Jazzy11's review is spot on. He said, very succinctly, many of the same things that had occurred to me as I watched.
One area that seems to need to be explored better, though, is Fassbinder's near Nostradamus like vision of the eventual hegemony of the western powers/NATO alliance. Naturally, this is quite evident in this particular version, but it's all there in the source material too. There is even a hint at the neo-conservative movement and preemptive war doctrine of that came to preeminence at the end of the 20th century and actually took root during the Bush administration. Both on a literal and symbolic level, the message is unmistakable.
Watching any version of "Berlin-Alexanderplatz" simply reinforces, to the acute viewer, that we are all part of a wondrous mystery filled with universal truths that were prescient then and prescient now.
One area that seems to need to be explored better, though, is Fassbinder's near Nostradamus like vision of the eventual hegemony of the western powers/NATO alliance. Naturally, this is quite evident in this particular version, but it's all there in the source material too. There is even a hint at the neo-conservative movement and preemptive war doctrine of that came to preeminence at the end of the 20th century and actually took root during the Bush administration. Both on a literal and symbolic level, the message is unmistakable.
Watching any version of "Berlin-Alexanderplatz" simply reinforces, to the acute viewer, that we are all part of a wondrous mystery filled with universal truths that were prescient then and prescient now.