Black humour in Nazi Germany Simultaneous film releases

Press, 23 October 1980, Page 14

Black humour in Nazi Germany Simultaneous film releases

"The Tin- Dram," this year’s Oscar winner 1 for best foreign film and which already has had a brief screening at this year’s Christchurch Film Festival, returns. tomorrow to the Savoy. The movie is based on Gunther Grass's awardwinning surrealistic novel about life in Germany before and during the Nazi reign. Basically, the story follows the life of little Oscar Matzerath, born in Danzig in 1924, who quickly grows into an intelligent and sensitive child. At the age of three, he is given his first white and red tin drum, thus settling off his life-long dedication to this instrument. In a strange denial of the adult world, the boy decides to grow no older physically and he remains a dwarf though otherwise growing to full masculinity. Unable to explain the psychological meaning of the retarded physical development, his family and doctors blame the young man’s condition on an early accident. Undeterred and armed with his little' tin drum, which he beats to -drown out the sounds of non-.-

sense, and with a glassshattering scream that is his ultimate' weapon of protest,' Oscar chooses to bear witness, to the folly and evil- deeds of adults. The director ■■ (Volker Schlondorff) took on an almost impossible task in translating this epochal novel to the screen and, somehow, has managed to do so with artistic integrity and coherence. Possibly the plot could be describing as tracing the rise of Nazism from the poisoned soul of the German bourgeoisie after World War I.

However, there is much more to this .black comedy. which can jump from straight out farce to bloody humour or misery’. One important .warning is that “The Tin Drum” is not intended for the weak stomached and most of its almost indelible images are of the revolting kind. What can one make of children cooking . soup, placing live frogs in it, urinating into it and then forcing another child to eat the mess. Even more horrific is ;the sight of the decomposing head. of a horse being pulled from the sea and dozens:; of eels wriggling from it — and a woman later being. forced to eat the eels.

The Masters Independent Cinemas are continuing, to follow their new policy of presenting first release movies at four surburban theatres simultaneously. This welcome increase in the number of outlets for new films started during the last school holidays, when Masters presented “The Bugs Bunny/Roadrunner Movie” at a number of theatres. The policy was extended to adult films a couple of weeks ago, when the comedy “Lost and Found,”

starring George Segal and Glenda Jackson, was shown at four cinemas. Tomorrow. Masters will present another American ■comedv, "Hot Stuff," starring Dorn DeLuise and Suzanne Pleshette. at the Hollywood. Sumner; Roxy, New Brighton; Avenue. Riccarton; and Northside, Papanui. DeLuise and Pleshette are members of a police burglary task force who set up a phony operation where the underworld peddles its stolen wares in Miami.