Patty (film)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Patty (cinema) Screams in the Dark (Video / DVD) |
| Original title | Patty Hearst |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1988 |
| length | 108 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Paul Schrader |
| script | Nicholas Kazan |
| production | Marvin Worth |
| music | Scott Johnson |
| camera | Bojan Bazelli |
| cut | Michael R. Miller |
| occupation | |
| |
Patty (alternatively: Screams in the Dark ) is an American drama directed by Paul Schrader from 1988 . Nicholas Kazan wrote the screenplay for the autobiography Every Secret Thing of Patty Hearst .
The film depicts the kidnapping of 19-year-old student Patricia “Patty” Hearst, granddaughter of media tsar William Randolph Hearst , by the left-wing Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA). She joins the group, takes part in several robberies, is eventually arrested and sentenced to several years in prison.
action
In 1974, 19-year-old student Patty Hearst, granddaughter of media entrepreneur Randolph Hearst , was kidnapped from her apartment in Berkeley , California , by members of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) . The radical left guerrilla group around leader Cinque demands the release of several imprisoned members; When this is denied, they force the distribution of food to the poor. After two months of imprisonment in a dark closet and propaganda instruction, the group confronts their hostage with the choice of returning to freedom or joining them. Patty becomes a member of the SLA, takes the name Tania, and participates in a series of robberies. After being nearly arrested in a failed robbery, Patty goes into hiding with gang member Teko and his wife Yolanda; on television they witness the rest of the Cinque group being killed in a gun battle. Teko begins recruiting in San Francisco. Patty is tracked down by the police, arrested and sentenced to a long prison term. At the end of the film, she prepares for an appeal with the help of her father.
background
Patty premiered on May 13, 1988 during the Cannes International Film Festival , opened in American cinemas on September 23, 1988, and in German cinemas on October 20 of the same year . The box office was located in the US to 1.2 million US dollars .
The project had already been rejected by several directors before Schrader accepted. After the failure of his previous film Light of Day , Schrader agreed to work on a comparatively low budget (and salary) - which he said gave him greater artistic freedom. Since Schrader wanted to stick closely to the facts (described from Patty Hearst's point of view), but the protagonist seemed to him too passive for a film character, he decided on a visually strongly stylized narrative: the first half hour of the film is limited to one Hearst's claustrophobic , subjective view of her kidnappers and their surroundings. In the further course , a conscious stylization is created through strongly contrasting colors or stage-like scenes, which occasionally remind of Schrader's Mishima - A Life in Four Chapters .
In a series of interviews with journalist Kevin Jackson , Schrader admitted his mixed feelings about Patricia Hearst, but also about what he called the “suicidal” SLA: “The SLA liked to pretend it was a big movement, but it really was they a little cult. To me it had a lot in common with another cult that was coming out of Oakland at the same time - the James Jones sect. […] The SLA definitely had no links to the politics of the left as I did. ”At the same time, Schrader confessed that if the project had not been brought up to him, but rather initiated by him, he would have told the film from the perspective of leader Cinque .
The end shows the main character, as in Schrader's A Man for Certain Hours or Light Sleeper , in prison, whereby the imprisonment is not understood as the end but as the beginning of a new phase of life (here the protagonist prepares for an appeal process). Schrader and Jackson unanimously described Patricia Hearst as the liveliest female character in his films, an achievement that Schrader gave credit to his leading actress Natasha Richardson : "[...] that is entirely her merit - honor where honor is due."
Reviews
“Despite its comparatively small budget, Patty Hearst is a wonderfully made film that takes Patty's limited perspective entirely. It is sometimes stylized, absolutely direct and equally shocking as it is grimly funny. "
“In Patty Hearst, Schrader combines B-movie effects with art cinema tactics, the film is as sleazy as it is snooty. [...] Soon after Patty's reorientation, we sense Schrader's aversion to his protagonist, [...] his inability to show solidarity with any of his characters [...] [the film] maintains a safe distance from all positions. In the end, we don't have any more understanding for Patty Hearst than before. […] But the ambiguity in this case is not a sign of complexity, but of withdrawal. It is an admission of one's own failure. "
"[...] a brooding, pale, introspective film that has apparently resolved not to succumb to the greed for sensation [...] The entire film revolves around the remarkable portrayal of Natasha Richardson as Hearst."
"The film never recovers from the fatal first half hour [...] Richardson leaves a strong impression, although she is hardly given any material to work with."
"Richardson plays her role with overwhelming dedication, including a perfect American accent, but the film is vacuum and exhausting."
“According to the autobiographical report by the daughter of the American newspaper king Hearst, the film demagogically describes her kidnapping by a terrorist group in 1974 as a nightmare in the clutches of an over-the-top political sect. The material is almost completely detached from all political references. Too bold and ostensible as a study on group pressure and group psychosis. "
Web links
- Patty in the Internet Movie Database (English)
literature
- Patricia Campbell Hearst and Alvin Moscow : Every Secret Thing , Doubleday, New York 1981
Individual evidence
- ^ Patty in the Internet Movie Database .
- ↑ Kevin Jackson (Ed.): Schrader on Schrader and Other Writings, Faber & Faber, 2004.
- ^ "The SLA liked to pretend that they were a huge movement, but in fact they were a tiny cult. In my mind I associated them with another cult that came out of Oakland at the very same time - James Jones's sect. [...] The SLA certainly had no connection with any Left politics I ever had. "- Kevin Jackson (Ed.): Schrader on Schrader and Other Writings, Faber & Faber, 2004.
- ↑ "[…] that's entirely down to her - credit where credit's due." - Kevin Jackson (Ed.): Schrader on Schrader and Other Writings, Faber & Faber, 2004.
- ^ "Though made on a comparatively modest budget, Patty Hearst is a beautifully produced movie, seen entirely from Patty's limited point of view. It is stylized at times, utterly direct and both shocking and grimly funny. ”- Review in The New York Times on September 23, 1988, accessed December 1, 2011.
- ↑ “In Patty Hearst, Schrader combines B-movie effects with art-house tactics; it's both sleazy and hoity-toity. [...] It's early on in Patty's reorientation that we sense Schrader's distaste for his own protagonist, [...] his inability to discover comradely feeling toward any of his subjects [...] it maintains a safe distance from any definitive position. In the end, we have not come any closer to an understanding of Patty Hearst. But ambiguity, in this case, isn't an indication of complexity; it's a refuge. It's an admission of failure. "- review in The Washington Post of 23 September 1988, accessed December 1, 2011.
- ↑ "[...] a brooding and pale film, an introspective one that seems determined not to exploit the sensationalism of the case. […] The entire film centers on the remarkable performance by Natasha Richardson as Hearst. ”- Review in the Chicago Sun-Times on September 23, 1988, accessed on December 1, 2011.
- ^ "Film never recovers from a deadly opening half hour [...] Richardson makes a strong impression, despite having almost nothing to work with." - Leonard Maltin's 2008 Movie Guide , Signet / New American Library, New York 2007.
- ^ "Richardson brings terrific dedication to the role, including a perfect American accent, but it's an airless, exhausting film." - Time Out Film Guide, Seventh Edition 1999, Penguin, London 1998.
- ^ Patty in the Lexicon of International Films , accessed December 1, 2011.