Tag Archives: Germany

“As long as politics is this confused and evil, turning away from it would be cowardly.” — 20th century hero Sophie Scholl

“I am, now as before, of the opinion that I did the best that I could do for my nation. I therefore do not regret my conduct and will bear the consequences that result from my conduct.” — Sophie Scholl … Continue reading

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For International Women’s Day: Ladies I Love

I post edited versions of this every year. I add names. I take names off if I feel like it. I enjoy compiling it. It’s not just about enjoyment. As women’s rights are up for grabs more than ever, like … Continue reading

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February 2025 Viewing Diary

Twin Peaks: The Return (2017; d. David Lynch) There’s nothing else like it in all of God’s green earth and I am just so grateful it exists. It’s so pure. Suze (2025; d. Dane Clark and Linsey Stewart) I liked … Continue reading

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Review: Uppercut (2025)

I reviewed this English-language remake of the original 2021 Germany film for Ebert.

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2024 Books Read

1. Brotherhood of Tyrants: Manic Depression and Absolute Power, by D. Jablow Hershman I was talking with the doctor who helps me manage my bipolar. He saved my life back in 2013. Well, it was a group effort. He knows … Continue reading

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“In America, sex is an obsession, in other parts of the world it’s a fact.” — Marlene Dietrich

It’s her birthday today. When I interviewed Dan Callahan about his book The Art of American Screen Acting, we discussed Marlene Dietrich. He has been obsessed since college, and also obsessed with trying to put her into words. What exactly … Continue reading

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“I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat or a prostitute.” — Rebecca West

It’s her birthday today. It is hard to talk about her without referencing the generations of writers she inspired, all of whom admit their debt. Robert Kaplan is the most open about it (in Balkan Ghosts, which launched his career, … Continue reading

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“I can only work against bourgeois society. I can never work with it or through it.” — Erwin Piscator

It’s Erwin Piscator’s birthday. Even if you didn’t set OUT to learn about him, if you have done any reading about actors/theatre in the 20th century – either in Germany or in America – you will run into his name … Continue reading

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October 2024 Viewing Diary

Downfall (2005; d. Oliver Hirschbiegel) I’ve watched a couple of times. Always good to have a reminder of the madness of those final months, where even the most hardened monstrous men were like, “… uhm, yeah, he’s a lunatic, I’m … Continue reading

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“Only for the sake of the hopeless ones have we been given hope.” — Walter Benjamin

“Often an era most closely brands with its seal those who have been least influenced by it, who have been most remote from it, and who therefore have suffered most. So it was with Proust, with Kafka, with Karl Kraus, … Continue reading

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