Dark Humour Musical of Performance Art in Nazi Germany
Much more that just a terrific musical, Cabaret delves naturally into the politics surrounding Hitler's rise to power. In Berlin, 1931, Sally Bowles (Liza Minnelli) is the so-called international star of the Kit Kat nightclub. One day Brian Roberts (Michael York) intrudes upon Sally's world, hoping to take the vacant room opposite hers. A quiet, reserved Englishman, studying at Oxford, Brian is unprepared for the ball of life and energy that is Sally. An American by birth, she lives each day hoping to break into the movies and each night performing at the club.
When Brian isn't hunting for students to whom he can teach English, which pays the rent, Sally takes him to the Kit Kat. Here he is introduced to Fritz Wendel (Fritz Wepper), a self-confessed gigolo who would dearly like to improve his grasp of English. Studying is hard, since his existence is one long round of parties, but at least Fritz is keen. Meanwhile, Sally is doing her level best to seduce and appear available to Brian, unburdened as she is by sexual hang-ups. Her efforts are doomed to failure though, since Brian is more interested in men.
As everyone settles into platonic friendships, two separate outsiders impinge to upset the emotional balance. The first of these is Natalia Landauer (Marisa Berenson), a sheltered young lady who desires Brian's tuition. The catch is that she comes from a wealthy Jewish family which owns a chain of well-known stores, circumstances which immediately make her of interest to Fritz. The lure of money is enough to overcome any possible qualms concerning her religion. The other stranger is Maximilian von Heune (Helmut Griem), a dashing and well-appointed young man who dazzles Sally with his aristocratic sophistication. However, his tastes are varied and Brian comes in for some close scrutiny, leading them into a classic love-triangle.
The setting of Cabaret, pre-war Germany, is intrinsically fascinating because of the events occurring and what they led to. Society on all levels is in a state of flux, with extreme behaviour being exhibited in the political, commercial and sexual spheres. Such an atmosphere of upheaval is extremely attractive to Sally, providing her with somewhere where barriers can be broken. Fuelled by selfishness and a desire to better herself, she is content to sleep around, use others and do almost anything in pursuit of success. This hard shell is a mere facade though, easily punctured when things don't turn out quite right and events spiral out of her control. In an analogous fashion, the nightclub maintains a similar illusion - that life is beautiful while outside disorder ferments.
Built upon the eternal themes of corruption, decadence and false dreams, Cabaret is far too subtle to be depressing and Sally too robust to be crushed. The seedy, smoky club is spiritual home, a venue where both sides of life are equally likely to be performed. However, while the central triangle is put together believably, the film occasionally loses touch with its lesser story threads. Thus the Jewish romance is only sketched briefly while Sally's father disappears for good once he's served his specific purpose. The inherent threat of Nazism is well-handled though, especially in the way certain folks dismiss the party with barely a thought. (Review by Damian Cannon, Movie Reviews UK 1997, http://www.film.u-net.com/Movies/Reviews/Cabaret.html)Read full review
