Bremen Freedom (1972 TV Movie) User Reviews

Eerie

[m67165 · 3 June 2003]

This one is amazing. It is a play enacted for the camera. But the way it uses the tricks available for television at the time it was made is awesome. Maybe this guy did not invent this. Maybe this movie does not take the technology to the extremes of its formal use. It does not matter. The story is great, and it is told with such edge, it will stay with the viewer.

The prototype of Maria Braun

[semiotechlab-658-95444 · 10/10 · 1 March 2010]

Gesche Gottfried (1785-1831) was a serial killer from Bremen (Northern Germany). However, in the very personal interpretation of R.W. Fassbinder, she becomes, as already the title "Bremer Freiheit" of the filmed theater piece suggests, an ancestor of the liberation movement of women, of feminism and self-decision in sexual liberality and thus also the prototype of such women types in Fassbinder's universe as Maria Braun, Lola, Karin Thimm (in: The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant), Imrgard Epp (in: The Merchant of the Four Seasons) and Hannerl Bolwieser (in: The Stationmaster's Wife). It is not clear to me why "Bremer Freiheit" (1972) - similar to "Das Kaffehaus" (1970), Nora Helmer (1973) and many other theater plays of R.W. Fassbinder (including his documentary study "Theater in Trance (1981)) are neither broadcast by TV nor put on DVD. It is not known to a broad public that Fassbinder did not only up to 10 movies per year, but also put dozens of plays onto stage and was a theater intendant, too. His theater movies are crucial for his film-work and support the understanding of many hitherto unclear motives and strategies in Fassbinders movies, especially concerning the role of women in his work.

Stunning, Intense, and Haunting

[sleepsev · 10/10 · 4 November 2000]

This is my most favourite Fassbinder's film to date (I might change my mind in the future as I have seen only 15 films of his.) The movie is represented in the form of a stage play,and this style works very effectively for me. I was stunned when I saw it. It is so raw, yet so moving. It is so minimal, yet so intense. The thing that impressed me the most is the song that Geesche sang repeatedly. For the first time she sang it, I just thought her voice expressed a strong emotion very well. But for the latter times she sang it, it becomes heart-rending. It breaks my heart and makes me want to cry. Her grief was not only expressed, but also instilled into my heart. No matter how brutal or cruel she was, I feel it's hard to hate her. One can understand her reason for killing very well.The opening shot that focuses on her moving feet impressed me a lot. And it never gets dull after that. The tension is maintained very well throughout the movie. The backdrop of the stage enhances my feelings and emotions to the utmost degree. Sometimes the backdrop is a view of the landscape, sometimes it is an enlarged image of her face. But it strikes me every time. It elevates this movie to the highest position. The acting is, of course, top-notch. Margit Carstensen does not only make her character come alive, but she also brings the heart of Geesche inside out. The props on the stage is very sparse, but very appropriately placed. A lot of scenes in this movie were shot from a meaningful angle--the angle that add an important meaning to its own scene. I can see that many shots were very carefully constructed. No big budget is required to make this kind of excellent movies. I feel this movie really stands out from other films of Fassbinder. Not only that its style is different, but its power, its intensity, and its haunting quality also make this movie transcend all. I think if I have another chance to hear that song again, I might not be able to control my tears any more.

Worth seeing live at a stage theatre, but not on screen

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 22 May 2017]

"Bremer Freiheit: Frau Geesche Gottfried - Ein bürgerliches Trauerspiel" or "Bremer Freiheit" or "Bremen Coffee" is a West German movie from 1972, so this one has its 45th anniversary this year. It is still not entirely forgotten because the man who wrote this play and also directed this film was Rainer Werner Fassbinder and here in the early 1970s he was still under the age of 30. But he had the actors already around him that he worked on so many other occasions, not just Margit Carstensen who plays the central character, but also the likes of Lommel, Schygulla, Raab, Brem, Pempeit and Sedlmayr for example. So yeah, this is really a very theatrical movie we have here. It was released for the small screen and is basically a recorded stage performance. There is always something "stagey" to Fassbinder's films, sometimes more and sometimes less and I must say that I do enjoy these more where it is less the case. This may be one reason why I found it difficult to appreciate this one we have here.

The subject is emancipation in the 19th century and even if Geesche may sound a bit like geisha, this of course has nothing to do with Asia, but is set in the North German city of Bremen where we follow Geesche Gottfried in her everyday life, her marriage and her interactions with her nearest ones which are obviously not always her dearest ones as we find out especially at the very end too. Time may not have been ready for Geesche yet and the word "Trauerspiel" certainly fits very well overall with how it all ends. The ending is probably also the best aspect of this 85-minute film (may sound short, but feels actually really long), but sadly it is far from being good enough where I would say that it is worth sitting through the previous 80 minutes for that ending unfortunately. I found that the film dragged a lot on some occasions and the baby sounds were downright annoying, even if I am sure that is exactly what Fassbinder wanted them to be. I have seen many films from him and this one here is nowhere near my favorites sadly. I can see why it is also not really famous compared to most of his other works and I do believe that if it had been made by somebody else, it may have been completely forgotten by now without the name Fassbinder attached to this project. It is known for the name, but Fassbinder is not known for this film, but for many other superior works. "Bremen Freedom" (the literal translation) gets a thumbs-down from me. Not recommended.

Interesting Vehicle For Fassbinder's Finest Actress

[lchadbou-326-26592 · 21 September 2013]

After an image of a Jesus sculpture with outstretched arms sets the tone for the "bourgeois tragedy" which follows, we see cuts to a woman's feet in boots, rushing to the orders of a man, his face framed prominently at the edge of the screen, who bosses her around, as a baby cries in the background. At first we assume this is a servant, then we learn it his his wife, and from the paper that he reads that it is 1814. As other men come to visit, the poor woman gets down on her knees in a submissive position. All of this is presented with a contrast between numerous closeups, longer shots where the bottom half of the image is an empty white stage,and occasional zooms, with stylized projected film backdrops, in various tints, often of waves and boats (Though incongruously the town in which the story occurs, Bremen, is not a seaport!)This is a 1971 play written for Margit Carstensen, arguably the greatest of all the talented actresses who worked with Fassbinder. The source was a case from the local court archives of a woman who was executed after committing 15 murders, and a similar play,Maria Magdalena, by Hebbel. Fassbinder put the drama on in the city of Bremen itself. It is also known in English as Bremen Coffee,since one of the recurring motifs on the minimally furnished stage is a coffee and tea cabinet to which Carstensen keeps coming, with that inimitable wry look, offering various family and guests a drink before each of them meets their doom.One of them is her mother, played by Lilo Pempeit, Fassbinder's mother. After that obit is announced, Carstensen describes her as having been a "Haustier" (domestic animal.)As this murderess increasingly becomes more confident, the men that keep entering to try to help remind her that women are not supposed to think or try to run a business (as she has learned to) by herself. The last of these is her brother, who returns on crutches from a war, his face still bloodied, and then her sister (played by a young Hanna Schygulla) who doesn't want to be like her, so is poisoned in turn. The "Freiheit" or freedom of the title that Carstensen's character achieves is to get rid of all those who would thwart her. If feminism is a brew, then this is indeed a very dark and bitter cup!

Searching a Fassbinder movie

[antoinepincon · 11 September 2018]

I would very much find Bremer Freiheit. Some of IMDB users had obviously seen it. If you have any information about the way to watch it, I would be very gratefull. This movie is actually not available in France.

Thanks a lot for your answers...