Run Lola Run

I recently created a new Special Interest Group within the Germania Society, and our first meeting was last night. It is the German Cinema Group, where I want to highlight and share the tremendous contributions that Germany has made to the Cinema world, and hopefully prove that there are (and were) excellent movies being produced outside of the confines of Hollywood.

So, the first movie that we watched last night was "Run Lola Run". I've seen it several times, but it was a new experience for several members of the group. The film explores the control that fate has over our lives, and displays the constant "what-ifs" that occur every moment and that can easily change the happenings of the next. The film follows the events between a woman, Lola, and her boyfriend, Mani, who she desperately tries to save from death by helping him obtain a huge amount of money he carelessly lost. It takes you on three different journeys with Lola, all controlled by fate, showing you what would happen in each, and all the "what-ifs" that provide the foundations for each outcome.

I have the next few months of movies planned out, and then I'm going to open the floor to suggestions from the group, although I have an additional 10-15 movies in mind for future screenings. Next month will be "Das Boot", followed by "Metropolis" in March and "Das Experiment" in April.

After that, I have a list of movies from the Weimar Republic era of the 1920's and early 30's that have stood the test of time as classics of cinema. Three more from the 20's, "The Cabinet of Dr Caligari", "Nosferatu" and "Faust", and two from the 30's, "The Blue Angel" and "M".

There will be plenty of room for modern German Cinema as well, such as, "Good Bye, Lenin!", "Aguirre, the Wrath of God" and "Downfall".

"Downfall" may be a touchy subject- Hitler isn't mentioned much, especially amongst the older members of Germania, and while I don't want to open old wounds, I feel that the movie itself warrants a viewing by the group.

In that same vein, I would very much like to schedule a viewing of the movie "Munchhausen". Filmed in 1943 at the height of the war, Joseph Goebbels wanted a huge extravaganza of a film for two reasons. First, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of UFA, the famous German film company which by then was under the control of Goebbels' Ministry of Propaganda. And second, Goebbels really wanted a major full-color film which would demonstrate the glories of German culture and technical artistry, one which would surpass films like The Thief of Bagdad and The Wizard of Oz. He settled on the story of Baron Munchhausen, gave the producers an unlimited budget, approved the hiring of a gifted screenwriter whose works he had banned and whose books he had burned, and saw to it that leading actors and actresses took part. Goebbels was given a hit by the moviemakers. When it was released he had already made his famous speech about all-out war now being essential. Bombing attacks on Germany were happening with regularity. Germans flocked to this make-believe world of Munchhausen where they could forget what was beginning to dawn on them, that terrible times could be right ahead. It isn't about the Nazi war machine. In fact, it can be argued that UFA may have been poking fun at the Nazi Party with some of the symbolism in the film.

The history of the last 100 years of German culture is right there waiting for us. One movie at a time.