EXBERLINER Issue 153, October 2016

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Brussels-based artist Pierre Bismuth on his playful and confounding quasi-documentary Where is Rocky II? By Paul O’Callaghan WHAT’S ON — Film “It was not my intention to do something this weird!” Saint Amour D: Benoît Delépine, Gustave de Kervern (France, Belgium, 2016) HHH The directors of Mammuth return with this broad, silly and surprisingly touching riff on Alexander Payne’s Sideways, featuring Gérard Depardieu's strongest performance in years as an ageing farmer trying to reconnect with his feckless son. Starts Oct 13. Sausage Party D: Conrad Vernon, Greg Tiernan (USA, 2016) HH This outlandish animated tale of sentient edibles realising their grim fate offers a few surprisingly smart laughs, but soon gets stuck in a profanity cul-de-sac. Starts Oct 6. What happened to Edward Ruscha’s 1979 sculpture of a boulder hidden in California's Mojave Desert, and why is Ruscha so secretive about the project now? Bismuth attempts to find out in a film that deftly explores the way secrets and intangible truths stoke the fires of creativity. When did you first learn about “Rocky II”? I first read about it in 2006, and I soon realised that no one in the art world knew about the piece. I persuaded a friend of mine to ask Ed Ruscha about it, but Ed really didn’t want to discuss it. So I thought that was extremely weird. In 2009 I went to London to confront Ed directly during a press conference. I felt that if I made the film without evidence, nobody would believe the piece existed. The confrontation was perfect, because you can see the surprise in his eyes – he’s taken aback by the fact that I know about it. That was exactly what I needed to start the movie. How did you envisage your film at that point? The initial project was an art movie, a slow journey into the desert to look for something that was impossible to find. Then I moved towards the idea of a documentary, but I found myself simultaneously moving away from the conventions of the form. The finished film is really about the different regime of reality we’re confronted with in TV and film. I’d noticed that filmmakers often have to add signs of reality to make the audience believe that something‘s genuine. I decided to respect the documentary methology of unscripted events, but hide the signs of reality where possible. Would the audience still perceive it as true, or would we destroy the feeling of authenticity? That was the game I wanted to play. And why decide to depict screenwriters creating fiction based on the story? There were two questions I wanted answers to – where is the piece, and why did this artist decide to create something that was totally invisible? When I started casting for the detective, I found people who’d be able to find the piece, but wouldn’t necessarily be able to answer the question of meaning. Because the private detective is such a common cinematic element, I realised I already had one foot in the film world. That led me to think that the best people to explore the meaning would be screenwriters. What was it about Michael Scott that won him the private detective role? The main reason is that he was very square! He’s an ex-army officer and ex-policeman, totally overqualified for the job. I liked the fact that he made no judgement about the case – he didn’t think it was stupid. Did you know in advance that you’d be pairing him up with Jim Ganzer, the founder of skate brand Jimmy’z and inspiration for The Dude in The Big Lebowski? The way it appears in the film is exactly how it was. Michael really wanted to find Jim after flying to London and watching him in an old BBC documentary about Ruscha. And Jim turned out to be this totally amazing character. What I didn’t expect is that Michael would somehow fall in love with him – it was great to watch. Was it always your goal to make something this unusual? To be honest, I just thought I was making a documentary with a little twist. It was not my intention to do something this weird! The strange thing is if you try and explain the film, it sounds like something that not many people would be interested in. But the reaction we’ve seen at festivals is that audiences find it very entertaining and easy to follow. n Welcome to Norway! D: Rune Denstad Langlo (Norway, 2016) HHHH This wonderfully wry migrant crisis comedy follows the exploits of a casually racist wannabe entrepreneur as he attempts to convert his family’s hotel into a refugee centre. Starts Oct 13. 30 EXBERLINER 153
WHAT’S ON — Film Reviews his motley crew on a road trip through the backwaters of the Midwest, with a 16-seater van as their vessel, and a soundtrack that spans country, rock, hip-hop and Rihanna to carry them along. Working once again with masterly cinematographer Robbie Ryan, Arnold forges her own raw brand of Americana and, in the process, delivers perhaps the freshest film about young people in America since Larry Clark’s Kids in 1995. A triumph. — ROC Starts Oct 20 Parched Starts Sep 29 War Dogs D: Todd Phillips (USA 2016) with Jonah Hill, Miles Teller HHH Based on a true story first published in Rolling Stone, War Dogs tells the tale of two bros who lie, scam and skew their moral compasses to become big-money arms dealers for troops in post-9/11 Iraq and Afghanistan. Phillips (The Hangover) breaks new ground by helming an amorality tale that nakedly yearns to be this generation’s Goodfellas: a crime drama about the warped pursuit of the American Dream, laced with slick comedic beats and voiceover narration. He emulates but fails to equal Scorsese’s significantly more ambitious efforts – the film frequently feels devoid of substance, and lacks insight into how governments and corporations benefit from conflict. Thankfully, Jonah Hill justifies the price of admission, stealing the show with his larger-than-life, scenerychewing turn as a progressively sinister antihero. — David Mouriquand Starts Oct 13 American Honey D: Andrea Arnold (USA 2016) with Sasha Lane, Shia LaBeouf HHHHH Arnold wrestles with the American Dream in this seductive head-rush of a road movie, her first film set Stateside. Star (newcomer Sasha Lane) is a young woman stuck in a bad relationship and a nowhere town, until she meets Jake (Shia LaBeouf), the enigmatic, Bill Sikes-esque ringleader of a gang of teenage outcasts who sell dodgy magazine subscriptions. Star joins OCTOBER 2016 Théo & Hugo D: Olivier Ducastel, Jacques Martineau (France 2015) with Geoffrey Couët, François Nambot HHH You don’t even realise how deep-rooted our Disney-enforced notions of romance are until you see the titular heroes of this sizzling film d’amour lock eyes for the first time. The connection is unmistakable, but the context seems all wrong. Kudos to the director duo for opening their 90-minute movie with a near 20-minute orgy in the basement of a gay sex club, where reason is drowned out by lust and no names are involved. Can there be love? Thanks to skilled, candid writing addressing the proud but lonely post-AIDS generation, the affirmative answer doesn’t feel lazy or sugarcoated. If anything, it’s characterised by a tenaciously uncynical tone of voice which, despite recognising the elusive quest for happily-ever-afters, wouldn’t trade anything for the ride. — Zhuo-Ning Su Starts Oct 27 Parched D: Leena Yadav (India, UK, USA 2015) with Tannishtha Chatterjee, Radhika Apte, Surveen Chawla, Lehar Khan HHH Filmed on location in the dust-swept deserts of Rajasthan, Parched is a powerful portrait of four women – mother and widow Rani (Chatterjee), childless Lajjo (Apte), dancer and prostitute Bijli (Chawla) and Rani’s new daughter-in-law Janaki (Khan) – taking on patriarchy in rural India. Set against the (male) village elders, drunk abusive husbands and a new generation of angry young men, Leena Yadav’s film puts female emancipation firmly in the hands of women as, through the character of Rani, the endless cycle of loveless marriages and conjugal rape is called into question. It’s brash in its schemata of abuse and exploitation, and sometimes clumsy in its broad-stroke storytelling. Nevertheless, Parched packs a punch with its superb performances, moments of intimacy and life-affirming league of ladies defying convention. — Mark Wilshin Intro, ByteFM & KulturNews präsentieren: SEKUOIA Di. 18.10. Einlass 19:00 Prince Charles virtualnights.com präsentiert: twocolors Do. 17.11. Einlass 20:00 Prince Charles CON BRIO Mo. 05.12. Einlass 19:00 Maschinenhaus NICOLAS JAAR Fr. 09.12. Einlass 19:00 Columbiahalle Faze, KulturNews & ByteFM präsentieren: SHOBALEADER ONE Do. 30.03.2017 Einlass 19:00 Berghain Infos unter www.mct-agentur.com tickets > www.tickets.de und 030-6110 1313 verlegt auf Thu Sep 29 // Maschinenhaus // 8 pm PATRICIA VONNE sin city actress & sister of director Robert Rodriguez with her own mix of tex mex and desert roots rock Wed Oct 12 // Kesselhaus // 8 pm MAGMA the French prog rock pioneers Fri Oct 14 // Kesselhaus // 8 pm FEUERENGEL a tribute to Rammstein Thu Oct 27 // Maschinenhaus // 8 pm BÊ IGNACIO with brand new album “Tropical Soul” Sun Nov 13 // Kesselhaus // 8 pm BILLY COBHAM the drumming jazz icon in concert Sat Nov 26 // Kesselhaus // 8 pm SCALA & KOLACNY BROTHERS 20 years SCALA – the stage anniversary TICKETS 030 44 31 51 00 // WWW.KESSELHAUS.NET
Page 1 and 2: Berlin in English since 2002 153
Page 3 and 4: CONTENTS Exberliner 153 - October 2
Page 5 and 6: Berlin in English since 2002 TRUMP
Page 7 and 8: BEST OF BERLIN — October 2016 Tee
Page 9 and 10: AMERICAN BERLIN we recruit and enab
Page 11 and 12: AMERICAN BERLIN “I’M NOT DOING
Page 13 and 14: AMERICAN BERLIN Above: Ellen and Ri
Page 15 and 16: AMERICAN BERLIN Anna Winger is curr
Page 17 and 18: AMERICAN BERLIN LICHTENBERG BERLIN
Page 19 and 20: AMERICAN BERLIN Right: American Ber
Page 21 and 22: AMERICAN BERLIN Boogie”: three st
Page 23 and 24: AMERICAN BERLIN I remember him sitt
Page 25 and 26: REGULARS PAGE 23 GIRL Blue skies, b
Page 27 and 28: ADVERTORIAL — Shopping in Berlin
Page 29 and 30: WHAT’S ON — How Berlin Got The
Page 31: WHAT’S ON — Film Review Notes O
Page 35 and 36: WHAT’S ON — Music Preview Bring
Page 37 and 38: WHAT’S ON — Music terrible way
Page 39 and 40: WHAT’S ON — Art haus, will open
Page 41 and 42: WHAT’S ON — Art Through Oct 22
Page 43 and 44: WHAT’S ON — Stage Preview AT MA
Page 45 and 46: ADVERTISING — The Language School
Page 47 and 48: WHAT’S ON Human Rights Watch (see
Page 49 and 50: ADVERTORIAL — The Berlin Guide NO
Page 51 and 52: ADVERTORIAL — The Berlin Guide fa
Page 53 and 54: REGULARS On the other hand, the int
Page 55 and 56: COLUMN— The Gay Berliner Letter t
Page 57 and 58: REGULARS Review Dandy Diner: Fast v
Page 59 and 60: NOW IN BERLIN COLUMN — Ask Hans-T
Page 61 and 62: REGULARS High art for the little pe
Page 63 and 64: 14|10 A Night for LILI BOULANGER LI

EXBERLINER Issue 153, October 2016

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