Die blaue Stunde
Germany,
1991, 87 min
Shown in 1993
CREDITS
- dir
-
Marcel Gisler
- prod
-
Marcel Gisler
- scr
-
Marcel Gisler
- cam
-
Ciro Cappellari
- editor
-
Bettina Böhler
- cast
-
Andreas Herder, Dina Leipzig, Cyrille Rey-Coquais, Christoph Krix, Anton Rattinger
- source
-
Marcel Gisler Filmproduction
- premiere
-
U.S. Premiere
-
COMMENTS
Marcel Gisler and Andreas Herder in person.
OTHER
This story of an improbable friendship—a spare and touching exploration of the fragility of emotions in a modern world—is the latest in a trilogy of films by Marcel Gisler (including Hanging Out, SFIFF 1986) concerned with the lives of Berlin residents. Theo and Marie are neighbors in an apartment building. Across the hall from each other, they lead lives of vague dissatisfaction. Theo is a gay call boy who, in an attempt to keep his private life separate from his work, has become a miser with his feelings. Marie works in a record store to support her boyfriend Paul, an unsuccessful writer. When Paul’s work goes badly, he avoids Marie and she feels used and neglected. Through her door, Marie can hear Theo’s music; in the hallway Theo overhears Marie’s arguments with her boyfriend. When they meet, the two are friendly, but keep a polite distance. Slowly and unexpectedly a tenuous friendship develops, and Marie and Theo begin to risk emotional reserve for a chance to ease their loneliness. Andreas Herder and Dina Leipzig give quietly moving performances as the two neighbors struggling to shake off their emotional anesthesia. Marie’s face, grown dull from disappointment, is startlingly transformed by a sudden laugh. Gisler beautifully captures the tentative gestures of affection and small steps toward intimacy made by two people who are not in the habit of being nice or happy and who know what dangerous territory the world of feelings can be.
—Rachel Rosen
FACTOID #12
In our occasional film series, The Unvanquished, we showcased the work of filmmakers who continued to make their art despite suffering artistic repression. Those honored include directors Paul Carpita (1996), Paul Meyer (1996), Abraham Polonsky (1996) and John Berry (1998) and actors Karen Morley (1999) and Behrouz Vossoughi (2001).
