In a Year with 13 Moons (Fantoma)

 

Picture:  C+     Sound: C+     Extras: B-     Film: B-

 

 

Rainer Werner Fassbinder might be one of the most prolific filmmakers of all time. Although he died at the young of 37, he had made over 40 films, including 7 in 1970 alone, and was quite active in theater and radio productions.  Amazingly, he maintained a solid record of quality throughout his opus, directing a critical eye toward German society and politics.  Along with Werner Herzog and Wim Wenders, Fassbinder was one of the foremost directors in the German New Wave cinema movement of the early 1970s.  Fassbinder, ever the ambitious filmmaker, is responsible for some of the longest movies ever made, including one of his masterpieces, Berlin Alexanderplatz (hopefully, coming soon on DVD—there are whispers at Criterion).  However, In a Year with 13 Moons clocks in at a modest 2 hours.

 

The story follows Erwin’s unrequited love for Anton Sietz, that is spelled with an “ie”.  Anton, in an off hand remark, mentioned that he would love Erwin if he were only a woman, an ironic expression of love Erwin accepts as sincere. Anton, once Erwin’s boss and now an owner of a brothel, is quite adroit at manipulation and insincerity. In a desperate attempt to gain his love, Erwin makes a rash decision to go to Casablanca for a sex change operation and returns as Elvira. She realizes the error of her ways when she is not accepted by Anton, and is mocked repeatedly for such a decision. The film follows Elvira as she attempts to find a new role in life, picking up the pieces after her quixotic actions. Like many Fassbinder films, the result is rather tragic, but the motivation that drives the narrative is love and the protagonist’s search for it.

This film is one of his most personal; he wrote, directed, shot, and edited this film right after his long-time lover killed himself. The film follows a woman named Elvira (formerly named Erwin) as she attempts to find purpose in life after she made a rash decision to have a sex change operation. Erwin became Elvira because a man once glibbly said that he would fall in love with Erwin if one he were a woman. The story is quite heart-wrenching. It really raises some interesting questions, not about sexuality, but the complex nature of emotion as informing decision-making.

Fassbinder adored the works of Douglas Sirk, so most of his films have a very melodramatic flare (watching a melodrama in German, I must admit, is quite disorienting). As opposed to American melodrama where the melodrama plays out in the performances of the characters, I was struck by the melodramatic cinematography. If anything, this film is beautiful (mirrors were a dominant motif-somewhat cliche, but it was done so well).This film is one of his most personal; he wrote, directed, shot, and edited this film right after his long-time lover killed himself. The film follows a woman named Elvira (formerly named Erwin) as she attempts to find purpose in life after she made a rash decision to have a sex change operation. Erwin became Elvira because a man once glibbly said that he would fall in love with Erwin if one he were a woman. The story is quite heart-wrenching. It really raises some interesting questions, not about sexuality, but the complex nature of emotion as informing decision-making.

Fassbinder adored the works of Douglas Sirk, so most of his films have a very melodramatic flare (watching a melodrama in German, I must admit, is quite disorienting). As opposed to American melodrama where the melodrama plays out in the performances of the characters, I was struck by the melodramatic cinematography. If anything, this film is beautiful (mirrors were a dominant motif-somewhat cliche, but it was done so well).
Fassbinder adored the works of Douglas Sirk, so most of his films have a very melodramatic flare (watching a melodrama in German, I must admit, is quite disorienting). As opposed to American melodrama where the melodrama plays out in the performances of the characters, I was struck by the melodramatic cinematography. If anything, this film is beautiful (mirrors were a dominant motif—somewhat cliché—but it was done so well).  Fassbinder made this film right after his long time lover committed suicide, for reasons I am unsure of, and is considered perhaps his most personal film.  Fassbinder, unlike many of his other films, performed most of the major roles in production, including cinematographer, screenwriter, editor, and obviously director.

 

The film transfer is quite pleasing; it captures the melodramatic aura of a Sirk-type film.  However, a word to the queasy, the slaughterhouse scene near the beginning of the film is quite graphic, so consider yourself warned.  In the very beginning of the film, there is illicit love meeting in the park that is not translated, which is somewhat of a disappointment, but other than that misstep, the translations were pretty solid.

 

What the extras lack in quantity is made up for in quality.  The DVD includes an introduction to the film by director Richard Linklater (Dazed and Confused, Waking Life, School of Rock).  Linklater’s introduction is rather lengthy; he does a wonderful job of placing this film in Fassbinder’s opus and providing a historical context that allows us to appreciate fully the complexity of the film.  Linklater’s sincere love of the film and Fassbinder’s work is clearly on display, which only adds to the viewer’s excitement to see the film, the appropriate function of an introduction.  There is also an interview with Juliane Lorenz, longtime editor for Fassbinder.  She also provides a commentary track. Even though she speaks with a heavy German accent, she is rather easy to understand and is indeed insightful.

 

Overall, this is solid movie and a good DVD.  If you have seen very little Fassbinder, this would not be a bad start.

 

 

-   Ron Von Burg