Julian Schnabel's film is a concert version of Lou Reed's Berlin, an album recorded some 30 years ago and said to be one of the most depressing ever made. It was filmed over five nights in Brooklyn, with performers like Fernando saunders, Antony hegarty, Steve Hunter and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus supporting the gravel-voiced Reed and a 35-piece band.
This rock oratorio, using the then divided city of Berlin as a backdrop to the story of tragic druggie Caroline (emmanuelle seigneur) and her lovers, is no Kurt Weill-like masterpiece. But those who admire Reed will find that Schnabel's film allows the music to speak for itself against its rather messy background. Sometimes, despite the fact that you can't always distinguish the words, it does so with impressive, if determinedly downbeat results.
Lou Reed's Berlin
