{"id":4064,"date":"2014-05-14T14:07:12","date_gmt":"2014-05-14T18:07:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/?p=4064"},"modified":"2017-07-27T00:52:46","modified_gmt":"2017-07-27T04:52:46","slug":"tribeca-interview-with-the-mastermind-behind-germanys-der-samurai-a-bizarre-and-beautiful-queer-thriller","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/tribeca-interview-with-the-mastermind-behind-germanys-der-samurai-a-bizarre-and-beautiful-queer-thriller\/","title":{"rendered":"Tribeca Interview with the mastermind behind Germany’s “Der Samurai”; A bizarre and beautiful queer thriller"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well-made and weird, writer-director Till Kleinert\u2019s German flick Der Samurai is one of those films that are hard to define, precisely because of its uniquely bizarre storyline and multiple stylistic infusions.\u00a0 Reminiscent of a cross between Kill Bill and Silence of the Lambs but with a queer sensibility, Der Samurai is everything a horror fan could want, and more.\u00a0 Infused with elements of art-house camp, refined psychological suspense, and schlocky B-movie slasher, Der Samurai is not only a morbidly bizarre queer thriller, but a beautifully violent allegory about the struggle with one\u2019s sexuality, and how the repression of such carnal urges can become altogether consuming.\u00a0 Making its international premiere at New York City\u2019s Tribeca Film Festival, Der Samurai is a rarity within the horror scene\u2014inducing that pleasurable sense of not knowing how the film will transpire, yet being fully aware that the filmmaker knows exactly what he\u2019s doing.<\/p>\n

\"Jakob<\/a>
Jakob and The Samurai<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Meet Jakob (Michel Diercks), a straight-laced young cop in a small town whose main task on the force seems to be dissuading a wolf that\u2019s been scaring the local population.\u00a0 In an attempt to keep the animal at bay, this still wet-behind-the-ears officer ventures into the outlying woods every night; hanging bags of raw meat from the branches. This alone speaks volumes of Jakob\u2019s character: for instead of confronting and eliminating any adversities, he would rather choose to repress them. \u00a0Graced with an impressively bold use of contrasting color schemes, the opening shots of Jakob venturing out into the woods immediately establishes a nightmarishly picturesque atmosphere; a gothic dream-like tone weaved with elements of fairy-tale and horror that subliminally foreshadows the ominously surreal mood of the film\u2014for the wolves aren\u2019t the only ones lurking in the woods.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, the exploration of the unknown almost always leads to a positive outcome, even if it involves destruction along the way.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It isn\u2019t long before Jakob receives a mysterious package addressed to the \u201cLone Wolf\u201d, followed by a cryptic phone call from the package\u2019s true owner, who instructs Jakob to deliver said package into the woods.\u00a0 Upon arrival, Jakob comes across a lithe man who happens to be squatting in front of a mirror applying lipstick.\u00a0 With wildly unkempt blonde hair and an intensely feral stare, the \u2018samurai\u2019 locks eyes with Jakob\u2014and there\u2019s an instant homoerotic attraction between the two that soon leads to a bizarre, bloody, and psycho-sexually charged cat and mouse game.\u00a0 Adorned in an elegantly flowing, well-fitted white dress, the samurai wreaks fatal havoc upon the local townspeople; wielding his katana with recklessly homicidal abandon.\u00a0 Timid and grounded with a rigid sense of duty and order, Jakob becomes morbidly fascinated by the samurai\u2019s dangerously perverse allure; which helps to explain his inability to stop this cross-dressing madman\u2019s blood-shedding spree.\u00a0 There\u2019s an obvious contrast between Jakob\u2019s conservatively demure manner and the samurai\u2019s animalistic sense of primal impulsivity\u2014the latter serving as an external projection of Jakob\u2019s repressed homosexual urges.\u00a0 Flourished with a heightened cinematography\u2014which includes shadow-shrouded, gargoyle-like imagery illuminated by fiery, nightmarish colors\u2014the film beautifully captures the psycho-sexual tension of our protagonists through a mythically macabre tableaux.<\/p>\n

\"Bukowski<\/a>
Bukowski as The Samurai<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The fluctuation between violent campy gore, philosophical melancholy, and sophisticated satire beautifully preserves the palpable suspense throughout; in a way that is stylistically dynamic yet purposeful and cohesive.\u00a0 There is a contained absurdity with each progression of shots, and Kleinert does a wonderful job in setting a controlled\u2014almost ominous mood\u2014which allow the punctuated eruptions of gore to serve as effective shock devices that compliment the unpredictability of our madman.\u00a0 Even the conspicuous absence of the locals throughout a majority of the film enhances the eerie, isolated unease veiling the film\u2019s fantastical atmosphere.<\/p>\n

So why choose to have a cross-dressing samurai?\u00a0 While watching the film, I couldn\u2019t help but draw the parallels between our samurai (brilliantly played by Pit Bukowski) and Psycho<\/i>\u2019s Norman Bates or The Silence of the Lambs<\/i>\u2019 Buffalo Bill.\u00a0 What is it about \u2018cross-dressing\u2019 that seems so perverse when applied to the context of a villain? As I sat down with Kleinert to discuss the film, I was eager to pick his brain on where he drew these stylistically queer inspirations: \u201cBeing a young gay teenager, I was very confused about my sexuality.\u00a0 Growing up in East Germany, homosexuality wasn\u2019t really acknowledged\u2014let alone any form of transgender expression, so when I first saw films like Priscilla Queen of the Desert<\/i> they seemed frightening to me.\u00a0 But I don\u2019t mean that in a trans phobic way; because I found a curious, fascinating depth to that form of self-expression.\u00a0 However, what really struck a chord with me was when I saw Hedwig and the Angry Inch<\/i>. \u00a0I related to the fact that the protagonist and I were both from communist Germany, and intensely admired how aggressively nonconformist the character of Hedwig was\u2014it was such a transformative liberation.\u00a0 And for me, the samurai embodies this high-pitched, monstrous expression that is similarly liberating and exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Der<\/a><\/p>\n

While many would be offended by the inclusion of a violent queer villain, I don\u2019t believe that Kleinert intended for the film\u2019s gruesomeness to enforce the stereotype that gay sex is violent or that transgender folk are \u2018disturbed\u2019\u2014in fact, I don\u2019t think the film equates these orientations with violence at all.\u00a0 Rather, Der Samurai<\/i>\u2019s expressive nihilism is representative of an inner strife resulting from the repression of self.\u00a0 Furthermore, Kleinert isn\u2019t trying to make a PC statement about non-binary gender expression, because he expects the audience to piece together the deeper, psychological implications of the film.\u00a0 Notes Kleinert; \u201cFor someone like Jakob, he doesn\u2019t find the samurai\u2019s appearance to be ridiculous, but it does disturb him on a much deeper level because he identifies with it\u2026he\u2019s drawn to it.\u00a0 There is a contradiction within our hero, so I wanted the policeman to navigate a nightmarish progression that will ultimately allow him to confront his repression and find the same liberation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another element of the film that works so well is the recurring emphasis of wolves, an inclusion that is in no way arbitrary.\u00a0 Like the wolf, the samurai is an elemental force of nature; a mythological trickster that is itself a common motif among fairy-tales.\u00a0 In correlating the wolf and samurai, Kleinert intends for viewers to draw parallels with Little Red Riding Hood, particularly the scene in which the wolf is disguised as grandma. By analogizing the fairy-tale wolf\u2019s metamorphosis to the samurai\u2019s appearance, Kleinert is providing an almost poetic commentary on how wolves and trans individuals become the targets of irrational fear. \u00a0\u201cA wolf isn\u2019t beautiful or frightening.\u00a0 It just is\u2014we are the ones who assign all these attributions to them, and the same goes for societal conventions of gender expression.\u00a0 So I wanted to use the visual toolbox of cinematic expression offered by horror films to emphasize that notion of the \u2018outsider\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Der<\/a><\/p>\n

Drawing from expressive films that employ a more lyrical aesthetic approach, director Till Kleinert has orchestrated an allegorically dark and visually captivating tale about the psychological quest for self-identity.\u00a0 Through slightly perverse satire, heightened story-book imagery, and a colorful soundtrack, this filmmaker has created a beautiful, multi-genre symphonic structure that explores the artistic merits of horror while taking a bold stance against heteronormativity.\u00a0 Ignited with a sexual energy and polished with an intentional fairy-tale morbidity, there is a visceral darkness to this film that is alluring\u2014and while many will likely leave the theater feeling confused and unsatisfied, there are also those who will certainly appreciate the sophisticated subtext of Kleinert\u2019s film.\u00a0 Either way, it\u2019s always refreshing to see a horror flick that can strike such an artistic, psychological and intellectual chord.\u00a0 So if you often find yourself looking towards the fringes of film; curiously longing for what lurks beyond the realm of safe cinema and safe horror, then \u2018Der Samurai\u2019 is the film for you.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Well-made and weird, writer-director Till Kleinert\u2019s German flick Der Samurai is one of those films that are hard to define, precisely because of its uniquely bizarre storyline and multiple stylistic infusions.\u00a0 Reminiscent of a cross between Kill Bill and Silence of the Lambs but with a queer sensibility, Der Samurai is everything a horror fan\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":4066,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2065],"tags":[856,335,848,852,1963,39,849,850,76,82,81,853,757,854,135,189,134,38,851,62,352,855,847],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-4064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","tag-cross-dressing","tag-demitra-demi-kampakis","tag-der-samurai","tag-entertainment","tag-film","tag-gay","tag-german","tag-germany","tag-lesbian","tag-lgbt","tag-lgbtq","tag-michel-diercks","tag-movie","tag-pit-bukowski","tag-posture","tag-posture-mag","tag-posture-magazine","tag-queer","tag-thriller","tag-trans","tag-transgender","tag-tribeca","tag-tribeca-film-festvival"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/der-samurai.jpg?fit=630%2C358","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6QBV8-13y","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4064"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4064\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11214,"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4064\/revisions\/11214"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4064"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=4064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}