Thursday, May 10, 2007
Film Adolescent sex in Oberhausen
Posted by Jonathan Rosenbaum on Thu, May 10, 2007 at 8:19 PM
I’ve just returned from the 53rd International Short Film Festival in Oberhausen, Germany, where I was invited to serve on the jury of FIPRESCI, the international film critics organization. My work, apart from participating in a panel about the privatization of film experience, consisted of seeing the 64 short films in the international competition and, along with two other jurors (Oliver Baumgarten from Cologne and Alexis Tioseco from Manila), awarding one of them a prize. We picked Amit Dutta's 22-minute Kramasha from India—a dazzling, virtuoso piece of mise en scene in 35-millimeter, full of uncanny imagery about the way the narrator imagines the past of his village and his family.
The Festival had 14 prizes in all, gave a total of 30,000 Euros to many of the winning filmmakers, and concluded with a ceremony that lasted well over two and a half hours. Part of what made the event interesting was the same default position that sustained me through the 64 shorts I saw: the notion that at a festival as genuinely international as this one, a certain education was possible, however limited, in how people in other parts of the world were living and thinking—all of which provides a potential context for better understanding some of the choices involved, conscious or otherwise, in how Americans live and think.
One particularly striking illustration of this: a screening of Schnäbi, Luzius Wespe’s 12-minute prizewinner in the Children Film Competition—a charming Swiss-German film about 14-year-olds, selected by a jury of five kids aged 13 or 14, all of whom appeared onstage to present their award. What I found surprising was a sexual frankness I wouldn’t expect to find in any equivalent films made for American kids—or, indeed, for kids in many other places in the world. Without being in the least bit lewd, this well-acted short recounts the story of a blossoming romance between a skinny boy and a somewhat sexually developed girl in his class who helps him with his math, Pythagorus in particular. The film opens with a halting dialogue between them (see photo) about their respective attitudes toward the jiggling of her breasts—whether she minds that they jiggle and whether she minds him staring at them. (The answer to both questions turns out to be no.)
A subsequent scene in the locker room between boys at the school charts the process by which they decide that the boy with the longest penis is the one entitled to win the girl with the jiggling breasts. The measuring is handled by each boy with a ruler, turning away from the camera and the other boys as he does so. But the hero, fearing that he won’t measure up, refuses to participate. When the heroine gets wind of this contest, she rebuffs the hero, believing that he’s complicit in the game. But then the other boys, irritated by his lack of complicity, pull off all his clothes and push him out into the school corridor, shutting the door behind him. Then, when the heroine comes along, she takes pity on his embarrassment and hands over the pair of sweat pants she’s carrying. After he puts them on, they exchange warm looks, making it clear that their romance has been rekindled.
If anyone in the audience at Oberhausen’s closing ceremony, child or adult, was in the least bit shocked or perturbed by anything in this film, they didn’t give any sign of it. The overall mood was amused and relaxed, but without any sniggers—leading me to suspect that we might be able to learn something from such behavior.
Showing 1-12 of 12
I can't seem to separate the paragraphs of this in "save and view," perhaps because I pasted it in from AppleWorks. Know how to fix this?
P.S. I fixed this problem myself when I logged onto the site from elsewhere.
The locker room climax sounds identical to an episode from the 1999 sitcom Freaks and Geeks, created by Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin). It was broadcast on Fox and swiftly canceled, but it's available on DVD. I would highly recommend it; it's one of the funnier and more honest treatments of adolescence I've encountered.
Was your panel on the "privatization of film experience" about the effects of home video on cinephilia? So much of my interaction with film is via DVD and my community is online, spread all over the world...I've always been jealous of a "golden age" in which the 16mm rental circuit and repertory theaters still served and nurtured groups of cinephiles in local, public places. Is this a valid distinction?
The effects of home video and the Internet on cinephilia was just one aspect of the discussion, which dealt with the subject from many angles. I've argued many times that DVDs can and sometimes do bring back groups of cinephiles in local, public places, if cineclubs are organized. This already happens with political videos via moveon.org in the U.S., and some film freaks in various parts of the world, including the U.S., are already meeting in storefronts and apartments to watch and discuss DVDs together. I have an article about this (among other things) in the Spring issue of Film Quarterly--which ironically isn't available online.
Hi Jonathan. Was great to share the jury with you in Oberhausen and chat between and after programmes. A small note of correction: The kids were divided into two juries-- the Youth Jury that awarded Schnäbi was composed of 5 kids aged 12-13, while the Children's Jury, composed of 5 children between 9-11, awarded seperate films. I must say that I agree with your insights on "Schnäbi", and was just as surprised during its screening at the Awards ceremony-- first at the (non) reactions of the audience (I was looking around to see if anyone was uncomfortable), and second that a jury composed of 12 and 13 year-olds awarded it (I didn't see the other kids programmes, but it seems to be a fairly mature choice). I wonder how the kid juries were formed, and if they chose youths with a particular interest in cinema...
Thanks for the correction, Alexis-- which I've been able to incorporate into the above post, something that may make this point puzzling for people now reading this post for the first time. And thanks for your suggestion in an email about correcting and improving the Oliver Baumgarten link, which I've also done.
You didn't by any chance had the opportunity to visit the nearby-city of Essen(?), because there you could have seen one of Germanys most beautiful Movie-Theatres (the Lichtburg built in 1928) http://www.lichtburg-essen.de/bildergalerien/051117_lichtburg/images/Lichtburg_Saal.jpg Here are more Galleries containing Pictures showing the Lichtburg before, and after it's 2002-Restauration. Best regards, Matthias
I forgot the 2nd link, so here you go http://www.lichtburg-essen.de/bildergalerien.php#
Alas, I didn't make it to either Essen or Cologne. Maybe next time....
Larry Clark must see Luzius Wespe's film. Oh no no no. All the great filmmakers should see this film. Abbas Kiarostami too !!!!!
Hi Jonathan and Alexis, Hope you're well! This is just to explain about the children's and youth juries: When the kids apply, we ask them to tell us, among other things, why they want to be in the jury - many of them say they're interested in the movies or have even made their own films. We (the festival organizers) then choose the jury members. And to complete the picture: The 2006 youth jury awarded their prize to a Danish film (a comedy) called "Pandasyndromet", about a teenage boy who struggles with phimosis. Best to all, Sabine
Latest in The Blog
-
Too New to Review: Prairie Fire, Leo's Coney Island, the Southern, Revolution Brewing Company, and More
Prairie Fire, Leo's Coney Island of Chicago, the Southern, and other restaurants too new to review.
- Feb 8, 2010
-
Fewer Shoes on the North Side
Times are tough for shoe stores too.
- Feb 8, 2010
-
When Golden Earring Were Good
Wait, Golden Earring was good?
- Feb 8, 2010
- More»
Author Archives
-
Kiarostami Returns
Jonathan Rosenbaum and Mehrnaz Saeed-Vafa discuss the Iranian master’s first film to screen in Chicago since 2002.
- Oct 22, 2009
- More»
Top Commenters
Comments (12) RSS