"Bagdad Cafe" A story of the "heart" shown by a "coffee machine that needs repair"

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2019.07.15Omori Sawako

Performers with unique tastes

The role of the heroine, Yasmine, is played by Marianne Sagebrecht, who played a woman who worked at a funeral parlor and desperately tried to woo the handsome man she fell in love with in the director's previous film, `` Sugar Baby '' (1985). . When this movie was released, Marianne's poster in Japan (I'm really sorry) said ``A big increase in the number of ugly women''. I remember it being a terrible copy of ``A love story of obsession that we are working on.'') Looking back at magazines from the time, she is also called the ``German Kyozuka Masako.''

Although this film was quietly released in Japan and received little attention, Marianne's presence had an impact, and the director's fantastic sense of color was utilized.

The director met Marianne in the late 1970s, and was interested in her as she was known as the "mother of Munich's subculture" for her work on the German avant-garde stage, and they collaborated several times on television projects and films. (It seems that she was not an actress at first, but worked on the production side.)

The two apparently considered Whoopi Goldberg to co-star in "Bagdad Cafe" after watching The Color Purple (1985), but in the end they chose CCH Pounder, a newcomer, to play Brenda. is. She had already seen ``Sugar Baby'' and seemed happy to be able to work with the two. (The edition was unpopular).

Jack Palance, a veteran actor, gives a tasteful performance as a painter who is a regular customer of the cafe. When the director told an American actress he knew that he was looking for an actor with a touch of good old Hollywood, Palance was recommended. Palance was already 70 years old at the time. Although he had already passed his peak and was in a slump, he received a script call and was approved to appear in the film within eight days (although the paintings that appear in the film were not drawn by Palance himself, It seems that he made it his hobby). He seems to have incurred the wrath of his agent by deciding to appear in this independent short film instead of appearing in a major TV drama.

After appearing in this movie, he played an old cowboy in the Hollywood hit City Slickers (1991), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor at the age of 73. He had been nominated for the award twice in the past, including for `` Shane '' (53), but he finally won the Oscar 38 years after his last nomination. There is no doubt that his heart-warming performance in ``Bagdad Cafe'' was the first step in his revival.

Also, Debbie, a female tattoo artist who has very few lines, is played by German actress Christine Kaufmann, who once played Mrs. Tony Curtis, and her cool atmosphere is a nice accent to the entire movie. .

The highlight of the performance is the magic scene in the second half. Marianne underwent five months of intensive training to master magic tricks. The first time she performs a magic trick is when she pulls out a cracker from her hand, but this magic scene is filmed without cuts. By capturing the characters as they perform, the audience can share in the feelings of the cafe's regular customers.

Ultimate theme song "Calling You"

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