Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Borserie it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de) "Der Fan" or "The Fan" is a West German 85--minute movie from 1982, so next year it will have its 35th anniversary. The writer and director is Eckhart Schmidt and it's probably his most known work and also one of the most known works for actress Désirée Nosbusch who plays the title character, that easily turned her into one of Luxembourg's most successful actresses ever and all this at such a tender age. I must say I am not familiar with any of the other actors in here though except Blacky Fuchsberger who has a small cameo. If you read a bit about this film, you will see that it was a controversial film back then, not only because of the contents, but also because of the argument ensuing between Nosbusch and Schmidt around the time when the film came out and that had to do with Nosbusch's nude scenes.And with the controversy dying down over the last few decades, very little stays memorable from this movie. I thought Nosbusch gave a good performance, but I also felt that almost all the supporting players were mediocre or bad on most occasions. This also includes male protagonist Bodo Steiger and I am not surprised at all that he has not acted in more films really. The story also has huge problems in my opinion. For example, it was entirely unfitting that Nosbusch's character suddenly starts cutting off body parts from the man. It feels a bit tough already for me to make an argument for her killing the man, but you can somewhat explain it through spur of the moment and affect. There was no indication at all that she was a sociopath or a violent killer earlier and then they let her do stuff like that. Yes she was misguided, but still. And lets be honest, the way he rejects her is not really severe rejection and it's difficult to justify her screaming and her killing in that scene. It was also cringeworthy how they showed it so many times from different angles. Or how did nobody from the crew tell the police who he went away with. I am not sold at all. As a whole, I can only say that by today's standards, I see this film as a blatant case of style over substance that lacks realism entirely and goes for cheap thrills from start to finish instead of delivering a good character study. The bald head at the very end is the perfect example. I cannot recommend the watch. The few topless shots of the (then already) stunning Désirée Nosbusch are not enough to sit through all the mediocre and weak moments. Watch something else instead.

Michael_Elliott Der Fan (1982) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Teenager Simone (Desiree Nosbusch) fantasizes about having a relationship with her favorite pop singer R (Bodo Steiger). She finally by chance ends up meeting him but their relationship takes a dangerous turn.I guess the less said about the plot of DER FAN the better it will be for those who haven't seen it. This now cult item was released to a lot of controversy and it remains somewhat shocking today and especially the twist that happens so it's best that you don't know this big spoiler so I'm certainly not going to give it away here. Is the film worthy of all the hype and controversy? I would personally say no as I think there are much better films out there that deals with someone losing their mind but there's no question that there's enough here to recommend it.I think one of the strongest things going for the film is the wonderful music score by Rheingold who manages to build a lot of dark atmosphere. I thought the score perfectly brought out the mind set of this teenage girl and I loved how it got deeper and darker as her mind began to slip. There's also some nice cinematography and some good editing that helps the film along. Director Eckhart Schmidt does a very nice job at slowly building up the slipping mind of this character. At 93- minutes the film actually feels much longer due to the slow style but for the most part I thought the director did good in making sure that it never got too boring.The performance of Nosbusch is another reason to check the film out. The actress was probably just 16 or 17-years-old when she made this film so there are going to be some who object to the full nudity that she has throughout the final portion of the film. I think attacking the film for this would be rather narrow-minded even though the actress did stir up controversy when she tried to have the film pulled on its original release, although I wonder how much of this was just hype to sell the picture. Either way, she certainly delivers a convincing performance of someone slowly losing their mind. I thought she perfectly captured the naive nature of this character and when she finally goes off the deep end, you can believe what you're seeing.i would also say that the biggest problem is that while the actress pulls off the mental state of the character, the direction really doesn't pull the psychological drama out of everything like he should have. This film falls well short of the psychological horrors of something like TAXI DRIVER. THE FAN certainly has plenty of flaws including a not-so-original story but at the end of the day the performances and the overall tone makes it worth watching.

Coventry "Der Fan" is a bone chilling and thought-provoking film about teenage obsession and the gradual descent into social isolation, despair and slow brooding insanity. Simone is a pretty young girl whose entire universe spins around a pop-singer named "R". She talks to him in her mind, fantasizes about their utopist future together, eagerly awaits letters that never come and completely neglects her school work and social life in favor of dreams about him. Simone eventually takes the initiative abandon everything without notice and hitchhikes to Munich in order to meet him at a concert. She finds her beloved "R" and, for a brief period of time, all her dreams come true as he fancies her, albeit guarding a haughty distance. But, of course, now that she finally found him, Simone isn't prepared to share her lover with the rest of the world anymore … "Der Fan" is an unimaginably slow-paced film and – please – don't immediately start to question it's cult reputation upon noticing absolutely nothing significant happens during what appears to be the entire film. Believe you me; it's all just patient and awkwardly uncomfortable building up towards one of the most shocking and revolting climaxes ever. This was an incredibly controversial release back in its home country Germany, and it's not too hard to see why. Without revealing too much about the infamous denouement, I can safely say this girl Simone single-handedly gives a whole new dimension to the term "obsessive groupie". Désirée Nosbusch gives away a hugely impressive performance as Simone and undeniably the other biggest strong point of the film – apart from the ending of course – is Rheingold's prototypic 80's electro pop music. If you're familiar with the oeuvre the relatively known 80's band Kraftwork ("The Model", "Autobahn", "Radioactivity"), you know pretty much what to expect. "Der Fan" isn't a movie for all tastes but certainly a curious collector's item for the more avid and open-minded cult fanatic to seek out.

HumanoidOfFlesh Apparently the favourite film of Japanese cannibal killer Issei Sagawa this unusual German horror drama left me a little bit disturbed.Cute 17-year-old teenager Simone has an intense crush on a dark-haired pop singer "R".The girl believes they are meant to be together,but he doesn't reply on her love letters.As she sees him for the first time she is speechless,unable even to ask for his autograph.He notices her and reaches out to touch her.Overcome with emotion Simone faints;with that first touch R's fate is sealed.When they later make love he is cold and detached.She plans the revenge which erupts into bloody murder and cannibalism..."Trance" is a remarkable horror drama about idol obsession and dysfunctional family living in their own private hell.The climax is gruesome and haunting as Simone kills and dismembers the object of her affection in a fetishistic sequence.The climatic gory mayhem is truly unforgettable.