NACHHILFE FUR VATI (1984)
Director: Karola Hattop
Cinematographer: Peter Süring
I get the feeling Jana Zoller had something of a crush on the actor playing her brother in this German TV movie, as she sneaks an awkward kiss from him as often as she possibly can. Bless. The stoic Sebastian Paasch reacts as naturally as he can to such intimate improvisations.
Aww!
This cute little melodrama, surely a comma in the history of cinema, about two siblings going to stay with their estranged, and strangely moustachioed, father for… erm… some reason, is a delight. I think they turn up, unannounced, to help him fix up his house. You know, the one he occupies with his beautiful twink of a “business associate”.
Cough.
There’s no English dub or subtitles on my copy, but I get the general gist. There are only so many interactions possible between one human being and another, so, if you bear this in mind, you can basically understand what’s going on in any alien foreign language film.
Don’t be intimidated!
Sadly, the two young leads didn’t go on to do much else after this, as they’re both great. Zoller, in particular, has a stunningly naturalistic attitude towards her performance. You absolutely believe she is experiencing what her character is experiencing. And she’s tiny! The fact that she isn’t the most famous person in the world right now is a great loss to society. I dearly hope she didn’t end up a boring business manager or something.
Oh and kudos to Paasch for his bravery during the notorious cold water bath scene!
I enjoy watching German and Dutch films “blind”, as they remind me of my youth briefly living in Holland when my father was stationed at RAF Bruggen (just over the border from Holland in Germany). You do tend to scurry back to the past when you’re depressed a lot of the time.
The above shot is wonderful because of how low the two actors are placed in the frame. You’d usually have the camera closer to its subjects, but the excess space around Zoller and Paasch here creates a strikingly artistic moment.
If you can find a copy, do check it out and chill the eff out.
Do stay in touch, darlings.
Toodles!
No comments:
Post a Comment