Here we have a documentary by Harun Farocki, one of Germany's most known documentary filmmakers of the second half of the 20th century. It only runs for shortly over an hour and is basically a behind-the-scene from 3 German television series that ran between 11 am and 2 pm Mondays to Fridays. None of the shows are still airing almost 20 years later and that is probably not a bad thing. Admittedly the program today isn't much better, if at all.
The first show is a talk show hosted by Vera Int-Veen. We see details of a studio guest who leads a long-distance relationship and they brought her friend in from the United States. The second show is a quiz show and families compete against each other. The have to find out the responses by 100 people that were asked about a certain subject. And finally, another talk show. This one has the topic that all women can be bought, it's all about the situation and the sum.
Apart from the game show, these were the pond scum of German television really. Also I am fairly certain that a lot on these shows is staged, if not the entire thing and they just made an exception by picking some real guests for Farocki's documentary. This is really television that does not require a tiny bit of intellect. Good thing these shows are gone really. You cannot say it often enough. Farocki does not praise or criticize these shows, it's a very neutral documentary. The filmmaker died last year and this documentary here may be about the most unappealing subject from everything he has ever made. Even if it's only behind the scenes and not the actual shows, it's occasionally already painful to sit through, even if it only runs for slightly over an hour. Not recommended.
The first show is a talk show hosted by Vera Int-Veen. We see details of a studio guest who leads a long-distance relationship and they brought her friend in from the United States. The second show is a quiz show and families compete against each other. The have to find out the responses by 100 people that were asked about a certain subject. And finally, another talk show. This one has the topic that all women can be bought, it's all about the situation and the sum.
Apart from the game show, these were the pond scum of German television really. Also I am fairly certain that a lot on these shows is staged, if not the entire thing and they just made an exception by picking some real guests for Farocki's documentary. This is really television that does not require a tiny bit of intellect. Good thing these shows are gone really. You cannot say it often enough. Farocki does not praise or criticize these shows, it's a very neutral documentary. The filmmaker died last year and this documentary here may be about the most unappealing subject from everything he has ever made. Even if it's only behind the scenes and not the actual shows, it's occasionally already painful to sit through, even if it only runs for slightly over an hour. Not recommended.
