bruswayn

I thought this movie would be interesting (base largely on the "loved it/hated it" reviews on this forum), but instead felt it was pretentiousness wrapped up in the Freudian wish fulfillment of its writer/director/lead actor, Eric Shaeffer.

This whole movie seems to be Shaeffer's tribute to his own ego- of course the world's most beautiful woman would find him to be fascinating! It's kind of like a Woody Allen film in that sense, but without any of the humor or talent.

Kudos to Shaeffer for making an ambitious independent film, but it just reminded me of an arrogant "artist" trying to show the world how awesome he thinks he is.

Jazzy11's review is spot on. He said, very succinctly, many of the same things that had occurred to me as I watched.

One area that seems to need to be explored better, though, is Fassbinder's near Nostradamus like vision of the eventual hegemony of the western powers/NATO alliance. Naturally, this is quite evident in this particular version, but it's all there in the source material too. There is even a hint at the neo-conservative movement and preemptive war doctrine of that came to preeminence at the end of the 20th century and actually took root during the Bush administration. Both on a literal and symbolic level, the message is unmistakable.

Watching any version of "Berlin-Alexanderplatz" simply reinforces, to the acute viewer, that we are all part of a wondrous mystery filled with universal truths that were prescient then and prescient now.