FUN WITHOUT LIMITS  1998
(Spass ohne Grenzen)
Directed by Ulrich Seidl
45 minutes
In German with English subtitles

This documentary centers on people that go to Europa-park—a huge theme park nestled near the Rhine Valley in Germany. Visitors seem to love this carefree place, even though it is crass, gargantuan and grotesque. At center stage we have Mrs Dorothee Spohler-Claussen from Hanover, who has visited Europapark hundreds of times and considers herself to be the queen of amusement parks. But beyond all the pleasure seeking, there is a hint at something much darker, more devastating.

Austrian director Ulrich Seidl is always hard-hitting and controversial. He takes any false dreams we might have about our modern lives, pumps them up, and then pops the balloon. He makes us laugh, but it's a laugh that's bitterly painful, because we recognize his films are actually examinations of your own lives and environment, without all the feel-good marketing propaganda. In a way, this film can even be seen as a metaphor for the European Union (after all, it's called Europa-park) with its euphoric neoliberal hope of freedom through unlimited consumerism and entertainment—a hope that always ends in disillusionment.

This is another rare screening from Seidl's early repertoire.

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U.S. GO HOME  1994
Directed by Claire Denis
67 minutes
In French with English subtitles

The title of this film makes it sound like a hardcore political manifesto, but it isn't. It is about a female teen navigating the world of love. It's a very early work of French director Claire Denis (Beau travail, White Material), written together with actress/novelist Anne Wiazemsky. It focuses on the relationship of a brother and sister who live in a small town near an American military base. It's largely about teen sexuality, and is taking place in the sixties - the period of the director's youth—so it's very autobiographical and set to a gorgeous array of hits from that  time (The Animals, The Yardbirds, Otis Redding, Nico, The Troggs).

There are entire sensual passages that are wordless in this low-budget flick—only slow dancing, the catchy music, the gleaming of eyes, the flare of a cigarette being lit, the feeling of confusion, shadows, car headlights flashing across treetops. This film has a melancholic, tranquil feeling about it. As I said, this is an extremely early work of Claire Denis, but many rank it with her best. It includes a few cameos by cult actor Vincent Gallo.