Film Qlub March Screening: Femme Fatale: Pandora's Box (1929)

dublin | arts and media | event notice Friday February 11, 2011 12:08 by Dublin Film Qlub filmqlub at gmail dot com

Femme Fatale: "Pandora's Box" (1929)

FILM QLUB, in association with GOETHE-INSTITUT DUBLIN, is proud to present...

FEMME FATALE: PANDORA'S BOX (1929)
Wednesday, 2 march 2011, at 7:30 pm
Outhouse Theatre, 105 Capel st, Dublin 1
Day membership: 8 euro

This film is said to have captured the feel of the “roaring nineteen twenties”, a decade associated with androgyny, dissipation, and life on the fast lane. Whatever your orientation, let yourself be hypnotized by the magnetic Lulu, who breaks the hearts of men and women without discrimination. This screening of "Pandora’s Box" will coincide with the International Women’s Day celebrations – No, we are not celebrating evil women! We are paying homage to one of the greatest actors in movie history, Louise Brooks, in a magnificent performance.

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PANDORA'S BOX
Germany, 1929. B&W. 133 min.
Dir. G.W. Pabst
Cast: Louise Brooks, Francis Lederer, Carl Goetz, Alice Roberts
Script: G.W. Pabst and Ladislaus Vajda, from the plays Earth Spirit (1895) and Pandora’s Box (1904), by Frank Wedekind.

"Pandora’s Box" is a portrait of, not one, but two, powerful women (and the men in their lives). Lulu may be the centre of gravity in "Pandora’s Box", but we defy you not to be moved by Countess Geschwitz, one of the most memorable lesbian tragic heroes in cinema. DW Pabst produced a number of films concerned with “fallen women”, many of whom had to become assertive and a little ruthless in order to survive in a hostile world. "Joyless Street" (1925, starring Garbo), or "Diary of a Lost Girl" (also 1929, also starring Brooks), are two examples (incidentally, Brooks did admit to a one-night-stand with Garbo). The leftie Pabst was interested in underdogs and rejects as much as in showing the cracks of polite society, and his "Westfront" (1918) is said to be one of the greatest anti-war films ever made. However, after leaving Germany in 1933 to go to Hollywood, which turned into a creative and financial fiasco, the Austrian Pabst returned to his homeland and made some films in Nazi Germany which have divided critics. Some of his work seems a curious mixture of provocation, radicalism, and voyeurism, which may explain his influence on directors like Tarantino. There is also, of course, the able direction of Pabst, and the distinctive camera work, lighting, and design in his films. In the words of the lesbian film critic and novelist Bryher, co-producer of the film masterpiece "Borderline" (1930), GW Pabst “sees psychologically”, and, because of this, “his intense realism becomes, through its truth, poetry."

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The Dublin Film Qlub screens films of interest to the LGBTQ community and our friends. Each film is preceded by an introduction and followed by an open discussion. There is free tea and coffee. Everyone is welcome.