Grabbes letzter Sommer

The film captures the twilight of the life of the German playwright Christian Grabbe (1801-1836), who in his final years is increasingly sinking into a spiral of contempt towards the hypocritical bourgeoisie society of the Biedermeier era and toward himself. This slide toward human isolation is also increasingly greased by Grabbe's last resort to suppress his disgust - alcohol. The film shows the most irreconcilable conflict between the artist's soul, which, logically, in order to express something new, must criticize and transcend the existing, i.e., what is, and conventional society, which loves the predictability of human behavior, thinking, and feeling. The second painful, although not uncommon paradox, unfolds directly within Grabbe - the rejection of all other people as superficial conformists is in direct contrast to the desire of every artist to achieve recognition, and this can only be achieved through others. This dependence on others, even though he despises them; this contempt for society, against which he is powerless, gives rise to the poignant brokenness of the individual in the era of Romanticism, forced to hate the world and oneself. /// Saless' trademark of long shots and slow pace works well here (although it is not as prominent as usual), but while the extension of shots seemed legitimate to me, the length of the film did not. It is worth mentioning the very good performance of the otherwise unknown Wilfried Grimpe in the lead role. (17.06.2015)