Review of Cabaret (1981) by Els M — 28 Mar 2011

Kind of reminds me of a Breakfast at Tiffany's in Nazi Germany, Cabaret is a musical stage adaptation that highly influenced and changed the way movies would make musicals and twisted relationships.

Taking place in Germany when the Nazi Party is just on the verge of rising, an English academic, Brian, moves into the apartment room of an American singer in the burlesque Kit Kat Klub, Sally Bowles. Sally is a sexually active and exiting go-getting, while Brian is..... English. But the two eventually fall in love. But how long will the two stay together in the slowly violently turning country as Sally catches the attention of a very wealthy man. This movie is supposed to be a musical, but really it's more like a movie with music numbers in it. But this becomes a very cool and original look in the film. Music numbers on the stage reflect the situations and inner desires of the characters, as the Master of Ceremonies acts as a voyeur of the story. This love story isn't technically a love story either, because its such a twisted view of tragically flawed characters trying to work out both a relationship and pleasure. Though we love it when Sally and Brian are together, they're both very unlikeable characters because you can't depend on either one on what they're going to do. The ironic flaw is how life is like a cabaret, it's unexpected, but where the burlesque shows are fun because they're unexpected, life is more depressing and tragic when you don't know what is going to happen, and that is made clear in it's Nazi setting where no one is sure yet what the National Socialist Party is going to do. But this movie's story turnes out to be a very hot, dramatic, touches on controversial issues, and sickly funny all the way through in a cinematically brilliant way.

This movie does have a pretty unsettling story, but what's really brilliant about this movie is the directing. The choreographed song and dance numbers are sexy, silly, and creepy, but the way the director Bob Fosse captures the dance numbers, putting the camera right in the action, is so different than what any other musical tried to accomplish in it's time. The various imagry and cinematography is wild and amazing. The editing paces the movie in an incredable way, especially for it's time. While off the stage the movie's look turnes into something more raw and depressing. The characters don't exactly live in a fancy part of town, but the way the cinematography is captures with different and creative possitions is more than beautiful. Fosse definietly ventures into making this adatiation as creative as possible, and through the directing, cinematography, art design and editing, this muscial becomes something more than a musical and becomes something more than just a movie.

Though it didn't win Best Picture (that went to The Godfather) it did win an incredable 8 Academy Awards including Best Director, Cinematography, everything I previously mentioned, and the Best Leading Actress award for the brilliant performance by Liza Minnelli. This movie is one that caught me by surprise, and it will for you too. It's a very differently made movie about a very different relationship that will warm your heart, then make it sick and break it all at once. And that's why it's a must see.