Die Blechtrommel (1979) - film review

Born into a German family in Danzig of the early 1920s, Oskar Matzerath becomes aware of the world around him at an early age.  Unimpressed by the childish and hypocritical behaviour of the adults who surround him, he makes the decision on his third birthday never to grow up.  By throwing himself down a flight of stairs, he manages to arrest his growth, but whilst he retains the stature of a child, his mind is more lucid than that of any adult.  He is aware that his mother is having a covert love affair with his uncle Jan Bronski, and uses this to his advantage.   Oskar’s prized possession is a red and white tin drum which he beats incessantly; when this is taken from him, he delivers a scream that can break glass.  With Hitler’s rise to power, the world around Oskar grows ever darker and his attempts to control it gradually diminish...

Die Blechtrommel (a.k.a. The Tin Drum), written by the leading German author Günter Grass, is one of the most important pieces of 20th century literature.  A sophisticated and highly critical allegory of German society from the 1920s to the 1950s, it a work of remarkable imagery and innovative narrative style which does not lend itself easily to cinematic adaptation.  In his ambitious 1979 film, director Volker Schlöndorff succeeded where many would have failed, capturing much of the subtlety and dark ambiguous poetry of Grass’s novel without succumbing to the temptation of artistic over-indulgence.

The biggest challenge that faced Schlöndorff when making the film was finding an actor to play the lead role, the diminutive Oskar.  He had initially envisaged employing a midget for the part, but changed his mind when he heard about David Bennent, the son of the well-known German actor Heinz Bennent.  Like the character in the film, David Bennent suffered from arrested growth, so that at the age of 11 (when he appeared in this film) he resembled a six year old.  

Much of the power of this film stems from David Bennent’s portrayal of Oskar.   With his piercing pale eyes and intense screen persona, the young actor conveys precisely the same mix of supernatural malignancy and pathos which we find in Grass’s novel.  In both the film and the book, Oskar is not merely a tragic character but a truth-telling prism through which everything in the warped and brutal world around him is shown to us.

The recipient of the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in 1980, The Tin Drum was also co-winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1979 (sharing the award with Coppola’s Apocalypse Now).  It aroused some controversy on account of its highly suggestive love scenes involving Bennett and 24-year old Katharina Thalbach, which resulted it being branded child pornography and banned in Canada and Oklahoma County.

The Tin Drum is certainly a daring film, and one which leaves a lasting impression.  The effect of its uncompromising and distinctive approach to storytelling can be unnerving, for much of what we are shown has a shockingly realism that combines the visceral with the erotic.  But it is also highly effective, making a deep emotional connection between subject and audience which is rare in cinema.

© James Travers 2008

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