Katzelmacher (1969)

You won't be disappointed!

hyped garbage

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

This movie is hard to find. I haven't seen it in years but remember the overall thing. 'Katzelmacher'is the best RWF ever threw at us. I read a review here earlier, a long synopsis...very interesting. I recall certain scenes. My fav, the walking pairs, threesomes, etc. all shown walking down the same alley gossiping, at various points in the film. A beautiful piano waltz accompanies each group as they walk. It struck me that RWF filmed all of these scenes one after the other in keeping with the motto of their clan of actors, "Cheaper, Faster, Better.", or something like that. If you notice, there's the same car parked in the background, and it appears the scenes were all shot about the same time of day. "Next!" The Peer Raben waltz is so beautiful. I played it on guitar at my father's funeral. I believe Peer called it 'Valse Katzelmacher'. I could be wrong on that, too. No matter, it's a heartfelt piece of music! I fell in love with this group of actors. It was always, "I wonder who's gonna be in this one?" and then..."Oh, Wow, Great! So, 'Katzelmacher', an absolute must for Kine buffs.

Until recently "La Guerre du Feu" rated as the worst movie I ever saw. Then I saw "Katzelmacher". A completely useless, empty meaningless piece of utter boredom. The mercifully short scenes are filled with utterly meaningless conversation, delivered without the slightest form of emotion by actors who seem to be to stoned to care anyway (but hey, it's 1969, so I guess that's allowed...) The little action there is, is pointless and boring. Do not look for a story, because what is supposed to be the story has no end whatsoever. I have always been taught that a story has a beginning, a middle and an end. That is definitely not the case here. I guess what irritates me most, is the fact that it's supposed to be that way. Everyone involved goes out of his way to make the experience of watching as taxing as possible. The movie is profoundly un-understandable and it is probably exactly that which has led to its' success. Pretending to understand something that others don't, was and is still the ideal way of setting oneself apart from the others.

Some geniuses are made, not born. Fassbinder, who has become one of my very favorite directors, did not begin his career making masterpieces, but clumsy art films. Katzelmacher is the story of a group of bored Germans, several men and several women, who spend their lives sitting, talking, smoking, and screwing each other (often for money). They treat each other like garbage, though they are too lazy to do any real damage. However, when a Greek immigrant rents an apartment from one of them, their cruelty becomes more and more tangible. The women begin spreading rumors about how the Greek (incidentally played by Fassbinder himself) is sleeping with certain members of the group and how he has tried to assault a couple of them. The men call him a communist behind his back, and then right to his face, as he speaks almost no German. When the Greek actually begins dating one of them (played by Fassbinder's most beloved actress, Hanna Schygulla), their threats no longer remain merely threats. It's a great story, really, and, if done in Fassbinder's more honed melodrama style, one of the most unique directorial voices we'll ever hear, it could have been a great film. But, in this early stage (this was his second feature film), Fassbinder was more of an avant-guard artist, striving towards Brecht, I suppose, and maybe looking towards the French New Wave. The results are mixed, but mostly leaning towards the annoying side. The film plays like a 90 minute Calvin Klein ad, with the camera lingering too long on motionless, disinterested performers. One of the better scenes has one of the actresses singing an American song in a delightfully amateurish manner while dancing. Somehow this is very beautiful. There is a repeated scene where two characters will walk forward on the same street, arm in arm, with soft piano music in the background (the only extra-diagetic music in the film). This gimmick didn't work very well. While there are some beautiful bits of the film – besides the aforementioned dance, the relationship between Fassbinder and Schygulla is rather gentle and melancholy – it pretty much fails. It's very worth seeing, however, if you're interested in the way Fassbinder's amazing career developed.

The lingering shots, the long continous takes allow for the story to unfold without distractions. Accenting this also is the stark black and white. These uneventful shots and use of black and white also symbolize the bland lives of the people. Which sets-up an uncommon reaction. Since there lives have no action. A simple arrival of a foreigner has these natural gossipers excited and mysteriously annoyed. Soon their jealous and rumours are started. A quiet man only looking for work is transformed into a beast. Thus the film becomes an engrossing social commentary on prejudice and the effects of that and of jumping to conclusions. As well as taking an anti-gossip stand. The film would be a wonderful example in illustrating the events of any countries racial issues.In may be demanding of the viewer though. The long shots and an hour of simple conversation and savage romance become tedious. Hanging on through the whole film though will be rewarding.