Since I was mentally so well-prepared for “Die freudlose Gasse”, I ended up feeling much less tired today. I managed to see all the movies without sleeping a wink, but on the other hand, I feel like I wasn’t entirely capable to keep concentrating on them. Nevertheless, it was a good day.
The Butcher Boy, Coney Island, Oh! Doctor
USA, Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle
What can I say, I fell into their marketing trap. They called this screening “Buster Keaton Shorts”, but even though all three films feature Buster Keaton, he was merely a minor character in most of these stories. It seemed even the dog had a bigger role. Nevertheless, I had fun seeing these sketches, as I most often do with these Charlie Chaplin-like shorts. It is sad that Charlie Chaplin is the only one who remained really famous, and after seeing these shorts, I have become an even greater fan of Buster Keaton now.
The Crowd
USA 1928, King Vidor, 104’
Without ever having seen anything by King Vidor (I only knew his name) I was able to go into “The Crowd” without any expectations at all. Since I have already seen “Dr. Caligari”, I have opted to see the other film I might not see anymore. In the end, I am not too sad that I have forsaken my beloved “Dr. Caligari” for this film. Of course I would have wished to see “Dr. Caligari” in a movie theater, but “The Crowd” was also extremely interesting to see.
I was surprised at how modern and timeless “The Crowd” felt, with a story somewhat similar to “Huo Zhe”. As long as our world doesn’t undergo significant changes, the life story of a simple couple struggling through job loss, child raising and finally getting back together will never feel old. In fact, among all the marriage films I have seen, this is perhaps my favorite. Even though it carries a lot of Hollywood clichés especially towards the end, I still thought this was better than in “Viaggio in Italia” or “Two for the Road” or even “Domicile Conjugal” – this film was actually able to move my maidenly heart (cough) and make it believable for me as to why the main characters got together again (like they do in literally every non-French marriage film).
The best “character” in the film was probably the crowd itself. Laughing, running towards the next job offer, congratulating the protagonists to their wedding… I found that part very well made, even if it was merely a simple, perhaps obvious way to do it. The line “The crowd always laughs with you, but cries with you only for a day” summarizes nicely what this small, unpretentious movie is about.
I have a feeling that Bothmer who loves intellectual German films would never have played this film, but personally I would absolutely recommend it.
Die freudlose Gasse
Germany 1925, Georg W. Pabst, 148’
If I thought that “The Crowd” was heart-wrenching, then it is definitely because at that point I have not seen “Joyless Street” yet. Whereas “The Crowd” has many enjoyable, amusing scenes, “Die freudlose Gasse” feels like a Horváth play, except even worse.
The first mentionable thing about the film is that it was indeed very long. I find it annoying that they always show these long films after 10pm and I’m wondering how I will be able to sustain “Intolerance”, which runs a total of 180 minutes. “Die freudlose Gasse” is quite an epic movie with many characters and intertwining storylines all coming together at the end, and so the length doesn’t surprise too much.
Most of the film was extremely painful. To me, Greta Garbo suffered more in this film than Maria Falconetti did in “La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc”. Every character is just incredibly level-headed yet proud and stubborn (much unlike Horváth’s plays, in fact) and I was astonished how realistic and depressing the movie was. For the longest time, I honestly thought that the Italian realism marked the beginning of realistic films, but the “new objectivity” came first. Despite the slightly happy, morally convenient ending and a certain tendency of pathos, I found this movie to be excruciatingly realistic, depicting such extreme poverty.
I still find it difficult to pinpoint what kind of filmmaker Pabst really is, especially since he seems to be changing quite a lot. I definitely will have to see “Die Büchse der Pandora” and “Die weiße Hölle von Piz Palü” to be able to say anything.