Movies - Stroszek

Home > Listing Index > Movies > Stroszek

	Movies - Stroszek

Stroszek is a 1977 film by German director Werner Herzog.

Plot

Bruno Stroszek (Bruno S.) is a Berlin street singer. Released from prison and warned to stop drinking, he immediately goes to a bar where he befriends Eva (Eva Mattes), a prostitute down on her luck whom he lets stay with him. After they are harried and beaten by the thugs who have been Eva's pimps, they decide to leave Germany and accompany Bruno's eccentric elderly neighbour Scheitz (Clemens Scheitz), who was planning to move to Wisconsin to live with his American nephew. In that winter-bound, barren prairie, Bruno works as a mechanic, Eva as a waitress and Scheitz pursues his interest in animal magnetism. The pair buy a trailer but, as bills mount, the bank threatens to repossess it. Eva wants privacy and, inexorably, the promise of a new life in the U.S.A. deserts Bruno. Finally Eva runs away with two truck drivers while Bruno and Scheitz make a catastrophic hold-up attempt.

Analysis

One of the most interesting aspects of the film is Herzog's use of local talent for the many smaller parts, including the mechanic and bank official (Scott McKain). During a trip to Wisconsin, Herzog met the auto mechanic (Clayton Szalpinski) who would later play the part in the film. His intent was to use local talent to portray characters in a naturalistic fashion. One of the most memorable political points in the film is found in Bruno's discussion of politics under the Nazis and politics in the U.S. He finds that Nazi brutality was displayed in the open while U.S. political/economic oppression occurs in the fine print of contracts. The ending of the film is much debated, and it involves an enigmatic scene of dancing chickens and rabbits inside a local tourist trap.

Trivia

Ian Curtis, the lead singer of the band Joy Division, reportedly committed suicide a few hours after watching the film on BBC 2 on May 18, 1980. The original vinyl release version of Joy Division's posthumous album Still featured the following groove notation: "The chicken won't stop" (side A), etched chicken tracks across the grooves (sides B & C), and "The chicken stops here" (side D). These are all in reference to the film's grim finale.

In 1990 a Joy Division-influenced band named themselves 'The Stroszeks'. They split up in 1992.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Stroszek ]

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article Stroszek; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.

Searches on eBay