MARLENE (1984) ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2
D: Maximilian Schell
Maximilian Schell's documentary on Marlene Dietrich, made with Dietrich's guarded cooperation and put together under a severely limiting restriction: Dietrich, then in her 80s, agreed to be interviewed, but adamantly refused to be photographed. The result is a movie about itself, and Schell's obsession with making it, as much as it is about the legendary actress. Remarkably, it works both ways. The more Dietrich spurns Schell's overtures, the more she reveals about herself, and the more Schell struggles with his inability to shoot the thing his movie is about, the more inventive he becomes. Eventually it all breaks down into cinematic chaos, with Dietrich on a tirade against Schell's romanticism, his persistent interrogation and even his parentage, while Schell fills the screen with Felliniesque images that capture the filmmaker's growing frustration over the impact her intransigence is having on his film. The finished product might not be entirely coherent, but there isn't another documentary quite like it. Definitely worth checking out.
Maximilian Schell
(1930-2014)
