Marlene (1984)

Thanks for the memories!

hyped garbage

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

A documentary retrospective on the career of enigmatic screen diva Marlene Dietrich.I do not really know much about Marlene Dietrich. I have seen a few of her better known films, such as "Blue Angel", but know almost nothing about her personally. This documentary was good for fixing that, really allowing her to tell her story in her own words.Apparently she did not want to be filmed, but agreed to be recorded. I actually think this makes for a better film. It allows for more footage to be shown, which is great when so many of her earlier works are hard to track down. Also, it serves little purpose to show her as an elderly woman... I mean, especially now that we saw how much better the screen time can be used.

For me it's this simple: the clips from Dietrich's movies are great. They are hard not to love, all of them in different ways. And the clips from documentary footage are moving, too, and make sense in putting her life in order.But the insinuation of the director, the interviewer, into her life, and into her emotional state, is damaging both to the film and to the subject. Yes, there are little moments when Dietrich says things that seem to be truthful, and seem to actually matter. But there are a very few seconds or minutes of the whole. Much of the film has Schell cajoling and annoying the poor woman.At first you think Dietrich is just posturing and full of herself, saying how she isn't interested in digging up her past. But as it goes you realize how right she must be, and how appropriate (especially with such an up and down life, with WWII in the middle of it). But Schell just keeps pushing with his hautiness, as if we the viewers appreciate his relentlessness.I did not. It left a terrible taste in my mouth, and I for one want to be a "dreamer" and enjoy both the real woman, whatever she was willing to show of her, and the star, which we know from her movies. This documentary does little for either side of her life. It's mostly about the ambitions of a comparatively small person, the director Max Schell.

Marlene Dietrich was notorious for her unwillingness to be seen once she retired. Yet, somehow, this very secretive actress and singer was convinced by Maximillian Schell to make a documentary. But, because she was so secretive, she imposed conditions on the film that made making it very, very difficult--practically impossible. They were not allowed to show her at any time nor any of the pictures on the walls. And, while agreeing to being interviewed, it could only be done with a tape recorder--forcing the use of lots of irrelevant footage, old photos and film clips.Now all this sounds very confusing and difficult for Schell...but it gets worse. As he asks her questions about her old films or her life, she keeps responding by saying cranky things like 'I already spoke about that in my book and don't want to talk about it', 'that film is kitsch and I hate it' and other dismissive comments. Despite this, Schell tried to engage her throughout the film--mostly to be rebuffed. In fact, you learn almost nothing about Marlene other than the fact that she doesn't want you to learn much of anything! It's really a waste of time and fans of this enigmatic actress should just do as she says....READ A BOOK! Very disappointing and I have no idea why this film was nominated for an Oscar, as there is not category for Most Frustrating Picture! My feeling is that folks who love Marlene Dietrich are best served with their memories and should probably just avoid this strange film.

Maximilian Schell's documentary portrait of legendary screen siren Marlene Dietrich separates the woman from her myth, but because Dietrich herself refused to appear on camera the director was presented with a dilemma: how to construct the film without its subject? His clever (if desperate) solution was to document, instead, his own frustration in making the film, using Dietrich's disembodied, tape recorded voice to supplement scenes of the director scrambling for cohesive footage.Surprisingly, the finished film (messy as it often is) creates a remarkably full picture of the reclusive star, despite (and in large part because of) her absence. Dietrich's voice alone – obstinate, caustic, skeptical of Schell's project, scornful of her own allure – says more (with more insight) than any scripted monologue could provide, and her unedited conversations with Schell (an old comrade) are unpredictable and candid, often becoming verbal sparring matches in two languages.