Marlene

How do you make a documentary about a legendary star who will talk but not be filmed (presumably because time has not been altogether kind to the celebrated image)? Schell takes no easy routes, and if the result borders on the pretentious, it rewards repeated viewings. As a starting point, he had twelve hours of taped conversations in which he and Dietrich can be heard arguing, eventually coming to verbal blows: throughout, Dietrich responds with defiant assertions, frequent dismissals of the past and her own performances, a reluctance to reveal much new. Schell supplies the necessary biography and film clips - plus some cruelly revelatory footage of her later stage performances - while brilliantly turning the documentary into a reflection on its own creation.