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Candice Nance
German Cinema Minutes
11-8-04
Doris Dörrie
-film that got her noticed was Men (1985)
-was on the cover of Spiegel Magazine which is equivalent to
Time Magazine in the United
States; this was a rarity because
Germany has so few female filmmakers, and few that get noticed
-Because of German "success and quality are
mutually exclusive" mentality, Dörrie never gained the success she deserved
as a post New German Cinema filmmaker
-Invited to Hollywood and made the film Me And Him which was a
complete box office failure; film opened later in German and was
commercially successful; film was about a talking penis
-Dörrie is proud of her commercial success
-Still makes successful films
-(note) Germany was one of the last
countries to pick up Film as a studies program, perhaps due to the stigma
film has an art for the masses.
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Questions from "Nobody Loves Me" (directed by Doris Dörrie)
1) Describe in as much detail as possible
the death symbolism in "Nobody Loves Me." How does such emphasis on death
relate to a film about love and people barely thirty years old?
-The first thing viewers learn about Fanny Fink is that she about to turn
thirty years old and has yet to find the man she longs so desperately to
spend the rest of her life with. Director, Dörrie, plays on the pop culture
reference of thirty being the death of freedom and spontaneity. This
reference is made in the quote first heard but Fanny "And you know the
saying, a woman over thirty is more likely to get hit by an A bomb than find
a man." This emphasis of death ties perfectly with the way Fanny sees
love. Since she thinks her possibilities of love are extinct as she
approaches thirty, this is why the theme of death is symbolized so
prevalently. Some symbols of death that appear throughout the the film
include:
-Orfeo and tribal people in the carnival painted as skeletons
-Fanny's skeleton earrings
-The skeleton on Madeleine's (Fanny's mother) t-shirt
-Skeleton hanging from the rearview mirror of Fanny's car
-Dead black bird on Fanny's windshield
-Death classes where dying is practiced (coffins, suicide images)
-Bones used by Orfeo as he's predicting Fanny's future
-the trunk Fanny hides in to surprise Lothar; trunk is like a coffin
2) At one point in the movie Orfeo tells Fanny: "Your past is a skeleton
that walks behind you, your future is the skeleton in front of you. They'll
both never leave you, but sometimes they want to talk to you...don't listen
to them...They'll remind you what time it is. It's always the same time.
It's always now." How does this extended speech reflect the themes of the
movie?
-In Orfeo's speech, he is simply reiterating what he has said throughout the
film- live in the now. Fanny has a difficulty living in the moment, as she
tends to dwell on what she hasn't had in the past or what she won't have in
the future. This is underlined by Piaf's song "None, je ne regrette rien,"
which acts is recurring that means "I regret nothing." His speech reflects
the theme of time that is so important to Fanny. She is fearful that time
is going to keep passing without her finding someone to share her life with,
and because of this, she cannot live in the moment. The skeleton earrings
Fanny wears are symbolic of the past and future that are also there with her
and her inability to find the medium between the two where she can live
happily.
3) Describe each of the minor characters in detail and explain their role
in the movie either in relationship to Fanny or to Orfeo.
*Madeleine (Fanny's mother)- Her novels are received well by people but
poorly by critics; exhibits sexuality and glamour that Fanny lacks; she
reinforces Fanny’s fear or not finding a man after the age of thirty;
clearly could be the cause of Fanny’s low self-esteem
*Lothar Sticker- acts as a catalyst for many of the funny scenes; his
rejection and condescending view of Fanny throws her into a deeper
depression
*Fanny’s girlfriend- betrays Fanny’s
friendship and sleeps with Lothar; helps Fanny to see what a terrible person
Lothar is
*Lasse- provides Fanny with the hope that she will have a man to share her
life with; proves Orfeo’s predictions true; ties in the first of the movie
when Fanny says that “every date starts with coffee” when she shares coffee
with Lasse at the end
4) What importance does carnival have for
the film?
-One significance of the carnival is to reflect the tribal/African heritage
of Orfeo. Throughout the film, Orfeo shows off his tribal views in his
dance as well as his spirituality. He even passes on his views to Fanny who
takes on the tribal dancing, painting, and views of spiritual life.
-Another importance of the carnival is symbolic of how willingly people will
wear masks to hide from the person they are. People also resort to these
“masks” to discover who they truly are. When Fanny wears the fishnet hose
and lingerie, she is essentially wearing the mask of a seductress, but she
is not that at heart. The theme of carnival shows how difficult it is to
find someone to love amidst the insanity of everyone trying to figure out
who they are.
5) Look up the myth of Orfeus and Eurydice. What significance does the
myth have, if any, for the film?
-Dörrie’s allusion to the myth of Orfeus and
Eurydice is fairly obvious in her portrayal of the relationship Orfeo has
with Fanny. In the myth, Orfeus uses his musical ability to charm his way
into Hades to rescue his dead wife, Eurydice. Orfeo is able to transcend
the hell of loneliness that Fanny has created for herself, and bring her out
of it. By the fault of looking back at Eurydice as he is escorting her from
the realms of Hades, Orfeus loses her again. He is later killed and that is
when he finds his true happiness- in Hades with Eurydice. Ironically, Orfeo
finds his true happiness upon his death, which is the same time when Fanny
finally discovers her own form of contentment.
6) What clues in the way the story is told
reveal that the director of the film is a woman? Or conversely, how might
the film’s story been told if a man had directed the movie?
-The main hint that the director is a female is the fact that Fanny is the
subject of the film, as opposed to the object. She is not the object of
sexuality. Oppositely, she is the one that creates objects of desire. The
camera does not make her sexual appeal- her actions and personality are what
makes her desirable to others. This gives Fanny the power that she would
not have if the film had been directed by a man. Also, Fanny’s emotional
reactions to situations, although bizarre, are shown so accurately, that it
feels the director would have to be a woman who has possibly gone through
some of the hurt Fanny experiences.
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Entire class time was spent discussing questions which were turned in at the
end of class.
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