Fatherland – Ken Loach

un film (del 1986) di Ken Loach, ambientato fra la Germania e l'Inghilterra. 

racconta diverse storie che si fondono alla perfezione, un giovane cantautore scappa dalla DDR per la Germania, per la libertà che è teorica, Klaus non ci sta ad essere usato ("lo stalinismo non è il socialismo, la libertà non è il capitalismo", è una scritta all'interno del film).

e poi c'è la ricerca del padre, con un finale sorprendente.

buona visione, non ve ne pentirete - Ismaele

QUI il film completo con sottotitoli in italiano

…Il Loach storico di Terra e libertà è qui in filigrana. La “Fatherland”, terra dei padri, si rivela ambigua e deludente ma contiene anche un’epifania: nessun sistema è perfetto, nessun uomo ha forma definitiva. Loach indaga i fantasmi sociali, i rimossi occidentali, l’ossimoro della “tolleranza repressiva”: in una delle note deviazioni dal percorso principale, vediamo, passato il confine inglese, un gruppo di attivisti ambientalisti contro il nucleare bruscamente fermato dalla polizia. La lucida tesi di Loach viene portata avanti senza enunciarla ma mimetizzata nelle immagini, secondo il principio del regista che affida il giudizio finale a chi guarda: “Anche lo spettatore deve fare il suo lavoro”.

Ecco allora che una “vecchia storia” di trentacinque anni fa parla ancora al contemporaneo. A proposito della Germania divisa, l’ultimo film di Fabrizio Ferraro, Checkpoint Berlin, documentario alla ricerca di uno zio scomparso all’Est, coltiva la leggenda di un mitico passeur, un personaggio – forse esistito – in grado di muoversi liberamente dall’Est all’Ovest attraverso una strada segreta mai intercettata.

Fatherland fa parte di quella mitologia “vera” e plausibile. A proposito di controllo sociale, invece, l’urgenza dell’oggi imposta da un virus riporta ai poliziotti in giro per strade deserte. Non era forse questa la Germania Est inscenata da Loach? Fatherland è un film dimenticato, ma è il tempo giusto per vederlo e riscoprirlo.

da qui

 

Film poco conosciuto di Loach, ma che merita di essere recuperato per come riesce a creare un equilibrio fra la storia personale di questo cantante dissidente tedesco dell'est nel dorato e fasullo mondo occidentale e la Storia che rimane sempre sullo sfondo. Difficile rimanere con la propria identità e le proprie idee quando si viene repressi in un modo o nell'altro. La Storia alla fine chiede sempre il suo conto. Colpe, dolori e sogni infranti ai piedi di quel potere sempre sorretto da coloro che stanno sotto. Da recuperare.

da qui

 

The screenplay for Fatherland by Trevor Griffiths (Reds) is filled with incisive observations about the repressiveness of authoritarian socialist regimes, the decadence of capitalism, and the varied ways in which men and women are forced to sell their souls in order to survive in both the East and the West. Two slogans appear on the screen in the film: “Stalinism is not socialism,” and “capitalism is not freedom.” Director Ken Loach has made a sophisticated political film which is both insightful and engaging.

da qui

 

Social protest has been part of human society going back to Paleolithic times when the first homo-protestapien complained "What, nuts and berries again?" The response was most likely either "Go out and kill something, then," or "Discover fire and I'll make a casserole." Admittedly, I loosely translate from the original "ogg," "ugh" and passionate grunting.

By the year 1968 the earth was awash with protesters (for good reason) who had developed protesting into an art form. The art form of choice was the protest song. From Arlo Guthrie to John Lennon, Country Joe McDonald to Marvin Gaye, Bob Dylan to The Plastic People of the Universe, Phil Ochs to Jimmy Cliff, the airwaves were filled with politically charged lyrics that stirred the souls of the youth of the world. Americans like to think they had a patent upon it but Eastern Europe was at the forefront of something other than Vietnam, their own social unrest.

WWII had been over for more than twenty years but there still were countries in upheaval. The Prague Spring had come to Czechoslovakia and led to another Communist invasion. Yugoslavia was beset with protests from ethnic Albanians in Kosovo and Western Macedonia that led to concessions that angered Serbians and Montenegrins. This caused not only a Serbian emigration from Kosovo but also further religious tensions as Macedonians created their own Orthodox Church and Muslim nationalism rose in Bosnia irritating Serbian churchmen. And, of course, the Cold War was in full swing in Germany with the Berlin Wall, just seven years old, still 21 years away from demolition. It is in the politically turbulent year of 1968 that "Fatherland," aka "Singing the Blues in Red" begins…

da qui

 

…It's very difficult to be critical of Fatherland. Clearly a labour of love, it's certainly a well-made film that projects all of the despair and desolation of Eastern Europe before the fall of the wall, and the hope symbolized by moving west. And in the 80's when the film was released, prior to the information age, the film was one of the few accurate portraits that people were able to see of the situation in Germany. The making of the film was a political statement in and of itself. (You can read more about that in Julie Kirgo's liner notes). Today, however, Fatherland is...boring. The cast are all excellent in their roles, and the direction is appropriate; minimal and seemingly non-intrusive. The dream sequences are a little hokey in their artiness, but that's a small stumbling point. There's just not a lot going on. It's a dreary story told in a largely drab setting that takes a long time to get where it's going. The result waiting at the end of the journey has the potential to be powerful, but by the time the film gets there, the payoff has minimal impact. There's nothing to actively dislike about Fatherland; it's just not that interesting.

da qui