By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Julian Schnabel
Country: united_kingdom, united_states
Year: 2008
Running time: 85
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1093836/
Bruce says: “Following his years with The Velvet Underground (1965-1970) and his gigantic success with ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ in 1972, Lou Reed recorded ‘Berlin’ in 1973 at the age of 29. The album was a commercial failure. He never performed the music live until December 2006 when he performed ‘Berlin’ for five nights at St’ Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn. The concert was designed and filmed by Julian Schnabel. Projected on a giant Chinese screen behind the band were abstract images and filmed scenes of characters in the songs, predominately the ill-fated Caroline. Schnabel’s daughter Lola Montes Schnabel is the director of the film within the film. Emmanuelle Seigner, featured in Schnabel’s THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY stars as Caroline.
“The Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Sharon Jones and Antony provide back-up and solo voices. A medium sized orchestra accompanies the rock musicians. The conductor wears a pale green waistcoat with a pale white BERLIN running vertically down the back, a nice visual touch. Schnabel correctly places the camera mostly on Reed and his band. From time to time images are overlaid but that is as artsy as the cinematography gets. We occasionally see the back-up musicians and rarely are aware of the audience. That Schnabel takes few risks and attempts nothing out of the ordinary is both blessing and curse. I was relieved to experience the concert as it should be heard; I was slightly disappointed that Schnabel did not dazzle us with unexpected innovations for the concert film genre.
“Reed knows how to infuse great drama in his songs. The songs follow the sequence of the album, a necessity since ‘Berlin’ is a story in song. The music has held its own over thirty plus years but ‘Berlin’ will never achieve the mass audience it arguably deserves because of bleak themes of heavy drug use, promiscuity, kinky sex, child abuse and suicide. The album songs are:
“Berlin
Lady Day
Men of Good Fortune
Caroline Says I
How Do You Think It Feels
Oh Jim
Caroline Says II
The Kids
The Bed
Sad Song
“Concert encores (which are not part of the ‘Berlin’ album) include :
‘Rock Minuet
Sweet Jane
“If a filmmaker is lucky a rare moment will be captured during a live performance. Such a moment occurs in LOU REED’S BERLIN when Antony sings ‘Sad Song.’ After Antony sings his solo, the look on Reed’s face reveals total satisfaction in Antony’s delivery and astonishment in the beauty of his own music. 3.5 cats
“LOU REED’S BERLIN screened at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.”