Black Panther, Das schweigende Klassenzimmer (Film Reviews)
Due to much rl business in February and early March, followed by a severe cold, I missed out on a lot of movies in the cinema, but have been finally able to watch two of them.
Black Panther: very enjoyable adventure movie. Its victory at the box office, annihilating (one hopes) the bias that a block buster with a nearly all black cast (and the two "Tolkiien White Guys", as I hear they're called, which is hilarious, are in minor supporting roles) mainly set outside the US, with the female roles (wise cracking tech wizard, seasoned warrior of the realm, spy) being exactly the type that usually go to the male cast) - that a movie can do this and get in easily as much cash as the nearly all white, one or two token women blockbusters of yore is deeply gratifying. It would be in any case on general principle, but this is also a well crafted film, great cinematography, and it manages to juggle a pretty huge ensemble without the audience getting confused as to who is who.
Now, I'd be be faking it if I said was so profoundly emotionally moved as many of the people in my circle appeared to have been. I liked the movie; I liked the characters, I really appreciate that the movie at no point botheres with a "...for a woman" type of compliment for its fabulous female characters, who are all distinct from each other, the high tech Utopia which has to wonder what the responsible thing to do when faced with the many miseries of the world is being an African country makes for a great theme with many lines of dialogue feeling like commentary on our here and now (I'm thinking of W'Kabi's and T'Challa's exchange re: helping refugees versus military intervention in particular, and of course T'Challa's big speech in the mid-credit scene). But I think one reason why I never quite made the leap from liking the film to loving it was that T'Challa, our hero, fel tmore interesting and compelling to me in his debut as a supporting character in Civil War than he does here in his own movie. This may be partly because he's surrounded by such a great ensemble of colourful characters, or because his own storyline is the most traditional/predictable thing about the whole movie. (This is something almost inevitable if you're the main character in this type of story, to be fair.) But there it is. I hasten to clarify that "didn't find him as interesting here as in CW" does not equal "didn't like him" - I liked him! I promise! I just liked several of the other characters more. This being said, some spoilery T'Challa related observations (all positive in nature, though not all serious):
- T'Challa is now two for two when it comes to having the most moving scene with a film's villain; his scene with Zemo near the end of CW was easily one of my favourite things about the movie, and his scene with Erik near the end of Black Panther had that same quiet grace and humanity, in lack of a better term, which is very unusual for an action hero and which definitely endears T'Challa to me
- okay, "I will not throw my opponent into a waterfall" should be added to the Overlord's Rules. Has there ever been an example where this happens and the person who got thrown STAYS DEAD? Not to mention that as soon as you see the waterfall at T'Challa's inauguration, you now that someone is going down there and going to come back.
Fannish osmosis already indicated to me that Shuri is basically the new Darcy (from Thor, not from Pride and Prejudice) in terms of fan favouritism, and she's as great as advertised, will hopefully remain a presence in subsequent Marvel movies. I liked how basically angst-free the relationship between Nakia and T'Challa was. Her and Okoye having a different initial response to the spoilery event leading into the movie's third act didn't feel like it was simply because of their respective different relationships to T''Challa but mainly because of their different concepts of what loyalty/duty to one's country meant, which I dug.
Though it didn't escape me the film otherwise avoids a problem with its basic concept, which is, in two words: absolute monarchy. With the succession (potentially) decided by ritual combat. That's fine for fantasy worlds, but if the world building is supposed to resemble the present (plus superpowers and aliens), it becomes trickier. Now you could argue that the key event at the end of the second act already demonstrates a problem with that principle, i.e. the movie textually points it out, but: not imo not really. By which I mean: yes, Erik/Killmonger defeating T'Challa, and not by foul means, shows up the questionability of combat as the ultimate kingship test. But the problem for me goes deeper than that. Wakanda appears to have some semblance of a Royal Council, which isn't exactly the division of judicative, executive and legislative power we consider necessary for a democratic state. And any Wakandan aspiring to the top job either has to train big time in physical combat or abandon all thoughts or be a villain, since apparantly there's no possibility for someone physically weak yet mentally and emotionally qualified to rule. Again, this is no problem in a fairy tale, but it is in our world. As it is, T'Challa can't get voted out of office, he can only be removed by violent means. This is... a problem if you want to simultanously present Wakanda as an utopia which is flawed in as much as it is/was isolationist, which is something T'Challa changes at the end of the movie, but not otherwise.
That nitpick aside: I hope for more in this particular corner of the MCU. This was a splendid entry.
One more Marvel thing: you can still sign up for
ssrconfidential, the Agent Carter ficathon, here. Writing about Peggy and friends has proved great fun to me in recent years, and I'm glad I'll have one more chance.
Das schweigende Klassenzimmer ("The Silent Class Room")
This movie was directed by Lars Kraume, whose previous movie Der Staat gegen Fritz Bauer (The People vs Fritz Bauer) was one of my favourite movies of 2015; looks like this new one has a good chance of becoming one of my favourites in 2018. The title is both an accurate description of a key event and a play on the title of one of Erich Kästner's most popular books, Das fliegende Klassenzimmer ("The Flying Class Room">, and the story, which actually happened, has a distinctly Kästnerian flavour.
Like Der Staat gegen Fritz Bauer, Das schweigende Klassenzimmer is set in Germany in the late 50s, only in this case East Germany, and it shares some themes; the injustices of the system, courage and conscience against overwhelming odds. In 1956, five years before the Berlin Wall was built, it was still possible for East Germans to cross over legally, and at the start of the movie, two school boys (our heroes, Kurt and Theo) do just this in order to watch a "daring" movie in West Berlin. (Meaning: a movie where there is supposedly female nudity.) Back then, newsreeels still preceeded the main event, and thus Theo and Kurt catch a report about the Hungarian Uprising (and its impending crushing by Soviet Forces). This, once they're back home, leads to some more illegal radio listening, and finally the boys and their entire class (which is mixed, female and male students together, and is the Abiturjahrgang, meaning they're preparing for their final degrees which will qualify them for university), stunned by events in Hungary, decide to observe one minute of silence in memory of the Hungrarian dead in protest.
To say this backfires in their faces is putting it mildly. One great thing about the movie is that the motivations for the original protests are mixed, and not all act out of sympathy for the Hungarian revolt; some do it for the hell of it, or because of peer pressure, or because a (as it turns out, wrong) report said among the dead was a football hero of theirs. But as the punishments and investigations escalate, until even the secretary for education (Burkhard Klaussner, who played the heroic Fritz Bauer in the previous movie, here in an absolutely chilling role) shows up and the state comes down with all its might on a couple of teenagers. Who are just young and idealistic enough to refuse to back down, and so indignant about the threatened beyond all proportion punishment and the pressure to denounce each other that despite internal tensions and them at the start not all acting for politics, they maintain solidarity to each other. (And being East German students, they can't plead the fifth when pressured in every way the adults can think of to name names, someone who can be blamed for the entire "counter-revolutionary" activity. Early on, one student confidentally declares they can't very well kick out the entire class, and it will all be fine and soon forgotten if they just stick together. Think again, student.)
A group of teenagers standing up to say "This is not right" and getting failed and vilified by the adults around them in varying degrees makes some contemporary associations inevitable, which Lars Kraume couldn't know about when he shot the movie. As in his West German tale, the fact that this is the late 50s the Third Reich is just a decade away is relevant. All the adults are in varying degrees broken. Even the most frightening character, the Secretary of Education, has a past as a Communist resistance fighter which left him with literal scars as well as a deformed (or just too fitting-the-bureaucracy formed) personality. Then there's the almost desperate belief that this is the socialist utopia which just has to get through its early difficulties which is shared by a great many of the characters, adults and students alike. Theo is the first of his family to go to grammar school, and to have a chance at Abitur and at university, and as the school director, who comes from a similar worker's background, points out, neither of them would have had the chance in the past.
Despite Theo (whose father participated in the workers' uprising of 1953, got punished and is now desperately grateful to have a job at all and does not want to see his son fail) and Kurt (whose father is a local city councillor, which is one reason of several why it's Kurt who has the initial idea for the silent minute) being the main characters, this is also an ensemble movie, and several of the other students get narrative attention and characterisation as well, like Lena (in something of a triangle situation with Kurt and Theo and the first one to really get the political implications), Paul (whose uncle Edgar is a kind of mentor figure and the source of their illegal radio listening; Edgar is also homosexual, which is another overlapping theme from the Fritz Bauer movie, because East German society in the 1950s isn't a wonder of acceptance either), and Erik (whose father died in the concentration camp Sachsenhausen, which has informed Erik's entire world view and will be used horribly against him by the authorities later). Among the adults, we have in addition to Edgar Kurt's parents, Theo's parents, school director Schwarz (who isn't without sympathy for the students, but definitely not willing to stand up for them, either, once the next highest authority has been notified), the Kreisschulrätin Mrs. Kessler (that would be the next highest authority, a one woman good cop/bad cop commando) and the above mentioned minister.
The movie is set at Eisenhüttenstadt, or, as it was called then (truly!), Stalinstadt, which, as the "first socialist town in Germany" was only created in 1953 (out of a conglomerate of settlings) as a socialist model city, with train trips to Berlin, and filmed on location. The soundtrack is unabashedly emotional, which fits with the young main characters. Who are a believable bunch of teenagers, none of them perfect - or stereotypes -, and all of them passionate. The previous generation's original sin, whether they kept their heads down, were Nazis, or were on the contrary Communists, was, as the movie reveals more and more, all giving in to the urge to save themselves at the expense of others. And this is the test these youngsters now face. It's not just history. I really hope it will be shown in your part of the world, too; l loved it.
The trailer:
This entry was originally posted at https://selenak.dreamwidth.org/1277251.html. Comment there or here, as you wish.
Black Panther: very enjoyable adventure movie. Its victory at the box office, annihilating (one hopes) the bias that a block buster with a nearly all black cast (and the two "Tolkiien White Guys", as I hear they're called, which is hilarious, are in minor supporting roles) mainly set outside the US, with the female roles (wise cracking tech wizard, seasoned warrior of the realm, spy) being exactly the type that usually go to the male cast) - that a movie can do this and get in easily as much cash as the nearly all white, one or two token women blockbusters of yore is deeply gratifying. It would be in any case on general principle, but this is also a well crafted film, great cinematography, and it manages to juggle a pretty huge ensemble without the audience getting confused as to who is who.
Now, I'd be be faking it if I said was so profoundly emotionally moved as many of the people in my circle appeared to have been. I liked the movie; I liked the characters, I really appreciate that the movie at no point botheres with a "...for a woman" type of compliment for its fabulous female characters, who are all distinct from each other, the high tech Utopia which has to wonder what the responsible thing to do when faced with the many miseries of the world is being an African country makes for a great theme with many lines of dialogue feeling like commentary on our here and now (I'm thinking of W'Kabi's and T'Challa's exchange re: helping refugees versus military intervention in particular, and of course T'Challa's big speech in the mid-credit scene). But I think one reason why I never quite made the leap from liking the film to loving it was that T'Challa, our hero, fel tmore interesting and compelling to me in his debut as a supporting character in Civil War than he does here in his own movie. This may be partly because he's surrounded by such a great ensemble of colourful characters, or because his own storyline is the most traditional/predictable thing about the whole movie. (This is something almost inevitable if you're the main character in this type of story, to be fair.) But there it is. I hasten to clarify that "didn't find him as interesting here as in CW" does not equal "didn't like him" - I liked him! I promise! I just liked several of the other characters more. This being said, some spoilery T'Challa related observations (all positive in nature, though not all serious):
- T'Challa is now two for two when it comes to having the most moving scene with a film's villain; his scene with Zemo near the end of CW was easily one of my favourite things about the movie, and his scene with Erik near the end of Black Panther had that same quiet grace and humanity, in lack of a better term, which is very unusual for an action hero and which definitely endears T'Challa to me
- okay, "I will not throw my opponent into a waterfall" should be added to the Overlord's Rules. Has there ever been an example where this happens and the person who got thrown STAYS DEAD? Not to mention that as soon as you see the waterfall at T'Challa's inauguration, you now that someone is going down there and going to come back.
Fannish osmosis already indicated to me that Shuri is basically the new Darcy (from Thor, not from Pride and Prejudice) in terms of fan favouritism, and she's as great as advertised, will hopefully remain a presence in subsequent Marvel movies. I liked how basically angst-free the relationship between Nakia and T'Challa was. Her and Okoye having a different initial response to the spoilery event leading into the movie's third act didn't feel like it was simply because of their respective different relationships to T''Challa but mainly because of their different concepts of what loyalty/duty to one's country meant, which I dug.
Though it didn't escape me the film otherwise avoids a problem with its basic concept, which is, in two words: absolute monarchy. With the succession (potentially) decided by ritual combat. That's fine for fantasy worlds, but if the world building is supposed to resemble the present (plus superpowers and aliens), it becomes trickier. Now you could argue that the key event at the end of the second act already demonstrates a problem with that principle, i.e. the movie textually points it out, but: not imo not really. By which I mean: yes, Erik/Killmonger defeating T'Challa, and not by foul means, shows up the questionability of combat as the ultimate kingship test. But the problem for me goes deeper than that. Wakanda appears to have some semblance of a Royal Council, which isn't exactly the division of judicative, executive and legislative power we consider necessary for a democratic state. And any Wakandan aspiring to the top job either has to train big time in physical combat or abandon all thoughts or be a villain, since apparantly there's no possibility for someone physically weak yet mentally and emotionally qualified to rule. Again, this is no problem in a fairy tale, but it is in our world. As it is, T'Challa can't get voted out of office, he can only be removed by violent means. This is... a problem if you want to simultanously present Wakanda as an utopia which is flawed in as much as it is/was isolationist, which is something T'Challa changes at the end of the movie, but not otherwise.
That nitpick aside: I hope for more in this particular corner of the MCU. This was a splendid entry.
One more Marvel thing: you can still sign up for
ssrconfidential, the Agent Carter ficathon, here. Writing about Peggy and friends has proved great fun to me in recent years, and I'm glad I'll have one more chance.
Das schweigende Klassenzimmer ("The Silent Class Room")
This movie was directed by Lars Kraume, whose previous movie Der Staat gegen Fritz Bauer (The People vs Fritz Bauer) was one of my favourite movies of 2015; looks like this new one has a good chance of becoming one of my favourites in 2018. The title is both an accurate description of a key event and a play on the title of one of Erich Kästner's most popular books, Das fliegende Klassenzimmer ("The Flying Class Room">, and the story, which actually happened, has a distinctly Kästnerian flavour.
Like Der Staat gegen Fritz Bauer, Das schweigende Klassenzimmer is set in Germany in the late 50s, only in this case East Germany, and it shares some themes; the injustices of the system, courage and conscience against overwhelming odds. In 1956, five years before the Berlin Wall was built, it was still possible for East Germans to cross over legally, and at the start of the movie, two school boys (our heroes, Kurt and Theo) do just this in order to watch a "daring" movie in West Berlin. (Meaning: a movie where there is supposedly female nudity.) Back then, newsreeels still preceeded the main event, and thus Theo and Kurt catch a report about the Hungarian Uprising (and its impending crushing by Soviet Forces). This, once they're back home, leads to some more illegal radio listening, and finally the boys and their entire class (which is mixed, female and male students together, and is the Abiturjahrgang, meaning they're preparing for their final degrees which will qualify them for university), stunned by events in Hungary, decide to observe one minute of silence in memory of the Hungrarian dead in protest.
To say this backfires in their faces is putting it mildly. One great thing about the movie is that the motivations for the original protests are mixed, and not all act out of sympathy for the Hungarian revolt; some do it for the hell of it, or because of peer pressure, or because a (as it turns out, wrong) report said among the dead was a football hero of theirs. But as the punishments and investigations escalate, until even the secretary for education (Burkhard Klaussner, who played the heroic Fritz Bauer in the previous movie, here in an absolutely chilling role) shows up and the state comes down with all its might on a couple of teenagers. Who are just young and idealistic enough to refuse to back down, and so indignant about the threatened beyond all proportion punishment and the pressure to denounce each other that despite internal tensions and them at the start not all acting for politics, they maintain solidarity to each other. (And being East German students, they can't plead the fifth when pressured in every way the adults can think of to name names, someone who can be blamed for the entire "counter-revolutionary" activity. Early on, one student confidentally declares they can't very well kick out the entire class, and it will all be fine and soon forgotten if they just stick together. Think again, student.)
A group of teenagers standing up to say "This is not right" and getting failed and vilified by the adults around them in varying degrees makes some contemporary associations inevitable, which Lars Kraume couldn't know about when he shot the movie. As in his West German tale, the fact that this is the late 50s the Third Reich is just a decade away is relevant. All the adults are in varying degrees broken. Even the most frightening character, the Secretary of Education, has a past as a Communist resistance fighter which left him with literal scars as well as a deformed (or just too fitting-the-bureaucracy formed) personality. Then there's the almost desperate belief that this is the socialist utopia which just has to get through its early difficulties which is shared by a great many of the characters, adults and students alike. Theo is the first of his family to go to grammar school, and to have a chance at Abitur and at university, and as the school director, who comes from a similar worker's background, points out, neither of them would have had the chance in the past.
Despite Theo (whose father participated in the workers' uprising of 1953, got punished and is now desperately grateful to have a job at all and does not want to see his son fail) and Kurt (whose father is a local city councillor, which is one reason of several why it's Kurt who has the initial idea for the silent minute) being the main characters, this is also an ensemble movie, and several of the other students get narrative attention and characterisation as well, like Lena (in something of a triangle situation with Kurt and Theo and the first one to really get the political implications), Paul (whose uncle Edgar is a kind of mentor figure and the source of their illegal radio listening; Edgar is also homosexual, which is another overlapping theme from the Fritz Bauer movie, because East German society in the 1950s isn't a wonder of acceptance either), and Erik (whose father died in the concentration camp Sachsenhausen, which has informed Erik's entire world view and will be used horribly against him by the authorities later). Among the adults, we have in addition to Edgar Kurt's parents, Theo's parents, school director Schwarz (who isn't without sympathy for the students, but definitely not willing to stand up for them, either, once the next highest authority has been notified), the Kreisschulrätin Mrs. Kessler (that would be the next highest authority, a one woman good cop/bad cop commando) and the above mentioned minister.
The movie is set at Eisenhüttenstadt, or, as it was called then (truly!), Stalinstadt, which, as the "first socialist town in Germany" was only created in 1953 (out of a conglomerate of settlings) as a socialist model city, with train trips to Berlin, and filmed on location. The soundtrack is unabashedly emotional, which fits with the young main characters. Who are a believable bunch of teenagers, none of them perfect - or stereotypes -, and all of them passionate. The previous generation's original sin, whether they kept their heads down, were Nazis, or were on the contrary Communists, was, as the movie reveals more and more, all giving in to the urge to save themselves at the expense of others. And this is the test these youngsters now face. It's not just history. I really hope it will be shown in your part of the world, too; l loved it.
The trailer:
Click to viewThis entry was originally posted at https://selenak.dreamwidth.org/1277251.html. Comment there or here, as you wish.