Panorama

Panorama

THESE DAYS
I’VE BEEN OUT WALKING
I DON’T DO TOO MUCH TALKING THESE DAYS
THESE DAYS
THESE DAYS I SEEM TO THINK A LOT
ABOUT THE THINGS THAT I FORGOT TO DO
AND ALL THE TIMES I HAD
A CHANCE TO
I’VE STOPPED MY RAMBLING
I DON’T DO TOO MUCH GAMBLING THESE DAYS
THESE DAYS
THESE DAYS I SEEM TO THINK ABOUT
HOW ALL THESE CHANGES CAME ABOUT MY WAYS
AND I WONDER IF I’D SEE ANOTHER
HIGHWAY
NICO, CHELSEA GIRLS, 1967, WRITTEN BY JACKSON BROWNE

Nothing is as constant as change! And turbulent times call for special films. Distinctive, original, different. Each film adopts a stance, has a point of view, heightens our perception of society. The biopic Nico, 1988 by Susanna Nicchiarelli and road movie documentary Parallel Planes by Nicole Wegner portray independent, strong-willed characters from the world of music, who stand their ground despite the most adverse of circumstances. Demonstrating profound respect for its protagonists’ dignity and autonomy, outside by Tama Tobias-Macht and Johanna Sunder-Plassmann shows that a documentary film about homeless people is still a necessity. The directors immerse themselves in the world of people who live on the streets and create a very forceful reality. Quietly but never voyeuristically, they capture even the smallest detail – and suddenly everything has a meaning. Also dedicated to everyday life is Those Who Remain. Director Eliane Raheb’s film succeeds in portraying an everyday life shaped by far-reaching political changes – beyond the sensationalist images that dominate the media. Despite all the progress made in the last century, slavery is still not a thing of the past. Bernadett-Tuza-Ritter’s A Woman Captured is a portrait of Marish who works for a Budapest family who treat her like a serf. One day, Marish can’t take it any longer and takes a momentous decision. The presence of the camera determines the course of events, and the meeting between the film-maker and protagonist changes both their lives. Film-making as an intervention becomes a balancing act for Lissette Orozco in El Pacto de Adriana. The film looks at the director’s role as the protagonist’s niece and at the conflicts that arise from this during shooting. Something long kept under lock and key comes to light, reflecting the fact that the country’s violent past still permeates present-day Chile. Lisette gradually unravels the story, but the deeper she digs, the more unintentionally political the private becomes. Waldheim’s Waltz by Ruth Beckermann also deals with a turning point in a national historical narrative and with its repercussions today, while Free Fall by Susanne Schüle and Elena Lavina examines the consequences of political upheavals from the periphery. Using very different approaches, The New Children of Golzow by Simone Catharina Gaul and Poor People Relax Me by Clara Winter look at how cultures clash in today’s globalised world and ask who benefits from mass migration. Once again, we see that shifts, developments and changes open up new perspectives, and unusual approaches introduce us to worlds that would otherwise remain hidden.
_Nicole Rebmann