Review of Cabaret (1993) by Mitchell S — 12 Jul 2017

One of my favorite films of all time if not the best. The death of the Hollywood musical - profoundly political and humanistically tragic but made quirky and fun by chorographical genius Bob Fosse.

In 1972, the death of the glamorous musical occurred. Bob Fosse's Cabaret became a mainstream hit, and people realized that singing in public (in a world that was becoming morally complicated) just doesn't happen very often. So Fosse did the unthinkable and trapped one of the best collection of songs ever written (By Kander and Ebb) inside a cabaret club in Germany, where the Nazi ideology was slowly but surely arising. It's hard to choose a musical number in Cabaret that isn't madly catchy, perverted and fun, but the most powerful moments in the film come from songs that deftly mix tragedy and comedy. Liza Minnelli's final "Cabaret" song is desperately sung in such a way that suggests she is putting on a smile for the show while her heart breaks in secret. The fact that she sings about Chelsea (the same place her mother Judy Garland died) is just fundamentally wrong (I think it shows in Liza's fish-eyed gaze) but helps Liza to nail the song perfectly. However, the best moment in the film is unquestionably Tomorrow Belongs to Me. If you have ever been put on the spot to express some form of patriotism but hesitated, then you can relate to this moment. The scene is so beautifully shot and the song is so beautiful, you wouldn't think it's a Nazi call to action at first. The sad fact is that the Nazis wrote pretty songs like we do, and had political campaigns like we do. I wonder how many of you would have stood up for the song out of respect or because of peer pressure if it was your country? With these sorts of themes, it's no wonder that Bob Fosse's Cabaret killed the American Musical. One of the few songs in Cabaret (the play, not the musical) that wasn't endlessly depressing I actually used in my wedding. No, it wasn't Two Ladies. It was "Married", a clowny song that suggests life isn't that bad and marriage isn't that scary. "For you wake one day, look around and say, somebody wonderful married me.".

What I Learned: Taught me that singing and dancing is a tragedy; that we find our own reasons to be happy. We entertain ourselves amid terror, tragedy, and our own kind that we can never trust. Helped me to understand how gullible people really are. Also, had the song "Marriage", which my mother sang at my wedding.