"Manifesto" is a German English-language film that premiered back in 2015 already, so it took almost two years until this film finally came to Germany in terms of a wide release, which really should make people think as this is a German movie like I said. It is the second full feature film by writer and director Julian Rosefeldt and here he unites with 2-time Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett from Australia, who plays a total of 12(!) characters during these 90 minutes. The consequence is that there are hardly any other characters in here and those who are are basically just minor supporting players without dialogue. I think I remember only one other character talk very briefly on one occasion, namely during the tattoo punk segment. Anyway, this is a film about art, about all kinds of approaches to art, about how art is seen and also about how art should be created. The good thing is that, even if you have zero connection with art in the sense of paintings, sculptures etc. you can still definitely enjoy the watch here. It is honestly far more important that you at least don't mind Blanchett as an actress, preferably even like her or love her. I have general criticisms that she is pretty sterile and cold most of the time, but I would not necessarily agree. I usually like her a lot and she is pretty great when given the right role, like her more recent Oscar-winning performance that was perfect for her.
Back to this one here now, it is an educational film too I think and I am sure it depends on yourself with which characters in here you identify the most in terms of what they have to say about art. You probably won't find one that fits your approach 100%, but that's not a problem as you can just name several. I think the one who came the closest for me was the tattooed punk I mentioned earlier already. Sorry Chopin lovers! Another good thing is as well that the film is pretty funny at times too thanks to Blanchett's take on and Rosefeldt's writing of the characters and the scenarios we see them in. Blanchett sure gives the ultimate chameleon performance, even if this one is too "special" obviously for the Academy and several other awards bodies to pay it some recognition. And it is somewhat the exact opposite of a film like the recent Thor sequel, in which Blanchett plays a major part too. Anyway, I myself liked the watch here, even if it was not on a level where I would say it is among the year's very best or a must-watch. Back to the introduction, it is pretty telling a genuinely artistic film like this one needs so long to be released here while the Schweighöfer audience heads to cinemas on a weekly basis to honor their false heroes. But hey maybe we can be glad it got a wide release at all. It is also a big success visually looking at the excellent set decoration from start to finish. Each character gets 7-8 minutes screen time as average, but of course some get more and return later on for a second sequence, like the recurring table food sequence, while others disappear as quickly as they came. That's all then I guess. A certain thumbs-up from me for Rosefeldt and Blanchett, especially the former as I think this was a really challenging project that could have gone all kinds of wrong, but turned out as well as I expected when reading the name of Cate Blanchett, who can be relied on as usual. Check it out if you get a chance to. This may very well be the most artistic movie of 2015.
