Berlin Babylon

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RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="588"><div> <B>Berlin Babylon    </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Wingdings 2" ><B>êêê</B></FONT><B> Stars.  Not Rated.</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="588"><div> Reviewed by Shelley Cameron</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="588"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="588" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 WIDTH="588"><div> Sim City</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="593" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Directed by Hubertus Siegert</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="293"><div> 88 Minutes</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> This fascinating documentary from German director Hubertus Siegert is less about architecture and design than meets the eye.  It is actually more a history of Berlin over the past century through the prism of architecture.  Laid out in visual images that range from elaborate scale models by city planners to long panoramic shots of huge expanses of several major building projects, it details the city under re-construction.  Augmented with some archival news footage covering the past sixty years and more, it tells an unexpected story of a nation's struggle to rebuild and redefine itself.  Berlin was largely destroyed in the heavy bombing in the latter part of World War II and is still emerging as a new city.  One of the quandaries for the architects and the film is the question of whether the sum and substance of a city can be created as a planned community.  Interestingly, there are very few people in many of the images.</div> <bR> <div> Following several architects around the sites of their various projects, the identity of post WWII Germany begins to emerge.  With numerous long, slow tracking shots of neighborhoods slated for mixed use developments, corporate headquarters, or monuments to history, what at first appears to be a sleepy recitation, metamorphoses into a dynamic portrait of a country re-generating itself into one that imagines the future without forgetting the past.  The sequence of slow motion implosions of some unattractive post war buildings that went up in a hurry to accommodate immediate needs, are seen coming down even faster to make way for more sophisticated new projects.  The architects' dreams vary in their vision of the future Berlin, but all possess a low-key excitement that simmers under the surface at having this clean slate opportunity to be instrumental in sparking a new city.  </div> <bR> <div> There are no interviews.  Rather, the filmmakers spent time on the construction sites and with several key players during the years from 1996 to 1999 and simply recorded what they saw and heard.  Using snippets of conversations with architects, money men and construction workers, interspersed with nuts and bolts construction procedures, a larger picture emerges.  Shots from a soaring perspective above the activity on the ground capture the sense of an eye of god view, quite literally.  The Berlin wall coming down in 1989, re-joining east and west, is just one of its powerful specters.  Through insightful, creative editing and the addition of a sound track that tells the story, <I>Berlin Babylon</I> is aptly titled and fully a unique experience. </div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="592" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="588"><div> Shelley Cameron <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Symbol" >Ó</FONT> 2002</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="588"><div> <A HREF="mailto:shlcameron@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:shlcameron@aol.com"><U><U>Shelley@reelmoviecritic.com</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>