Rabbit à la Berlin

RABBIT À LA BERLIN                            B+                  

Germany  Poland  (51 mi)  2009  d:  Bartek Konopka

This is a delightful short film that’s likely to catch the viewers off guard, as it takes a look at Berlin history from the perspective of oddly chosen innocent bystanders, the timid little furry creatures that burrow into holes at the first sign of danger while also reproducing several times a year.  A truly amusing Cold War commentary is offered from the perspective of rabbits that just happen to proliferate in the grassy lawns across the street from the Potsdamer Platz, a place of historical merit.  Shown initially with a blend of cuteness and curiosity, the film opens in Black and White, where the war has obliterated one of the most bustling intersections in Europe, leaving behind nothing but rubble, but also, strangely enough, rabbits.  Narrated by Michal Ogórek, it reeks of sarcasm and dry humor, but the Zelig-like editing scheme showing rabbits witnessing the German reconstruction at Potsdamer Platz is hilarious, where construction noise initially drives them into their burrows only to wake up a few days later to see the Berlin Wall, with barbed wire and anti-tank barriers constructed around what used to be their friendly environment.  Adhering to the official party line, the rabbits realize they have been shut in for their own good.  As the wall also keeps their natural predators out, this is seen as a godsend.  Since rabbits are by nature friendly creatures, they warm up to this new renovation, and can be seen resting comfortably protected from the shade under the upright anti-tank slabs.  

Former watchtower guards recall how endlessly boring it was passing the time in the tower, where the only thing that held their attention was watching the rabbits at play in the field directly below the tower, where shots of them using standard military binoculars to watch the rabbits scurrying below are amusingly shown.  Despite the rapid rate of growth in the vicinity, each new project threatening to wipe out their grassy fields, they miraculously survive, even after government attempts to round them up, stretching nets across the landscape and scooping them up, placing them imprisoned in boxes, where we can see them staring out the little air holes.  Located at the center of several major development projects, the architectural design always seems to somehow bypass rabbit turf, leaving them a little bit of open space just in front of the Wall, an area where nothing else can be built, known to humans as the Death Zone, reminding them of the penalty for attempted escape (where we see corpses carried off by guards), but again, a godsend for the rabbits.  There’s hilarious footage of great heads of state who come visit, like Khrushchev, Castro, and even JFK, who can be seen waving to the crowds, which also happens to be bunny turf.  Despite being under siege for almost thirty years, they survive all the Cold War madness, where their seemingly nonpolitical stance is a welcome relief to the nearby population, often lovingly photographed for family albums.   

When the Wall eventually comes down, again overnight without explanation, the rabbits all disappear immediately to the other side, like the Promised Land, where they venture into virgin territory untouched by rabbits for decades.  However, to their surprise, it’s much harder than it looked over on the other side.  Just like Wallace and Gromit in A CLOSE SHAVE (1995), the clever use of alarming newspaper headlines expose a panic stricken public crying foul at a sudden outbreak of rabbits overrunning West Berlin.  Like the Wild West, vigilante justice prevails, where ordinary citizens suddenly turn into hunters to eradicate their neighborhoods of the problem.  The poor critters are rounded up in droves and used for rabbit stew.  Yet still they survive, as many returned to their once thriving grassy fields in front of the Potsdamer Platz, which still offers a chance for a good life, but now wary of hunters and the false dream of inhabiting beautifully landscaped golf courses, as seen in a gorgeous painting, two rabbits sitting overlooking the giant expanse of green—dreaming, hoping.  Back on friendly turf, rabbits may not be so plentiful, but they’ve survived.  Written by the director along with his cinematographer Piotr Rosolowski, this clever rabbit world satire resembles the similarities and confusion East Germans must have faced when they were suddenly free to explore the uncertain world lying in wait on the other side.

Benny & Joon

BENNY & JOON                                  B                     

USA  (98 mi)  1993  d:  Jeremiah S. Chechnik 

Some cultures are defined by their relationship to cheese.                  
—Joon (Mary Stuart Masterson)

In the charming and whimiscal manner of DAVID AND LISA (1962), HAROLD AND MAUDE (1971), or DOMINICK AND EUGENE (1988), we now have BENNY & JOON.  Made a few years after EDWARD SCISSORHANDS (1990) and the same year as WHAT’S EATING GILBERT GRAPE (1993), a film this very much resembles, with Mary Stuart Masterson as Joon playing the mentally challenged Leonardo DiCaprio part, what I found especially interesting is how Masterson holds her own onscreen with Johnny Depp, and may even provide the superior performance.  Depp’s role is very showy, almost the stereotype of a Johnny Depp chosen eccentric, which is obvious from the very first moment we see him sitting alone in a tree.  While there is a nod to Buster Keaton through a shot of a book Depp is reading, there is no tribute to Chaplin, as Depp completely steals the Dance of the Dinner Rolls, “The Oceana Roll” scene from THE GOLD RUSH (1925) seen here YouTube - Charlie Chaplin- Table Ballet on YouTube (1:02).  It might have been nice over the end credits to see both performances side by side on a split screen, as Depp even copies the facial expressions and the Chaplin body language.  While many assume Depp plays the title character, actually he plays Sam, with Aidan Quinn as big brother Benny, who looks after his mentally ill sister after both parents died in a car crash.  Like the subsequent children’s story NANNY MCPHEE (2005), Joon wears out her housekeepers, going through the available list until all that’s left is a private group home that her psychiatrist (CCH Pounder) finally recommends to Benny.  Reluctant to send her away, this idea hovers over the rest of the film like an elelphant in the room. 

Joon seems to enjoy herself when left alone and doesn’t wander off or get into outside trouble, as she follows her routines faithfully and loves painting, but she has her moments when she feels suspiciously picked on and singled out, where the world is turning against her and she loses all sense of control, either striking back in an angry tantrum or feeling the heightened anxiety of a panic attack.  She is apt to throw things, which sends the last housekeeper out the door.  Benny works as a car mechanic where he gives the best cut rates in town, but otherwise is committed to taking care of his sister, always sharing affectionate moments with her every day, where the two have a special closeness, which prevents Benny from moving on in his life, as he has no life other than work and his sister.  But unlike the horrible bad guy characters Quinn has become associated with late in his career, he’s an especially nice guy here, and the well rounded cast of his poker friends include Oliver Platt and Dan Hedaya, with brief appearances from William H. Macy.  When they play poker, they don’t have money, so the stakes are things lying around the house, where Sam is an unwanted cousin given away in a poker game. 

The two oddballs quickly express an interest in one another, which becomes fascinating when it turns romantic, where Depp goes through the repertoire of silent film comedians, wearing funny suits and a hat, rarely speaking, and performing mime tricks in public which always draw a crowd.  Written by Barry Berman and Lesley McNeil, there are also a memorable string of one-liners in this film, making this an endearing film, perhaps overly cute in its treatment of mental illness, which gets glossed over in favor of laughs and sentiment.  But give the two stars credit here, as they are both brilliant, where Depp’s comic timing and apparent ease with the physical comedy makes him look like a natural, and Masterson is wonderfully quirky with her innocent curiosity and quick mood changes, not to mention a surprising Holden Caulfield wit on display.  Perhaps the real discovery is an early appearance by none other than Julianne Moore, absolutely adorable as a cute young waitress who dabbles in B-movies, who brings a much needed sanity to the situation, as she shows good judgment as the love interest for Benny, who’s too wrapped up in Joon’s swooning desires and sudden pangs of freedom to notice.  Without Depp, no doubt few would ever have been attracted to this film, but Masterson is a scene stealer in her own right.  However, few will forget the lunacy of Depp’s infamous window washing routine outside her window, something that would fit right into any Wallace & Gromit film.