"Welt am Draht" has become a sleeper hit of sorts, a seemingly lost masterpiece by a renown filmmaker, practically unavailable for decades and even inspiring a worldwide hit during its absence. And having seen it for the first time recently, I feel comfortable saying that the cult status it holds is well deserved.
During the early 70s, when Sci-Fi was making its leap from late-night out-of-space-horror to serious storytelling, incorporating other genres, Fassbinder brought his vision of a computerized world to the screen. Digital inhabitants in a digital city find cracks in their world and slip through to the other side. Much like "Blade Runners" Androids would do ten years later, the "identity units" stretch towards the limits of their being and make us question, where the line between us and them really lies. Even further so when Fassbinder turns the story upside down halfway through - quite literally, what was up is now down and where once was an empty sky, now another limit, another "them", awaits. While the whole spoiler/twist-business has seemingly become a big thing with major Hollywood-mysteries, led by twist-aficionado M. Night Shyamalan, it is wonderful to watch how this film pulls off a movie-twist without much effort.
Fassbinder is masterfully setting up a trap and leading us to the hole which we are then pushed into: The whole first part leads us to believe that we are watching anything but a Science-Fiction film. Just as the beforementioned "Blade Runner", "Welt am Draht" heavily recalls Film Noir-vibes. The Fedoras, cigarette smoke, drinks, femme fatales in dark bars - its all there. Witnesses with vital information missing in action, a lone hero fighting through a jungle of non-cooperating officials - check. As the smoke is slowly lifting, we draw conclusions and believe we are watching a industry-thriller about corruption in high ranks. The James Bond-feel (our hero Stiller snoops around company offices in a tuxedo when returning straight to the office after a hungover all-nighter) adds to our suspicion. Karl Heinz Vosgerau makes for a phenomenal antagonist, with Peter Fonda-eyes and a smirk that convinces you that something sketchy is going on without letting you know just exactly what.
The whole first part is a masterclass in how to distract the audience, making them connect dots that are not there, feel smart while being totally mislead. Are we watching a spy-movie? Well, we have a political mole as well as a media-mole. All the while, Stiller senses there must be another mole. Not from the outside, but from above. So, if we believe in that cryptic "above", in Stillers vision of puppet masters beyond our reach, this is what makes all the difference in our perception of the film. Is it a thriller or Sci-Fi? We have to see through the characters eyes and decide for ourselves.
As if this isn't enough on our plate, Fassbinder can not go without his native topos, the paralyzing drama of human relations. From secretary Gloria Fromm, a suppressed woman making her way towards the light, all the way to the nosey caretaker, the futuristic setting does not keep Fassbinder from weaving in his little meditations of the human soul.
Fassbinder-companion and behind-the-camera-magician Michael Ballhaus balances the swirling story in steady images that feature some impressive shots without showing off.
Once the cat is out of the bag, the second half lacks some energy and pales in comparison to some Sci-Fi-classics that came after.
Nonetheless, this movie deserves more attention. Not just from that hipster-smartass at your party, trying to sell this movie merely as the basis for "Matrix". No, "Welt am Draht" is much more than a "basis", that was taken and then built upon. It can very well stand tall and proudly on its own legs. "Welt am Draht" is Sci-Fi at its best.
During the early 70s, when Sci-Fi was making its leap from late-night out-of-space-horror to serious storytelling, incorporating other genres, Fassbinder brought his vision of a computerized world to the screen. Digital inhabitants in a digital city find cracks in their world and slip through to the other side. Much like "Blade Runners" Androids would do ten years later, the "identity units" stretch towards the limits of their being and make us question, where the line between us and them really lies. Even further so when Fassbinder turns the story upside down halfway through - quite literally, what was up is now down and where once was an empty sky, now another limit, another "them", awaits. While the whole spoiler/twist-business has seemingly become a big thing with major Hollywood-mysteries, led by twist-aficionado M. Night Shyamalan, it is wonderful to watch how this film pulls off a movie-twist without much effort.
Fassbinder is masterfully setting up a trap and leading us to the hole which we are then pushed into: The whole first part leads us to believe that we are watching anything but a Science-Fiction film. Just as the beforementioned "Blade Runner", "Welt am Draht" heavily recalls Film Noir-vibes. The Fedoras, cigarette smoke, drinks, femme fatales in dark bars - its all there. Witnesses with vital information missing in action, a lone hero fighting through a jungle of non-cooperating officials - check. As the smoke is slowly lifting, we draw conclusions and believe we are watching a industry-thriller about corruption in high ranks. The James Bond-feel (our hero Stiller snoops around company offices in a tuxedo when returning straight to the office after a hungover all-nighter) adds to our suspicion. Karl Heinz Vosgerau makes for a phenomenal antagonist, with Peter Fonda-eyes and a smirk that convinces you that something sketchy is going on without letting you know just exactly what.
The whole first part is a masterclass in how to distract the audience, making them connect dots that are not there, feel smart while being totally mislead. Are we watching a spy-movie? Well, we have a political mole as well as a media-mole. All the while, Stiller senses there must be another mole. Not from the outside, but from above. So, if we believe in that cryptic "above", in Stillers vision of puppet masters beyond our reach, this is what makes all the difference in our perception of the film. Is it a thriller or Sci-Fi? We have to see through the characters eyes and decide for ourselves.
As if this isn't enough on our plate, Fassbinder can not go without his native topos, the paralyzing drama of human relations. From secretary Gloria Fromm, a suppressed woman making her way towards the light, all the way to the nosey caretaker, the futuristic setting does not keep Fassbinder from weaving in his little meditations of the human soul.
Fassbinder-companion and behind-the-camera-magician Michael Ballhaus balances the swirling story in steady images that feature some impressive shots without showing off.
Once the cat is out of the bag, the second half lacks some energy and pales in comparison to some Sci-Fi-classics that came after.
Nonetheless, this movie deserves more attention. Not just from that hipster-smartass at your party, trying to sell this movie merely as the basis for "Matrix". No, "Welt am Draht" is much more than a "basis", that was taken and then built upon. It can very well stand tall and proudly on its own legs. "Welt am Draht" is Sci-Fi at its best.