It wrecks lives – but it has also inspired art from the poetry of Baudelaire to the music of Lou Reed. In Paris and Berlin, Andrew Hussey traces the path of heroin through modern culture
One of the easiest places to find heroin in Paris is in the streets in and around the Gare du Nord, a stone's throw away from the Eurostar terminal. I know about this place partly because I live in Paris and I am a frequent Eurostar traveller, and partly because this is where Google sent me when I typed in the request "Where to find heroin in Paris". Apparently the most popular spot for dealing is the rue Ambroise-Paré which contains a series of entrances to underground car parks where users can shoot up in relative privacy. The place permanently stinks of piss and is under constant police surveillance, as dealers and clients scurry back and forth between their hiding places.
One of the easiest places to find heroin in Paris is in the streets in and around the Gare du Nord, a stone's throw away from the Eurostar terminal. I know about this place partly because I live in Paris and I am a frequent Eurostar traveller, and partly because this is where Google sent me when I typed in the request "Where to find heroin in Paris". Apparently the most popular spot for dealing is the rue Ambroise-Paré which contains a series of entrances to underground car parks where users can shoot up in relative privacy. The place permanently stinks of piss and is under constant police surveillance, as dealers and clients scurry back and forth between their hiding places.
- 12/22/2013
- by Andrew Hussey
- The Guardian - Film News
SCHEHERAZADE
Five people on a yacht in the waters off Zurich drink, smoke and make merry until disturbing, mood-shifting secrets are revealed in this intriguing Swiss production, the second feature by director Riccardo Signorell ("Eden"). Not a moment too long at 81 minutes and coming to an abrupt but satisfying end, "Scheherazade" centers on a successful businessman and his relationships with an artistic-minded son and beautiful teenage daughter (Zoe Mikulecszy), whose birthday is ostensibly the occasion for the gathering.
Arriving to help celebrate and talk to the rich man about succeeding him as head of the firm is a slick executive and his London gallery-owning girlfriend (Antonia Beamish).
It's the latter who won't look the other way, like the others are expected to do, when it's revealed that the birthday girl has an incestuous relationship with the father. The son, who has known about it for some time, is clearly on the verge of a breakdown over the actions and attitudes of the unapologetic parent.
The sun goes down, and the close quarters force matters to a sad, unexpected conclusion. The three men are played by Siegried Terpoorteh, Philipp Stengele and Jurgen Brugger. Cinematographer Felix von Muralt and Signorell find ways to keep the talky picture interesting visually, while the performances are uniformly believable.
ENGEL & JOE
A competition entry from Germany inspired by an article in Stern by Kai Hermann ("Christiane F"), director Vanessa Jopp's second film after "Forget America" is a frenetic journey into the lives of street kids, who hang out most of the time in front of a cathedral in Cologne. Joe (Jana Pallaske) is a fairly grounded teen who runs away from home with her dog and takes up with Engel (Robert Stadlober), a punk with a romantic streak.
After experiencing the highs and lows of life on the streets for a while, including the accidental death of a drug addict, Joe's getting pregnant causes them to think seriously about the future. With overt biblical references, the story has them planning to someday escape the city for the mountains with their baby, Moses.
But Engel's unfitness for work and penchant for hard drugs almost drive Joe into the safe haven of another, more sensible young man.
Pallaske and Stadlober deliver intense performances, but Jopp's direction is mostly over-the-top in trying to capture the volcanic emotional state of the characters.
Seemingly every exchange of dialogue has 100 cuts, and the hand-held camerawork flings the viewer around as much as a movie can, but it makes for an experience to which filmgoers older than the characters might it find hard to relate.
LEO AND CLAIRE
German director Joseph Vilsmaier ("Brother of Sleep", "Marlene") weighs in with this competition entry based on a true story about a married, well-known Jewish businessman in Nuremberg who has a fling -- but not a serious affair -- with a pretty young photographer who is not a Jew.
During the mid-1930s, this becomes a recipe for calamity as the jealous, prejudiced neighbors never forget what they think they've witnessed in the courtyard of apartments where the lead resides. Vilsmaier is the credited cinematographer and co-wrote with Klaus Richter the well-crafted screenplay based on a book by Christiane Kohl.
Played by Michael Degen, Leo is married to Claire (Suzanne von Borsody), while the sexy ingenue is Irene (Franziska Petri).
Nicely paced, lushly produced and climaxing with the horrible 1941 sham trial that accuses Leo and Irene of criminal wrongdoing, Vilsmaier's film is not very shocking given the many previous features and documentaries about the era. But it still has an emotional punch that will leave few viewers unmoved.
David Hunter...
Five people on a yacht in the waters off Zurich drink, smoke and make merry until disturbing, mood-shifting secrets are revealed in this intriguing Swiss production, the second feature by director Riccardo Signorell ("Eden"). Not a moment too long at 81 minutes and coming to an abrupt but satisfying end, "Scheherazade" centers on a successful businessman and his relationships with an artistic-minded son and beautiful teenage daughter (Zoe Mikulecszy), whose birthday is ostensibly the occasion for the gathering.
Arriving to help celebrate and talk to the rich man about succeeding him as head of the firm is a slick executive and his London gallery-owning girlfriend (Antonia Beamish).
It's the latter who won't look the other way, like the others are expected to do, when it's revealed that the birthday girl has an incestuous relationship with the father. The son, who has known about it for some time, is clearly on the verge of a breakdown over the actions and attitudes of the unapologetic parent.
The sun goes down, and the close quarters force matters to a sad, unexpected conclusion. The three men are played by Siegried Terpoorteh, Philipp Stengele and Jurgen Brugger. Cinematographer Felix von Muralt and Signorell find ways to keep the talky picture interesting visually, while the performances are uniformly believable.
ENGEL & JOE
A competition entry from Germany inspired by an article in Stern by Kai Hermann ("Christiane F"), director Vanessa Jopp's second film after "Forget America" is a frenetic journey into the lives of street kids, who hang out most of the time in front of a cathedral in Cologne. Joe (Jana Pallaske) is a fairly grounded teen who runs away from home with her dog and takes up with Engel (Robert Stadlober), a punk with a romantic streak.
After experiencing the highs and lows of life on the streets for a while, including the accidental death of a drug addict, Joe's getting pregnant causes them to think seriously about the future. With overt biblical references, the story has them planning to someday escape the city for the mountains with their baby, Moses.
But Engel's unfitness for work and penchant for hard drugs almost drive Joe into the safe haven of another, more sensible young man.
Pallaske and Stadlober deliver intense performances, but Jopp's direction is mostly over-the-top in trying to capture the volcanic emotional state of the characters.
Seemingly every exchange of dialogue has 100 cuts, and the hand-held camerawork flings the viewer around as much as a movie can, but it makes for an experience to which filmgoers older than the characters might it find hard to relate.
LEO AND CLAIRE
German director Joseph Vilsmaier ("Brother of Sleep", "Marlene") weighs in with this competition entry based on a true story about a married, well-known Jewish businessman in Nuremberg who has a fling -- but not a serious affair -- with a pretty young photographer who is not a Jew.
During the mid-1930s, this becomes a recipe for calamity as the jealous, prejudiced neighbors never forget what they think they've witnessed in the courtyard of apartments where the lead resides. Vilsmaier is the credited cinematographer and co-wrote with Klaus Richter the well-crafted screenplay based on a book by Christiane Kohl.
Played by Michael Degen, Leo is married to Claire (Suzanne von Borsody), while the sexy ingenue is Irene (Franziska Petri).
Nicely paced, lushly produced and climaxing with the horrible 1941 sham trial that accuses Leo and Irene of criminal wrongdoing, Vilsmaier's film is not very shocking given the many previous features and documentaries about the era. But it still has an emotional punch that will leave few viewers unmoved.
David Hunter...
- 8/31/2001
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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