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3/10
Satire without satire
31 August 2005
Rolf Thiele's swan song is a film like a lazy teenager hanging around in malls - it does not know what it wants to be. There are signs of satirical ambitions, holding hedonistic 1970s upper class German society a mirror in its ugly face, but these aims are only pursued half-heartedly. We also find elements of farce, but the film fails to demonstrate the wit or the bite farces require. Hans Clarin provides the commentary in his famous funny voice, promising humour but barely creating a strained smile in the audience. Other hints point at drama, musical, sex film, but none of these styles is followed through.

The leading actress is pretty but neither a thespian nor someone who commands the screen. Considering the dramatic ambitions of the film this was a bit of a problem. As a result she comes across as a waste of space - a pretty waste of space, but a waste of space nevertheless.

But the worst part of the film are the musical numbers. They are very much in the tradition of German political cabaret. These kind of songs do not adapt very well to the cinema screen at all anyway, but Thiele (or whoever was responsible for them) aggravated the problem by using old-fashioned cabaret costumes and old-fashioned musical styles. The result is at odds with the rest of the contemporary setting of the film.
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