero.), Martin (Sophie's son), and Aschenbach (an SS captain). The celebration is interrupted by the news of the Reichstag (the parliament building) Fire. Herbert, who is a liberal, has a dispute with Konstantin, and the conservative Joachim takes this opportunity to choose his successor: Konstantin. The ambitious Frederick, with Aschenbach's support, asks Sophie to help him getting the power. On that night, Joachim is murdered and Herbert runs away to Austria. After his argument with Konstantin, it isn't safe for him to stay. Although his gun is the murder weapon, we all know the killer is not Herbert, but Frederick. Herbert later is be forced to return, because Elizabeth and the two girls are sent to the camp in Dachau. Elizabeth dies in the camp, but in exchange for the girls, Herbert must give himself up. After Joachim's death, Martin, as the sole heir, under his mother's influence, appoints Frederick to be the company's president. Later, Konstantin holds proofs that Martin has molested little girls and uses him for his favour, but Sophie finds out that Konstantin has power on Martin. On the Operation Hummingbird (Night of the Long Knives), in which SA members are massacred, Frederick himself kills Konstantin. At this point, Martin himself has become to hate his mother and destroys her with incest. He still allows Frederick marries her, but gives the new couple poison to drink. That leaves Martin as the most powerful decision maker on the factory which makes weapons.

Visconti paid much attention to details as always, so the production design, sets, and costumes are amazing. I myself particularly like the clothes worn by Charlotte Rampling. Apart from Visconti's name, what made me want to watch this movie was the SA massacre scene, which was included in a program about the director I saw several months ago. I thought the scary scene was very well done.

Sissi

The Sissi trilogy is one (or three) of the sweetest movies I have ever seen. Romy Schneider played the title role, and didn't she look really like a princess?

1. Sissi (1955). From all 3, this is the one I love best. Princess Elizabeth (nicknamed Sissi) from Bavaria comes with her mother and sister Helene to Vienna. Emperor Franz Josef is supposed to marry Helene, but he meets Sissi first and they both fall in love. I found some parts were very touching, that Sissi would not marry the man she loved for the sake of her sister's happiness. The scene with the telegraph operator and Major Böckl is very funny.

2. Sissi - The Young Empress (1956). In this part, Sissi has married Franz Josef and becomes the Empress of Austria. Her relationship with her mother-in-law is not smooth and she flees from the palace in her chagrin when her mother-in-law decides Sissi cannot bring up her own daughter herself.

3. Sissi - The Fateful Years of An Empress (1957). I like this 3rd part better than the 2nd. I like how Sissi wins the heart of Hungarians and Italians. It was very funny what happened to the Milanese aristocrats.

The sceneries are really beautiful, remind me of The Sound of Music. I wonder if all those trees are still there, if the lakes and mountains are still that lovely. Costumes and set are also wonderful.

The DVD set includes Forever My Love, an edited Sissi Trilogy dubbed in English, which sadly has not been properly restored. The colour is pale and the picture is not as sharp as the German version. I assume this disc is a bonus, so I should not complain about it. Furthermore, I do not need this English version when I can watch the original. However, what a pity that the 5th disc is also not restored. It's Victoria in Dover (Mädchenjahre einer Königin - 1954), another work of director Marischka prior to Sissi. Romy Schneider plays Victoria, who becomes the Queen of England in such a young age after the death of King William IV. Madga Schneider was more appropriate to be cast as her mother for the resemblance between them was obvious, but perhaps the director wanted a bigger part for her. It's deplorable that movies like these are not made these days. Don't we believe anymore that falling in love is possible in innocent ways?