Werk ohne Autor (2018)

[Drunk Monk]

aka Never Look Away.  This was heavily nominated at Cannes, the Golden Globes & the Oscars for a German film. It's a 3+ hour artist's journey from Nazi Germany to East Germany under the Russians to the West (Dusseldorf).  The first hour is depressing as the Nazis fuck everything up culminating in the Dresden firestorm.  Then he goes to arts school in Dresden where he's limited to Socialist Realism. That's dreary and oppressive. There he falls in love and escapes with his wife to Dusseldorf Art School which is hysterical as art students try to redefine art. So basically, it's a film in three chapters.  It's based on the life of painter Gerhard Richter, who I knew nothing about until I wikied him just now. 

The film goes a lot of places but what worked for me was its approach to art and the artistic process.  It's not like French art film with existential philosophizing aboout art over coffee and cigs in some sidewalk cafe.  This is German so it's about art under terribly rigid oppression.  It's a rich and textured story and the painting scenes are quite good - whoever served as the stunt painter has an amazing brush stroke hand.  We both found it enjoyable but Stacy wanted more justice at the end. 

No sword fights.  Only recommended for the DOOM painters, KB & cf, the germanophiles PPFY and maybe the fine film buffs, which is all of the rest of you.  Okay, recommended for all of you if you've got 3+ hours to kill.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

Tranlsation is “Work without Author” or “artist unknown”.

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That might be a good shelter-in-place date film with my German Studies GF. Thanks!

[Drunk Monk]

Tranlsation is “Work without Author” or “artist unknown”.

right.  that was richter's style.  he started with paintings of photos and propounded that they weren't personal even though they were.  that disconnect between artist and subject was revolutionary, thus a 'work without author'.

That might be a good shelter-in-place date film with my German Studies GF. Thanks!

it has the most noms in prestigious film awards than any other german film since das boot and that was over three and a half decades ago.  it's long tho, like three hour-long chapters.  i found it thought provoking regarding art theory, but that doesn't quite come together until the final hour. 

there's a lot of nudity too.  just no sword fights.