Day 208 - Cabaret

Monday November 14, 2011

Cabaret (1972) directed by Bob Fosse

Greetings from Athens!

My posting schedule is all screwed up because I lost 10 hours due to the time difference between California and Athens and have been trying to catch up ever since. As I type this, it is actually Tuesday morning here. (I watched the film last night before I went to bed.) You always hear about all these internet cafes in Europe as if there was one on every corner, but I wasn't able to find one yesterday. I did manage to find a restaurant with free wi-fi for lunch but unfortunately I didn't have my laptop with me. Today we depart on our cruise and who knows when I'll be able to get the internet again. It is kind of strange to be watching these movies completely on my own since I don't have the internet. Usually when I watch a movie I will read stuff about it afterwards. Sometimes it helps me find things to write about or to see if I missed something that I didn't think of before. There have been a couple movies that I appreciated much more after reading something really smart, though there have been others, like My Fair Lady, that I felt really strongly about no matter how much my opinion differed from the consensus. 

Onto the movie!

What surprised me about Cabaret is that it is actually quite edgy. It deals with issues such as Nazis, racism, abortion, homosexuality, and promiscuity. There are even scenes of violence with blood. This is actually a pretty mature movie, yet it retains a fun free spirited feel to it. The movie is set in 1931 Berlin and follows Sally Bowles (Liza Minnelli), an American performer at a cabaret show at the Kit Cat Club. She meets a British man Brian Roberts (Michael York). Sally is a free spirited girl and Brian is proper sort of gentleman. Naturally they fall for each other, yet this isn't the typical romantic comedy you'd expect. They are unfaithful to each other, issues of what to do with Sally's pregnancy, and the realization that they probably aren't right for each other. The results of these questions are pretty much the exact opposite of what you'd expect from a movie.

Throughout the film there is also the looming presence of the Nazis who are just coming into power. It is interesting to see how the characters react to them since we know what will happen. There is a side story of a guy who loves a Jewish girl which is quite romantic and would actually make more sense as the lead romance of the film. The closing shot of the film is also quite dark as it shows faces in the crowd of the cabaret filled with Nazi members. It makes you wonder what will happen to Sally and the cabaret during the upcoming war.

I have found that there are generally two types of musicals. One is when the music breaks the reality of the film, I think there's an actual term for this, when characters just start dancing and singing mid-scene. The other is when the musical numbers are done within the context of actual performances i.e. the film revolves around a Broadway show or in the case of Cabaret, set in a cabaret. I don't really have a preference one way or the other as I have seen musicals of both types that are equally good or bad. In Cabaret the musical numbers are done on stage, though usually a cutaway from events going on in the movie. In this way the film doesn't really feel like a musical even though it is very theatrical throughout. 

I actually don't know of any movies Liza Minnelli is in but I thought she was really good in the film. She has a quirky attitude and charm to her and is pretty funny. Despite the darker moments of the film, it is actually really funny in some spots. I really enjoyed the film and found it a good combination of seriousness and comedy with the theatrical musical numbers linking the two together. I also thought the ending was really appropriate for the film and was glad that it didn't go for a typical Hollywood happy ending.

Grade: A-