The Third Generation

For the 2009 documentary, see The Third Generation (2009 film).

The Third Generation
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Produced by	Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Written by	Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Starring	Hanna Schygulla Margit Carstensen Eddie Constantine Bulle Ogier Harry Baer
Music by	Peer Raben
Cinematography	Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Editing by	Juliane Lorenz
Distributed by	New Yorker Films (USA)
Release date(s)	13 May 1979
Running time	105 mins.
Country	West Germany
Language	German
Budget	DEM 800,000 (estimated)

The Third Generation (German: Die Dritte Generation) is a 1979 West German film, a black comedy about terrorism, written, directed and cinematographed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. The plot follows an ineffectual cell of underground terrorist who plan to kidnap an industrialist.

Plot

P.J. Lurz, an industrialist with an office in a Berlin’s high-rise, informs his American headquarters that the company has difficulty selling its security-related computer systems to the West Germany government in Bonn. Nevertheless Lurz has hatched a secret plan to boost sales. Meanwhile Susanne, Lurz’s secretary, receives a phone call with the message: The world as will as idea. This is a code phrase amongst a secret group of thirty something middle class leftists and would be terrorist to which she belongs. The phrase has been taken from the central work of the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer "The World as Will and Representation”. With these words, Susanne sets an ambiguous covert plot into motion, alerting the members of the terrorist cell of an upcoming meeting. They are: Ringleader August Brem; Susanne's composer husband Edgar; feminist history professor Hilde Krieger: Petra Vielhabor, a housewife who is constantly arguing with her banker husband Hans; and Rudolf Mann, a clerk in a record store.

P.J. Lurz is informed by Gerhard Gast, the inspector general of the police that he is being watched and is under police protection. Gast, has also arrived to pick up Susanne, her daughter in law. In route to their home, Susanne and Gerhard stop at a hotel room and have sex. They have been carrying an affair with sado-masochistic undertones. The Gast family has dinner together: Gerhardt, Susan, her husband Edgar, the caustic grandfather, the delusional pianist grandmother and the young couple’s small son. While having dinner Grandpa Gast tells Edgar that every generation needs a war.

The terrorist gather at Rudolf’s large apartment, but August is annoyed by the presence of Rudolf’s roommate Ilse Hoffman, a drug addict. August sees her as a threat to their secret activities. Bored and with not much to do the group spend their time playing monopoly. They eagerly wait the arrival of a new contact. His name is Paul and he arrives from training camps in Africa having more experience. Paul is assigned to live with Hilde. He rapes her, however by the following day they have become a couple.

August Brem, the leader among the terrorist, is in fact a double agent. He is secretly in contact with Lurz, who wants to boost sales of his security computers by financing the terrorist group. Rudolf’s apartment serves as the terrorist headquarters and meeting point. Claiming domestic abuse, Petra leaves her husband and decides to stay with Rudolf. The group of terrorist is completed with the arrival of two friends of Ilse. One is her former boyfriend, Franz Walsh, a beefy black German who is an explosives expert recently discharged of the military. The other is his friend Bernhard von Stein, an aristocrat whose fondness for the works of Bakunin makes him the object of jokes. Franz fails to find a job but reconnects with his drug addict girlfriend Ilse.

Times are tense and get even worse when Paul is gunned down by the authorities at a restaurant. Edgar, witnesses his death and sees his father, Officer Gast, at the scene. Paul’s death scares the members of his gang. In order to finance their activities Petra and some of the other terrorists robbed the very bank in which Petra’s husband works. While they are escaping Petra shoots and kills her husband. They franticly change their looks and names and flee from their homes. August gives out a paper squares to the group. Some have a mark and some don’t. Petra, Rudolf and Hilde got the marks and had to break into an office at night in order to steal the new identities. Rudolf is so scared that he pees in his pants and the others laugh at him. The joke is short live because Franz finds Ilse dead of a drug overdose.

Bernhard is interrogated by Officer Gast as to their where about. Bernhard genuinely does not know but gets curious and follows August undetected. He sees Lurtz give money to August in order to finance the terrorist activities. After Pauls’ death, the terrorist believe that there is a traitor among them. August makes the others think that it was Franz. August sets up Franz by telling him where Ilse is buried. He then calls the authorities and gets him killed. August also does the same to Petra when she is instructed to place a bomb and gets intercepted and killed by the police. Bernhard is caught by Officer Gast at the cemetery when he tried to warn Franz that it was a set up and not to go to Ilse’s grave. Bernhard tells Officer Gast of what he saw at the Chinese restaurant and after argument Bernhard falls down a long flight of stairs and is killed. Taking advantage that it is carnival season, the remaining terrorist wearing costumes Kidnapped PJ Lurtz. He is video taped in a basement. He still believes that all is part of his secret plan and smiles to the camera.

Cast

• Eddie Constantine - P. J. Lurz
• Hanna Schygulla - Susanne Gast
• Margit Carstensen - Petra Vielhaber
• Bulle Ogier - Hilde Krieger
• Volker Spengler - August
• Raúl Gimenez - Paul
• Hark Bohm - Gerhard Gast
• Günther Kaufmann - Franz Walsch
• Vitus Zeplichal - Bernhard von Stein
• Udo Kier - Edgar Gast
• Harry Baer - Rudolf Mann
• Y Sa Lo - Ilse Hoffmann
• Jürgen Draeger - Hans Vielhaber
• Claus Holm - Father Gast
• Lilo Pempeit - Mother Gast

Production

The Third Generation was made right after Fassbinder achieved wide international critical and commercial success with The Marriage of Maria Braun.^[1] It was produced by Fassbinder's production company Tango Films for an estimated amount of 800.00 DEM.^[2] It was shot in Berlin from November 1978 to January 22, 1979 in the winter of 1978 -1979, which is when the action takes place.^[2]

The large cast is formed by actors from Fassbinder's regular troupe: Hanna Schygulla, Margit Carstensen, Volker Spengler, Harry Baer and Günther Kaufmann among others. It also includes two international stars Eddie Constantine, who had worked with Fassbinder earlier in the director's career and Bulle Ogier, who did not speak German. Her dialogue was translated to her native french by Juliane Lorenz, who worked as assistant director and editor having also a cameo role as a job counselor. Some of the actors work also behind the scenes: Harry Baer was executive producer, Raúl Gimenez was production designer, Volker Spengler was the art director.

Reception

The Third Generation premiered on 13 May 1979 at the Cannes Film Festival. It competed in the Un Certain Regard section .^[3] American and French critics praised the film as the festival's most exciting. The French daily Le Figaro called it: "An effective, cinematic exercise in style and one of the most frightening political films". The film was released in West German in September 1979. It was received without enthusiasm. Some critics praise the film's mordant political humor, but mostly received negative reviews. A critic called it as crazy as teaming Jerry Lewis with Robert Bresson. The political theme of the film arouse controversy. At a screening in Hamburg, the projectionist was beaten unconscious, while in Frankfurt an incensed mob threw acid at the screen. There were also death threats. However The Third Generation it is now considered by film critics to be one of Fassbinder's best films. At the Rotten Tomatoes website it has a 83% 'fresh' rating.

References

1. ^ Watson, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, p. 168
2. ^ ^{a b} Watson, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, p. 163
3. ^ "Festival de Cannes: The Third Generation". festival-cannes.com. http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/1935/year/1979.html. Retrieved 2009-05-25. 

Bibliography

• Thomsen, Christian Braad. Fassbinder: Life and Work of a Provocative Genius . University of Minnesota Press, 2004, ISBN 0816643644
• Watson, Wallace Steadman. Rainer Werner Fassbinder: Film as Private and Public Art. University of South Carolina Press, 1996, ISBN 1570030790

External links

• The Third Generation at the Internet Movie Database
• The Third Generation at AllRovi
• Critical analysis of "The Third Generation" by Critical-Film.com reviewer Scott Wood