Historical Context
Cold War centerpiece
Germany divided: capitalist West/communist East
Berlin Wall: August 1961-1989
German cinema
1960s audience is lost to television
commercial cinema crashes, creating a gap in the market
room for new experimentation inspired by the French new wave
Young filmmakers between 20-30 years old begin making short films
1980s: American cinema floods back into Germany, dominating the market
New German cinema9late 1960s-1980s):
coming to terms with Germanys history and tarnished identity
break with the past: rejection of the Nazi film tradition
quest to be modern like the rest of European cinema
government saw cultural benefits in this and set up a system to help
subsidize the funding of films
these films were not as popular in Germany as they were abroad
Styles/Themes
not a school or unified movement but a loose alliance of auteur directors
most directors were self taught
inspired by documentaries and essay films, against mass produced
entertainment films of the Nazi era
Emphasis on continutities in Germanys history
Anti conformist attitude
Confronting images and (collective) memories of Germany
Seeing Germany through the eyes of a foreigner
Directors and films
Rainer Werner Fassbender:
-The Marriage of Maria Braun(1979)
-Lola(1981)
-Veronika Voss(1982)
Werner Herzog:
-Agurirre(1972)
-Wrath of God(1972)
Volker Schlondorff:
-The Tin Drum(1979)
Germany in Autumn(1978) Multiple directors
Wim Winders
born 1945
-Photographer and Director
-Attended film school in Munich
-often travels to US, has made many films there
-Works in both fiction and documentary
-interested in the power of the image
-likes cities, empty landscapes, motels
-Paris Texas(1984)
-Wings of Desire(1987)
Alice in the Cities
-story of a young German journalist, Philip Writer, sent to the US to
write an article about it. He writes nothing but takes Polaroids. n
his way back to Germany, he winds up taking care of a young girl
Alice, who needs to find her way home,.
-travelogue, road movie about being lost, belonging nowhere
-contrasts 2 modes of vision: child/journalist
-confronting images and what they hide, US "land of images"
-questioning the American Dream exporting by American cinema,
television and advertising
-Stylistically, film is in B&W, features minimal music and
frequent camera movement.