646

A massively ambitious project, one that requires stamina not only to endure the length, but also the depth. Sometimes it's very mundane, sometimes it's highly abstract. The more "arty" and presumably meaningful it got, the more I tuned out. I was interested in the details, but not Syberberg's ideas about the big picture. It felt like a messy, confused jumble of things. I feel some guilt about being bored by it, as if I wasn't smart enough or educated enough to appreciate it. Maybe that's true.

Many moments and ideas to admire with just about equal parts disappointment sharing this monumental work. I feel this must have in some respects influenced Fassbinder in his epilogue for Berlin Alexanderplatz; making my lukewarm reaction even more baffling.

618

The grand conclusion of Syberberg's trilogy of Brechtian/Wagnerian cinematic genealogies of the German psyche, spectre, and nightmares, and also probably the most audacious cinematic experiment of all time, and a genuine attempt to explore the most difficult of subject matter (difficult for more than one reason). Despite a small budget, this movie attempts to do the most that can be done on celluloid. The score of 98 represents a minimum, and another viewing could lead to this being raised.

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