Die 120 Tage von Bottrop

  • 60'
  • Germany
  • 1997
The location is Europe's biggest building site, the Potsdamer Platz in Berlin. The last survivors of the Fassbinder era have gathered here around producer Volker Spengler (himself). The target: to make the very last Neue Deutsche Film in five days, a remake of Pasolini's notorious Salo or the 120 Days of Sodom. It is soon apparent that the project is too ambitious. The producer has too many images in his head, the leitmotiv of the film is hopelessly lost and the money runs out. The spirits of the past seem to have nestled themselves in the project and attempts to make up the balance of thirty years of Germany cinema result in its burial.Die 120 Tage von Bottrop is an absurdist homage to and a parody of the eccentricity and insanity of the Fassbinder era. Christoph Schlingensief, the enfant terrible of German film, has brought together a choice selection of old-timers from the film and theatre world for this project. We see the regular Fassbinder actresses Margit Carstensen (almost senile in the film) and the old diva Irm Hermann, the famous actors Udo Kier and Helmut Berger. The experimental film-maker Kurt Kren has a role as actor and cameraman, Irmgard Freifrau Baronin von Berswordt-Wallrabe plays Leni Riefenstahl and the ghost of Kurt Raab puts in a brief appearance. With Die 120 Tage von Bottrop, Schlingensief adds a new chapter to his oeuvre that focuses on insulting and deconstructing the German cultural heritage.
Director
Christoph Schlingensief
Country of production
Germany
Year
1997
Festival Edition
IFFR 1998
Length
60'
Medium
16mm
Language
German
Producers
Neue Volksfilm, Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg GmbH
Sales
Neue Volksfilm
Screenplay
Oskar Roehler, Christoph Schlingensief
Cinematography
Kurt Kren, Christoph Schlingensief
Music
Helge Schneider
Cast
Herbert Fritsch, Udo Kier
Director
Christoph Schlingensief
Country of production
Germany
Year
1997
Festival Edition
IFFR 1998
Length
60'
Medium
16mm
Language
German
Producers
Neue Volksfilm, Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg GmbH
Sales
Neue Volksfilm
Screenplay
Oskar Roehler, Christoph Schlingensief
Cinematography
Kurt Kren, Christoph Schlingensief
Music
Helge Schneider
Cast
Herbert Fritsch, Udo Kier