L'honneur perdu de Katharina Blum

This is an unpleasant film. I wouldn't even hesitate to use the controversial epithet "repulsive" in some moments. It's an ideologically defined film, where I hesitate to use the label leftist, as it would be much more accurate to call it left-wing. Those who consider the conflict between the sensation-seeking tabloid and the falsely accused individual, who tries to protect their privacy, as the central theme of the film are mistaken. The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum is not a timeless film but rather is closely connected to specific events and processes taking place in West Germany in the first half of the 1970s. During the 1960s, the influence of the radical left grew significantly at German universities and the cultural environment, while the rest of the population enjoyed the fruits of the German economic miracle. The first wave of RAF attacks shocked and disgusted Germany. The bourgeois press (logically) criticized not only the terrorists but also scrutinized their ideological foundations and social background. The radical left found itself isolated and faced increasing pressure from the conservative majority. The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum is one of the products of the frustration experienced by leftists at that time. I think that if Ulrike Meinhof were alive, she would be thrilled with the film and would willingly agree with the assessment given by the creators to the German authorities and media. The film works with black and white, strongly polarized characters. Its zealous criticism of what it considers German reality makes it strongly tendentious, which significantly diminishes the film's strength today. Holders of state power are ruthless, employing any methods without hesitation, and the media are manipulative and willingly inform the police - just like "ordinary" citizens who remain ideologically anchored in their brown past. It is evident from every shot how much the filmmakers did not identify with the environment that surrounded them, and how much they wanted to depict the society of that time as hysterical, herd-like, and manipulative. Personally, I find the film techniques used by the directorial duo rather manipulative today. There are questions that can be asked, which obviously did not interest the creators. The protagonist of the film is at best naive and irresponsible, and in the worst case, Katharina Blum can be thought of as a member of a terrorist network because such an interpretation is also possible. However, the concept of honor according to Margarethe von Trotta and Volker Schlöndorff suspiciously resembles how it is perceived by Italian mafiosi or members of Caucasian clans. Overall impression: 40%. (10/10/2017)

Normalement, je ne m'en rends presque pas compte, mais ici sur csfd, il y a parfois une colonne intitulée "Tags" qui réussit, d'une certaine manière, à caractériser le message du film : police, journalistes, intrigues, fausses accusations, médias, injustice. La réalité est toujours différente de celle qui nous apparaît, mais la police et les médias agissent dans le sens opposé : leur perception des choses constitue leur réalité. C'est pourquoi nous, en tant que spectateurs, pouvons bien sûr observer la "réalité" colorée de la narration cinématographique (qui, comme toute autre réalité, est ouverte à différentes interprétations, de l'engagement politique des auteurs à d'autres opinions), mais la réalité créée par la machinerie policière-médiatique unifiée ne permet qu'un seul point de vue. C'est celui des images en noir et blanc des caméras des services secrets et des photographies de presse (à l'époque) en noir et blanc et des titres, rappelant aux gens du XXIe siècle que l'on peut devenir terroriste du jour au lendemain, non seulement par nos propres actes. (11/09/2014)