Blender
BlENDER, Germany 2014, 105 minutes
Blender is an autobiographically inspired documentary.
The title stands for a 1100 meter high mountain at the foothills of the Alps, where my parents founded an open home for the mentally ill and gave it the name of the mountain, BLENDER. The film documents the period of a year. Why did four of the six protagonists have to leave the home during shooting? This question is also connected to my childhood, where patients were coming and going all the time. Of course the reasons for it are understandable: Disappearing from the Blender is often associated with alcohol, violence, death and schizophrenia.
The film is an ensemble film and the episodes revolve around the comings and goings of the patients. The episodes are introduced in a light, almost serene way and condense as the film progresses to grief and drama. The protagonists themselves are appealingly direct and natural. They are aware of their situations and act out of their own inner logic.
BLENDER is not primarily about craziness or being different. Against an impressive natural backdrop the film follows diverse forms of human existence following their lonely paths through life.
Interview at Aspekte/ZDF
Soundtrack von Donald Rubinstein
DVD at Amazon
Soundtrack by Donald Rubinstein
DVD at Psychiatrie-Verlag
The title stands for a mountain in the Allgäu foothills. The parents of filmmaker Susann Reck founded an open home for the mentally ill and gave it the name of the mountain, Blender. The film portrays the lives of six residents over a period of one year. At the same time, it is an autobiographically inspired documentary film in a special place, which is characterized by its impressive nature, the author's view of her childhood and the coming and going of patients. »Blender« does not primarily deal with being crazy or different, but shows the protagonists with their whole, sometimes dramatic individuality and their own inner logic.
A touching and convincing filmic document that is also suitable as a learning film for (psychosis) seminars and for thematic film screenings with discussion.
DVD at Amazon
Soundtrack by Donald Rubinstein
DVD at Psychiatrie-Verlag
The title stands for a mountain in the Allgäu foothills. The parents of filmmaker Susann Reck founded an open home for the mentally ill and gave it the name of the mountain, Blender. The film portrays the lives of six residents over a period of one year. At the same time, it is an autobiographically inspired documentary film in a special place, which is characterized by its impressive nature, the author's view of her childhood and the coming and going of patients. »Blender« does not primarily deal with being crazy or different, but shows the protagonists with their whole, sometimes dramatic individuality and their own inner logic.
A touching and convincing filmic document that is also suitable as a learning film for (psychosis) seminars and for thematic film screenings with discussion.
