Really Relevant Film
First of all, sorry if my english is not too good, it's not even my second language, please don't be too harsh.
I can't understand why there aren't any posts about this movie.
It's a very prophetic and historical movie at the same time.
Prophetic because it shows us what it's happening already 30 years later, not only in USA but in most countries.
And also historical because it shows us what did happen in Germany during the 70's
But what happened?
The government took as an excuse a "terrorist" attack by some anarchist students in order to violate the civil rights and to deprive from liberty the German citizens.
Meanwhile The sensanionalist media took advantage of it, and using its influence, ruined the reputation of innocent people based on pure lies, half truths or by manipulating the facts.
Now in USA it's happening the same. The media and the government are sometimes a single one identity. Just remember the infamous "Fox News" pro-war campaign from a couple of years ago.
Based on what? on pure lies told by Rumsfeld, Bush and his minions.
Now everything have been proven false, but it's already too late.
In my own country the right-wing party, using as an excuse the influence that drug carteles have in some regions of México have sent the army to combat them. The first "results" are already there: Women raped by the soldiers, lots of casualties from both sides, but the drug lords still making business with their partners from USA and Colombia!
Worse than that, using the excuse of the drug carteles violence the congress controlled by president's party (PAN) and his new allies (PRI) have passed a law that allows the police to enter in your house without any order from a judge, to arrest you without any reason any time anywhere, to spy on your communications (phone, internet, normal mail, etc.) and TO USE it as a VALID evidence in any trial.
That violates lots of civil rights consacrated in my country's constitution and in "The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen", a bill of rights signed by all the members of the UN. By All of them!
And the media? The media behaves like an attorney and accomplice of the government in this cases. approving all that crap, cheering for them, covering the truth, creating thru their "over the top" sensationalist shows a state of eternal fear and panic in the common fellows, something that helps people to accept the idea of LIVING UNDER AN AUTHORITARIAN STATE! and no longer in a true democracy.
That's happening in USA after th 9/11 and the "Patriot Act", it's happening as I've exposed in my own country, I know that London, England is the most surveilled city in the world, where practically "the right to privacy" have been abolished.
Where are leading us our governments? into totalitarian states a la "Nazi-Fascism"? into just an "authoritarian" state, like some rogue states out there? what about the principles of democracy? Everybody TALKS alot about them but seems is the first thing they wanna destroy and ironically they INVOKES the very democracy in order to do it! unbelievable!
What is the roll of the media nowadays? are they free to do EVERYTHING they want to?
Who has to censor them? the government? BAD IDEA! the people? in an uthopian world yes, but it's unlikely that something like that happens in the current days when soemthing said by the media (especially TV) is considred almost the word of "GOD".
The media themselves have to "censor" them in order to preserve a democratic state without hurting the democracy and freedom of speech. I think that is what the media should have to do. But that won't happen, no sir.
"The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum", based in what Heinrich Böll wrote about what suffered himself, is a fiction piece of work based on what happened to him and on what seems could happen to all of us, one of these days.
Perhaps not the best movie by Volker Schlöndorff made in collaboration with his then wife, Margarethe von Trotta. Nonetheless it's a very important work, and nowadays more relevant than ever.
If we let these people to do what they want to do perhaps the dystopians worlds portrayed in movies like "Children of Men" or "V for Vendetta" "1984", aren't remain as fiction anymore.
Finally Criterion DVD is top notch, once again. The video is great, the german audio is mono but suits perfectly the movie. and the extras are wonderful. 2 interviews: One with Volker and Margarethe talking about the "atmosphere" in Germany while the movie was being filmed. The second one with cinematographer Jost Vacano and finally an extraordinary documentary about Heinrich Böll made in the 70's
Sorry for my english, once again.