THE STOCKHOLM SYNDROME TRILOGY (Amit Epstein, Germany/Israel). 70 minutes. Subtitled.
Monday (May 9), 9:45 pm, Al Green. Rating: NNN
Amit Epstein probes the Jewish obsession with the Europeans who threw them away – especially the Germans – in this mostly exhilarating experimental musical.
The film has three parts. The first, The Golden Mission, begins with a rock version of the hymn Adon Olam (Eternal Lord) sung by a trio of muses who appear in all three sections. The second features classical music and Epstein, with traditional sidelocks, running sometimes through a maze, sometimes through Auschwitz and other symbolic locations. The longer final sequence, Jewish Revenge, asks if it makes sense any more to seek vengeance.
In all three, Epstein appears as the embodiment of the Jews in the diaspora, still torn between their instinct for survival and their fascination with their victimizers – hence the film’s title. Part kitsch, part camp, yet serious in its intent, it uses music – from Leonard Cohen to Leonard Bernstein to Madonna – and song and dance routines to great effect.
This is an experimental film, sometimes impenetrable but often specta-cular. If you like this kind of thing, you’ll love it.
