Su Friedrich

The Films of Su Friedrich, Vol. 1: The Ties That Bind

admin — Thu, 31 May 2007 12:22:00 +0000

When I read what The Ties That Bind was about, I knew I had to see it. Su Friedrich interviews her mother, Lore, about what it was like living in Germany during World War II. It is a brilliantly woven film tapestry - a mixture of story-telling, historical film footage, current newspaper articles/titles, current war protests and dozens of modern “political mailings.” I recommend it to everyone. It is a story of a mother and daughter trying to connect; it is also a horror story that today’s shock-loving generation should see… because it really happened.

Lore was not a Nazi sympathizer, nor a freedom fighter. She resisted, but did not overtly fight against the evil that had taken over her country. She, like many other Germans from that time, were vilified, for not fighting against it. It is heart rendering to hear the agony in this woman’s voice as she talks about what her family had to endure, just to survive.

Su Friedrich shot this film in black and white, enhancing the emotional intent of this film. One of the photographic threads in this film storytelling is the construction of a miniature plastic German house. We see this house first removed from its package, then carefully laid out on the floor, piece by piece, and assembled. Finally, the person who built the house puts on Army Gestapo boots and stomps on the home, destroying it. Then the house is burned (this happens while Lore talks about the bombing of Stuttgart, and how she ended up wandering outside the city, hands out, in shock, not able to speak when the Red Cross picked her up). Finally, what remains of the small plastic house is picked up from the floor.

Since the late 1970s, New York-based Su Friedrich has articulated the slogan “the personal is political.” I think she makes this obvious in The Ties That Bind. She was the films' director, editor, writer and cinematographer. She currently teaches film and video production at Princeton University. There was a Bonus film on this DVD – The Lesbian Avengers Eat Fire Too. It is inspiring, a documentary on a courageous modern political movement that is effecting change. Check it out, as well.

Written by: Patricia Ethelwyn Lang, May 31st 2007

The Films of Su Friedrich, Vol. 5: The Odds of Recovery

admin — Fri, 18 May 2007 13:37:00 +0000

Directed by Su Friedrich

Microcinema / Outcast Films

The Odds of Recovery is an autobiographical account of the director’s years of health troubles, including several surgeries and a serious hormone problem that had a huge negative impact on her sex life and relationship with her partner. The film is an extremely personal self-portrait that can be uncomfortable to watch at times, but has enough dry humor and levity to keep it fairly balanced. I came into the film expecting it to boldly take on things like the ineffectiveness and incompetence of the health care industry, but found that was far from the case. While not the most audacious, confrontational or thorough documentary, this experimental film commands a certain amount of respect for its sheer vulnerability and purity.

It goes back and forth from subtly revealing hidden-camera footage of doctor’s visits to serene but often generic imagery from Friedrich’s life, such as close ups of Friedrich doing needlepoint or gardening. There is also some difficult imagery, particularly the photographs in her scrapbook of the thirteen-pound cyst on her spleen, and a close up shot of Friedrich’s breast after surgery while she describes the physical and emotional pain she is experiencing. For each of the six surgeries covered in this film, there is a bit of detailed medical information given about the problem and excerpts from self-help books that Friedrich read during her recoveries. All of this takes the viewer effectively into the personal journey of dealing with chronic illnesses. Overall, the film seems to accurately portray the emotions of going through these experiences by making the viewer feel uncomfortable, scared, confused and overwhelmed, with intermittent periods of relative calmness.

Written by: Suhaila Aboulhosn, May 18th 2007

The Films of Su Friedrich, Vol. 4: Hide and Seek

admin — Wed, 02 May 2007 12:42:00 +0000

Directed by Su Friedrich

Microcinema / Outcast Films

Hide and Seek is a brilliant movie that explores the real life stories of lesbians' self actualization of who they are during their childhood interwoven with the story of one little girl who - though on the outside she is just like the rest of the girls in her class - she knows that there is something fundamentally different about her. There is also some very interesting footage of very old 1950s-style biology documentaries on homosexuality.

Are we a product of our genetics or are we a product of our environment? This is the question that is debated amongst many leading psychologists and sociologists. Friedrich’s answer to this question is that it is a matter of genetics, using actual accounts of how women at young ages found themselves attracted to those of the same sex and always knew there was something different. Friedrich puts a face to the debate. These are not just statistics or abstract labels; these are actual people with feelings and life experiences.

The movie also gives some insight into this world for those of us who are not homosexual and allows us to connect with our lesbian kin at a very feminine level. Through those very fragile pre-teen and post-pubescent female years, many experiences are shared: the same the games, the social struggles and the desire to feel comfortable in our own skin.

I highly recommend this film to anyone who has struggled with their identity, and to family members of those who have recently “come out.” This movie is a valuable tool in breaking down the negativity that has plagued the lesbian community.

Written by: Diana Tierney, May 2nd 2007

The Films of Su Friedrich, Vol. 3: Sink or Swim

admin — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 23:52:00 +0000

Directed by Su Friedrich

Microcinema, Outcast Films

Su Friedrich's Sink or Swim is a beautifully complex film that quietly sneaks up on the viewer, draws her in and, ultimately, leads her to a place of intimate introspection and intense analysis. The film follows Friedrich's development from "The Girl" to "The Woman" through a series of anecdotes involving her father. The viewer follows Friedrich's maturation as she celebrates birthdays, mourns her parent's divorce and struggles to reconnect with her father after he remarries.

Many of the film's anecdotes center on water, a force of nature which is at once a source of great pleasure and pain for Friedrich. It is from one such memory that the film gets its title: when Friedrich tells her father she would like to learn to swim, he takes her to the water, explains the methods of swimming and then throws her into the deep end to Sink or Swim. The film is comprised of a series of equally powerful and arresting interactions between father and daughter, each of them important to Friedrich's development in its own way.

The power of the film lies not in the recollection of the memories, however, but in the way that Friedrich uses them to move beyond the personal to the universal. Friedrich weaves narrative upon narrative, using her past as a lens through which she may gaze critically at everything from the construction of the Self, to social definitions of femininity and womanhood, and the ideals of the American family. Friedrich considers these issues with a tenderness and subtlety which is at once astounding and breathtaking. Sink or Swim is simply brilliant.

Written by: Joanna Chlebus, April 23rd 2007