“it’ll all work out. it’s only politics, and what’s that got to do with us?”
i really wanted to watch the original ‘cabaret’ film from the 1970s - but this one was just shorter. with that being said - i’m really glad i started with this version. i really didn’t know what to expect, the only thing i really ever heard of it was that it was a musical, and i love most musicals so i just assumed it be a given i enjoyed it. after watching it though - it is honestly potentially my favourite musical… ever. like i’m not sure if this really classes as a movie in a traditional sense, but if it is that it’s truly a contender. i really was expecting more of a happy, fun musical with fun music and fashion, but it was honestly surprisingly bleak, even hopeless. an american writer travels to berlin in the late 1920s - where he meets sally bowles, a mediocre cabaret singer - who he eventually gets pregnant. ‘cabaret’ is mainly a story about nazism gaining power & control over weimar germany, people in germany live highly hedonistic lives (represented by the sally bowles), not really bothered about politics, as they believe it doesn’t affect them, and when it finally does affect them - they kinda act like sheep, for instance alienating the jewish character after racist propaganda was created of them by nazis. this was honestly not what i was expecting - i thought this would be more glamorous, but it just really isn’t. the colour felt quite monotonous, and it’s an interesting dissect into political fascism, and the political state of the world at the moment - the message of this movie is more important than its ever been before. this adaptation of ‘cabaret’ is quite mean-spirited, immersive, gritty - it’s not supposed to be all glitz and glam, but a truly tragic story of the general public being blind to extreme political parties. emcee was a character i was expecting to be quite comedic, but his presence becomes more and more sinister, his songs get darker as the stage show progresses - and he’s definitely meant to represent blind hedonism of the era - and the end with him in a concentration camp uniform with a pink star on is haunting. probably my favourite aspect of the film, sally bolwes was incredible. she’s truly shown as a mediocre performer, who’s blinded and seems indifferent to politics. she’s quite bratty, and that ‘cabaret’ scene was perfect. she misses like every note, and as the performance progresses - it transforms from singing into guttural/primal screams - almost mimicking the nazi leader himself. this shows the characters own descent and self-destruction, as she battles with this complete change in her life and country. the set pieces are extremely minimalistic, and i think that totally works. it’s dark - and it allows us to focus more on the decay of these characters, and less on visual spectacle. the music here is immaculate, and the message is still honestly even more relevant today.
“it’ll all work out. it’s only politics, and what’s that got to do with us?”
i really wanted to watch the original ‘cabaret’ film from the 1970s - but this one was just shorter. with that being said - i’m really glad i started with this version. i really didn’t know what to expect, the only thing i really ever heard of it was that it was a musical, and i love most musicals so i just assumed it be a given i enjoyed it. after watching it though - it is honestly potentially my favourite musical… ever. like i’m not sure if this really classes as a movie in a traditional sense, but if it is that it’s truly a contender. i really was expecting more of a happy, fun musical with fun music and fashion, but it was honestly surprisingly bleak, even hopeless. an american writer travels to berlin in the late 1920s - where he meets sally bowles, a mediocre cabaret singer - who he eventually gets pregnant. ‘cabaret’ is mainly a story about nazism gaining power & control over weimar germany, people in germany live highly hedonistic lives (represented by the sally bowles), not really bothered about politics, as they believe it doesn’t affect them, and when it finally does affect them - they kinda act like sheep, for instance alienating the jewish character after racist propaganda was created of them by nazis. this was honestly not what i was expecting - i thought this would be more glamorous, but it just really isn’t. the colour felt quite monotonous, and it’s an interesting dissect into political fascism, and the political state of the world at the moment - the message of this movie is more important than its ever been before. this adaptation of ‘cabaret’ is quite mean-spirited, immersive, gritty - it’s not supposed to be all glitz and glam, but a truly tragic story of the general public being blind to extreme political parties. emcee was a character i was expecting to be quite comedic, but his presence becomes more and more sinister, his songs get darker as the stage show progresses - and he’s definitely meant to represent blind hedonism of the era - and the end with him in a concentration camp uniform with a pink star on is haunting. probably my favourite aspect of the film, sally bolwes was incredible. she’s truly shown as a mediocre performer, who’s blinded and seems indifferent to politics. she’s quite bratty, and that ‘cabaret’ scene was perfect. she misses like every note, and as the performance progresses - it transforms from singing into guttural/primal screams - almost mimicking the nazi leader himself. this shows the characters own descent and self-destruction, as she battles with this complete change in her life and country. the set pieces are extremely minimalistic, and i think that totally works. it’s dark - and it allows us to focus more on the decay of these characters, and less on visual spectacle. the music here is immaculate, and the message is still honestly even more relevant today.
