Horst in Translation ([email protected]) "Kamikaze 1989" is a German movie from 1982, so this one has its 35th anniversary this year. The director is Wolf Gremm and he is also among the writers who adapted the novel for the screen here. The outcome is a 105-minute movie in the German language. The lead actor is famous German filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder and this is actually his last performance of an actor before his untimely death. Fittingly, the cast also includes many actors who have appeared on several occasions in Fassbinder's films, such as Mira or Kaufmann. I already wrote that this movie is from 1982 and the events it depicts are actually a vision of the future of what the year 1989 may look like. A touch of "Clockwork Orange" you will find in here for sure, even if the focus is on the "good" side of the law this time. Fassbinder's character is a police officer dealing with a bomb threat that may be legit or just a prank. It all has to do with the governing institution that is apparently very powerful and has their very own ways to make sure things stay the way they are. You could certainly characterize this film as shrill here. The sets, but even more so the costumes are really extremely over the top, but it feels all intended and it adds a decent little atmosphere to the entire project.But unfortunately, the story cannot deliver beyond all the bright and colorful characters in here. The story about the crime becomes ultimately forgettable in the face of it being just one absurd scene chasing the next. And sadly, these aforementioned characters rarely have more than two scenes, which results in them becoming ultimately mostly forgettable as the moment they may have depth they are recycled for the next wave of characters. Except Fassbinder of course, who is in this for every scene from start to finish. As a consequence, the film also feels very Fassbinder, for example during the scene when the woman invites him to her place and also the entire scene at her place then. Anyway, I personally was relatively underwhelmed and I would call this a piece of style over substance. I still think Fassbinder is at least as good of an actor as he is of a writer and director and he shows it here. There are moments when his line delivery comes off a bit wooden, but it still works somehow. He is the least of problems this film has, even if I found it pretty sad to see him like this. His looks make clear that something is very wrong with him and his health and it was a bit of a depressing watch because of this, even if his acting was certainly one of the very few okay aspects about this movie. But overall, it is just not enough, especially in terms of the script which sacrifices coherency in its desperate and unsuccessful attempts to be as bold and mesmerizing as possible. Don't watch.

versionthirteen Kamikaze 1989 is an ambivalent film that manages to be both anti-corporate and anti-statist at the same time. It was perfect for 1982 when I was an anarcho-rightist skateboard punk. Today, it couldn't be appreciated by 1 in 100,000. This is the last of the great pre-Microsoft/ pre-End-of-USSR films that sought to reflect the hunger of the dawning information age. A bad phosphorescent TV look to the film makes it look fresh in our day. Fassbinder is Lt. Jansen and his investigations are predominately self-defeating - and that could be the point.Disguised as a predator, Lt.Jansen is an amoral and voyeuristic, yet totally flaccid being. Tired and sluggish this detective only incriminates himself - but the Inquisitor he faces - is us.I liked this odd movie - it is neither all low nor all high-brow art. It will probably put many to sleep - the violence is gratuitous and minimal, the main character is a walking dead man (interesting fact is that Fassbinder after dying in real life was BURIED in the costume of Lt.Jansen) - it has a charm that remains intact despite its pedigree as art-house junk.

tom-darwin A futurism crime thriller was a different venue for Fassbinder, whose stature had grown lately with films in historical settings. Though he didn't direct "Kamikaze," it was helmed by fellow New German filmmaker Gremm & has the moody complexity for which both directors are known, as well as more action. In the near future, West Germany's economy (remember, the fall of Communism was yet unforeseen) has become the world's largest. Virtually all broadcast & print media are controlled by a single, family-run corporation whose head (Gober) styles himself "The Blue Panther" & carefully crafts an elaborate personality cult, including a line of action comics. You still have a lot to learn, Rupert Murdoch. A terrorism campaign against the company by a nebulous entity called "Krysmopompas" (more impressive than "Osama," more intelligent than "Carlos the Jackal") brings on a police investigation headed by the force's most famous detective, Jansen (Fassbinder), who's never failed to solve a case. Clues indicate that someone well-placed in the corporation is responsible, but Jansen soon learns that the company itself is trying desperately to keep secrets. Is Krysmopompas really just an element of the Blue Panther personality cult? The story from Swedish writer Wahloo's novel "Murder on the 31st Floor" is frighteningly accurate in some of its visions, including the rise of cheap, inane reality TV (the marathon laughing contest is a classic) & the creation of euphemistic, self-serving police propaganda machinery (there's no such thing as murder or suicide anymore, only "accidental death"). The props are gleefully, stylishly cheap & cheesy, including Jansen's pajamalike leopard outfit, which might be some sort of uniform (remember Sylvia Anderson's purple wigs in "UFO?"), the burly assassins in black lingerie, the 3-wheeler choppers of the police & the Superman executive phone. However, they're no more outlandish than those of the wildly popular "Mad Max" films (Tina Turner in chain mail, oh, my!). Fassbinder does a remarkable job of projecting an air of old-fashioned, authoritative competence from Jansen through the futuristic absurdity, in contrast to the bland, painted-smile routine of the other cops & the worried urgings of his dying chief (Marquis). His relationship with his temperamental, long-suffering sidekick Anton (Kaufmann, Fassbinder's frequent collaborator & longtime companion) adds a complex human touch to the film. The brilliant Jansen is curtly condescending & critical ("Don't use unnecessary words, MK1 Anton") while the energetic Anton is alternately effusive & sullen. The portrayals of the media executives & personalities are delightfully bizarre & over-the-top, but probably less enjoyable if you don't understand German. The futurism venue was probably a good one for Fassbinder & Gremm (the latter's copious work remains almost unknown in the US) to venture out of the art-house domain of New German Cinema while keeping much of the technique that they had developed. Despite its similarity to "Soylent Green," "Kamikaze" is far less literal & direct but stylish beyond the point of parody. Hardly the most important work of the New Germans, "Kamikaze" is a valuable film in the near-future genre that died out in the 1980s but is about due for a revisit.

vlvetmorning98 1989, to be precise. As imagined by Germans in 1982. Germany has become the world's foremost economic superpower, suicide is a thing of the past, and everyone does drugs, except there are no nasty side effects anymore. An overweight Rainer Werner Fassbinder mostly scowls his way through a quest to find out who's behind a series of murders that may be linked to a new resistance group. Or something like that. The plot seems secondary to the outrageous costumes (Fassbinder wears leopard tights throughout the whole film) and scenarios (like a police discotheque where you can shoot on firing ranges). It's an ugly film, and a stupid one, too, but it is perversely fascinating, and worth watching once, if only to impress your friends.