Liedzeit

First of all this is a very important film. Just like the other "Big" film by Eichinger "Der Untergang" it confronts the German audience (and the world should it care) with some aspect of German history that people should know about. In this case the "myth" of the RAF. To everyone who lived through the seventies in Germany it is clear that the influence of the RAF on Germany can hardly be exaggerated. I was a kid but my impression at the time was that both sides were wrong. There was a constant fear of terror coming from the terrorists but also from the state. (People did not get jobs if it was suspected they were "left".) So to make a blockbuster film, even if it does not really explain the motives of the main characters involved, at least gives us some facts. Not everyone is prepared to watch documentaries or read the book by Aust, but everyone should have some thoughts or maybe discussions on the subject.

Okay, but does it succeed as a film? Not entirely. The actors as everyone agrees were excellent, the cinematography as well. You do think you are in the seventies. That in itself is amazing. The action scenes are done splendidly, especially at the beginning the riots during the visit of the Persian Shah which culminated in the shooting of a student which in turn was, at least to some extent, the origin of the rise of terror. Of course the film is episodic and there are too many characters in it, most of them are not introduced in any way and ten years of complex history cannot be told in an altogether satisfying way. But the film succeeds in giving us a sense of what was going on. The producer, Bernd Eichinger has been accused of vanity. Which is a funny thing. Of course, he is vain. He has the duty to be vain as long as he also feels a responsibility to make movies that try to tell something. And the challenge, he feels, is to say it to as many people as possible.

This is a film that I would never have watched normally. A sort-of-remake of Rear Window with teenagers? What a terrible idea! But still, on a long flight with nothing better to do I was curious enough. Expecting to not give it more than 10 minutes I was very pleasantly surprised. It not a great film but very well done and entertaining. I liked the idea to have the the hero of the story to be under house arrest instead of having a broken leg. The love angle was a bit foreseeable, but quite okay. And I loved it how Kale becomes jealous and plays some cool (i.e. freaky to young ears) 70ies music to spoil the party Ashley was given. She understandingly upset comes over and he asks "What is? Don't you like Minnie Riperton?" This is missing in the quote section. To me the highlight of the film.

And I should not forget to mention David Morse. Great actor.

I was quite sure I would like this movie. But I did not. What we get is the story of a sixties girl group based loosely on the career of the Supremes. Excellent. There is only one mayor problem with this. The music just does not work. The Supremes had a couple of wonderful hits and we get nothing of it. What an incredible idea to let someone write some songs and trying to make us believe that these were number 1 hits in the 60s. It is just ridiculous. Hudson who plays the fat girl with the great voice that has to leave, does have a nice voice and even some kind of charisma. What she does not have is even one song that is worth listening. Same for Beyoncé. She is certainly beautiful and her voice is okay. But she is not allowed to sing let's say "Stop in the Name of Love." So compared to say Ray, this is a tremendous let down. There was something like Motown Magic. This has nothing of it at least not as far as the music is concerned. I liked the costumes and the dancing and the nice 70s wallpapers but that is not enough.

Eddie Murphy is allowed for about 30 seconds to put on a straight face. Also he plays a drug addict. That this qualifies for an Oscar nomination is quite unbelievable.