Paradise

If you have seen Männer (1985), you might wonder which side Doris is exploring here. Compared to, e.g. Something Wild and Blue Velvet (both 1986), I think she wasn´t the only one who tried to come to terms with (self)destructive passion on film. But the scene I definitively like best, is the one where Lotte and Angie really hate eachother, when (near the end of the movie) Angelika visits Lotte, just escaped from the hospital, in her room, the room where Viktor is driving himself insane (because he cannot decide, choose, nor see clear why he got himself in this situation). Here, Katharina Thalbach is at her best, reminiscant of her performance in Der Blechtrommel (1979, I was about 12 then, and was quite shocked by her luscious presence). Unfortunately, I must say, this film just doesn´t deserve a 7, a 6 at most. The characters just refuse to come to life and their choices seem too random to express any real passion. Maybe because I travelled a road not too far from the picture drawn, or at least think I have a right to judge (with about 1500 movies in the back of my head). A good picture of Doris her development, but other moviemakers also deserve your attention (e.g. Pia Frankenberg, Brennende Betten - 1988).