Cinema Dérive - THE STRAWBERRY STATEMENT (1970)
Line up: Bruce Davison, Kim Darby, Bud Cort
Open: 19:30 - 21:30 hrs
Tickets: € 3
THE STRAWBERRY STATEMENT 1970
Directed by Stuart Hagmann
107 minutes
In English
Maybe a bit dated, and certainly a product of its time, but The Strawberry Statement is one of those films which have been deleted by the modern media. Most people feel that everything is easily available these days, but actually there are so many pivotal films that have vanished, films which were once important for capturing the Zeitgeist of a particular time in history. Case in point- this film which captures what was happening in America in those last few precious years at the end of the 60s. At least there is one good thing- I guess this film, which is largely about police confrontation, isn't in danger of being remade by Hollywood!
The film follows a twenty year old guy who goes to university, and ends up learning about life rather than academics. It's as simple as that. The music sets the tone of the film....Buffy Sainte-Marie sings Joni Mitchell's "The Circle game", Neil Young sings "Down by the River" and "Helpless", and there is Thunderclap Newman's great anthem "Something in the air". The film is about social unrest in a time when people felt responsible for the society they lived in, and dedicated their lives to that vision passionately. It is based on a non-fiction book by James Simon Kunen, written when he was 19, which chronicled his experiences at Columbia University.... when in April 1968 students took over the head office of the University.
The film is polarized, with a lot of pros and cons. In many ways it was a compromise, an attempt to take a politically-charged radical message about the need for social change and somehow sell it as a mainstream movie. Therefore the film is a bit confusing and a bit of a mess on several levels, but still retaining many key sequences in messages... showing a time when people were able to get together, create solidarity, and stand for peace and against capitalism and its addiction to war.... a time when people were willing to put themselves on the line and fight for what they believe in.
This will be an ultra-rare screening of this forgotten snapshot of a different zeitgeist... winner of the Jury Prize at the 1970 Cannes Film Festival.
One viewer's thoughts:
"Yet, the often questionable and compromised filmmaking seems set against a more mounting anger and then there's the police brutality climax which is surprisingly frontal in its presentation of cops as faceless state-sanctioned thugs descending into peaceful protestants. I doubt a 1995 studio backed movie would get away with it and 2022 one would definitely not.
"This exuberant, irreverent, tender, glorious film is THE cinematic embodiment of the sixties. The camera work sparkles. Plot becomes almost irrelevant. This movie invented 'music video'. It is much more than a movie about this or that. It is a celebration of life, youth, craziness, dreams. It leaves you yearning for life, and makes everything look beautiful. Watch this film to see how limited and timid most films are. What a breath of fresh air!!!!!"
CINEMA DÉRIVE
Overtoom 301 2nd floor - Ventilator space
Doors open at 19:30, film starts at 20:00
3 euros (cash preferred)
