Directors as diverse as Pedro Almodovar, Todd Haynes and Bong Joon-ho, to name a few, claim and exhibit direct influences from the late Rainer Werner Fassbinder, a German bohemian who embraced queer ldentity, art in all forms and, especially cigarettes. Fassbinder’s life was fast, furious and short.
He died at the age of 37 in 1982.
In the new biopic ‘Enfant Terrible’, Fassbinder is almost depicted as a John Belushi (who also died of a drug overdose in 1982) persona: big in every way- especially big was his appetite for things not good for one’s health.
But he also had an insatiable desire to create, and he made more than 40 films, not to mention working extensively in theatre and writing. Oliver Masucci plays Fassbinder as full of bluster, but unexpectedly able to back up his bold proclamations. He talked crap, but he came through.
In fact, Fassbinder is credited with being in on the beginning of, if not actually starting, the New German Cinema movement; low-budget, guerilla-style filmmaking.
Director Oskar Roehler forms an episodic narrative that took me a while to get into. Because he filmed the movie on studio sets, you weren’t quite sure if you’re watching a filmed play, or a play within a play. Is this real or is this one of the things he was in? Almost too meta at first blush.
But there is no question that cinephiles and those more familiar with Fassbinder’s work than I, will find a lot to attract them. Personally, I like to go into a film knowing nothing (an easy proposition for a guy like me, lol) and then research what I’ve just seen afterward. For my newfound knowledge of the man and some of his films, I have Enfant Terrible to thank.
Enfant Terrible | 2 ½ out of 4 stars | In German with subtitles | Reviewed by Kyle Osborne
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LOS ANGELES– Laemmle NoHo (Playing Now, Physical) – https://www.laemmle.com/film/enfant-terrible-Frida Cinema Virtual (5/14, CA) – https://watch.eventive.org/thefridacinema/play/6091aa19c630c7004c8eef61 NEW! NEW YORK– Laemmle Virtual (5/14, NY & CA) – https://watch.laemmle.com/videos/enfantterrible21371/6076227a2fac90000101c18e/– Cinemapolis Virtual (5/14, NY) – https://cinemapolis.org/film/enfant-terrible/ NEW! KANSAS– Tivoli @ Nelson Atkins Virtual (5/14, MO) – https://watch.eventive.org/enfantterrible/play/60909cb1826f8a13f6605fac NEW! VANCOUVER– VIFF Film Center Virtual (5/14, Vancouver BC) – https://viff.org/Online /default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=fc10737-enfant-terrible CLEVELAND– Cleveland Cinematheque Virtual (5/14, OH) – https://watch.eventive.org/enfantterrible/play/608b96a9c07d05006912a05c ONTARIOhttps://watch.eventive.org/enfantterrible/play/609c2085fa4a1300a0b56fc0 |
