stiglegger

Mel Gibson may be a charismatic actor - but he is certainly not a very clever director. PASSION begins with a poor reproduction of catholic Kitsch artwork: blue moonlight and foggy air; it is deeply fascinated with a very Gothic androgynous Satan-personification and culminates in anti-climatic slow-motion-action. Whenever there shall be 'meaning' the slow-motion returns as one of the very few stylistic specialties. The rest of the film concentrates on a suffering-body-performance (American actionism?) - pathetic event cinema with a propagandistic touch: Think of the same images in an adaptation of Jules Michelets inquisition-book 'La sorcière' and you will have a perfect anti-catholic movie. The suffering does not make a believer. The suffering is universal. This film is a typical example of contemporary American mainstream cinema celebrating the bloody 'sacrifice' for a 'noble idea' and searching for clearly recognizable polar opponents and enemies to head for 'easy viewing'. PASSION OF THE CHRIST is in that sense a very inhuman, dangerous and frightening affair.

This pessimistic cop movie was shown on german TV under the titel of 'Mann ohne Ausweg'. It tells the tragical story of an undercover policeman, very similar to 'Serpico'. The style is very minimalistic, very close to Hongkong streetlife, no visual effects etc. Important film of the Hongkong new wave in the eighties.

In my opinion The Night Porter, Liliana Cavani's most original and complex film, is the most intense entry in Italy's nazi/sex-cycle of the seventies. In it's difficult, nearly philosophical structure the film comments on the twisted system of character-corruption and mistrust the German Fascism is based on. If you can read German, you might be interested in my book on this topic: Marcus Stiglegger: Sadiconazista. Faschismus und Sexualitaet im Film. St. Augustin: Gardez! Verlag 1999, 256 Seiten, 40 Fotos.