German Actresses of the 2000s – A Study of Female Representation, Acting and Stardom Verena von Eicken Doctor of Philosophy University of York Theatre, Film and Television September 2014 Abstract This thesis centres on four German actresses active from the year 2000: Nina Hoss, Sandra Hüller, Sibel Kekilli and Diane Kruger. These performers have embodied a range of multifaceted female characters, as well as offering insightful representations of ‛Germanness’ at home and abroad. Their films are emblematic of the revival of German cinema in the 2000s, which has seen the proliferation of commercially successful historical dramas and the emergence of the critically lauded Berlin School art film movement. This research seeks to contribute to German film studies by considering the role actresses have played in the context of the resurging German cinema of the new millennium. The four actresses are discussed both in terms of the female representations offered by their films, and as performers and stars. The films of Nina Hoss, Sandra Hüller and Sibel Kekilli explore the particular social, political and cultural circumstances of women in contemporary Germany, such as the ramifications of reunification and a changing economic order, the persistent female inequality in the workplace and the family, and the nationally specific conception of the mother role. Contributing to the study of film acting and performance, analyses of the four actresses’ performances are conducted to demonstrate how they enhance the films. Analysing and comparing the work of actresses from the 1920s until the present day, a German screen acting tradition is identified that is characterised by the actresses’ maintenance of a critical distance to the character they portray: female performers working across different decades share a stilted, non-naturalistic acting style, which imbues their characters with a sense of mastery and counteracts their frequent experience of oppression or objectification. The four performers studied also function as representations of national identity, with Diane Kruger, who acts in French and US films, contributing to the formulation and reflection of national identity both in Germany and abroad. Drawing on the findings of star studies, the media representations of the four actresses are analysed to illustrate how they reflect dominant social discourses about femininity, ethnicity and film stardom in Germany. Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................................. 1 List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... 7 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. 17 Author’s Declaration ............................................................................................................... 19 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 21 Charting Female Performers in the History of German Cinema ......................................... 24 German Cinema in the New Millennium: Sweeping Historical Dramas and Astute Social Commentary................................................................................................... 29 Studying Contemporary German Actresses as Performers and Stars................................... 34 Part I: Actresses in the History of German Film .................................................... 41 Chapter One Actresses in the History of German Film I: Weimar Cinema and the New German Cinema ..................................................... 43 Weimar Cinema – Creativity and Anxiety at a Time of Momentous Social Change ......... 43 Exploring Feminine Identities in the Weimar Street Film .................................................... 45 Marlene Dietrich in The Blue Angel (1930): Challenging Female Objectification, Defining Cinematic Spectacle .................................... 47 Dietrich, Stardom, and National Identity ................................................................................ 53 The New German Cinema: Confronting the Past, Capturing the Present ......................... 57 Feminist Filmmaking within the New German Cinema – The Nation as a ‛Pale Mother’ ................................................................................................... 59 Hanna Schygulla: Female Representation and the Agency of the Actor in the New German Cinema ....................................................................................................... 62 Embodying the Nation: The Marriage of Maria Braun (1978) .................................................. 67 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 71 Chapter Two Actresses in the History of German Film II: Third Reich Cinema and Post-war Cinema .............................................................. 75 Cinema in the Third Reich: Orchestrating Entertainment and Propaganda ...................... 75 Reconciling Contradictions: Wholesome Mothers and Exotic Divas ................................. 77 Zarah Leander: Negotiating Female Subjectivity and Stardom in Nazi Germany ............. 80 Rebuilding National Identity in the Aftermath of the War: Hildegard Knef and the ‛Rubble Film’ ..................................................................................... 86 The Genre Cinema of the 1950s: Reformulating National Identity ..................................... 91 Redeeming Germany: Romy Schneider as Sissi ...................................................................... 94 Conclusion...................................................................................................................................... 99 Part II: Case Studies of Contemporary German Actresses ............................ 103 Chapter Three Nina Hoss: The First Lady of German Arthouse Film .................................... 105 The Face of Social Critique: Career Trajectory and Screen Persona ................................. 105 Mise-en-scène and Performance in A Girl Called Rosemarie (1996) ..................................... 108 The ‛Star-as-Performer’: Reflecting Attitudes towards Stardom in Germany .................. 111 Yella (2007) and The Heart is a Dark Forest (2007): Exploring Working Women and Motherhood in Reunified Germany ........................................................................................ 114 A Woman in Berlin (2008): Representing Germany’s Past in Mainstream Historical Films ................................................................................................ 133 Barbara (2012) and Gold (2013): Transplanting Social Critique to a Historical Setting .... 137 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 148 Chapter Four Sandra Hüller: Performing Female Subjectivity in Contemporary German Art Film .............................................................................. 155 ‛The One for the Tough Parts’: Role Choices and Approach to Acting ........................... 155 Foregrounding Performance: Sandra Hüller in Requiem (2006) .......................................... 161 Madonnas (2007): A Counterintuitive Performance ............................................................... 172 Brownian Movement (2010): Performing Female Sexual Agency ............................................ 179 Above Us Only Sky (2011): The Self-conscious Performance and the Long Shadow of Vertigo (1958) .................................................................................. 190 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 199 Chapter Five Sibel Kekilli: Between Otherness and Normalcy – Turkish-German Identity on Film ................................................................................ 207 Kekilli’s Public Persona: Embodying ‛Otherness’? ............................................................... 207 Turkish-German Cinema: Negotiating Questions of Home and Belonging .................... 209 Turkish-German Femininity in Head-On: Transgressing Cultural and Gender Boundaries ................................................................... 213 Conflating Actress and Character: from Head-On to When We Leave (2010) ..................... 228 Moving Beyond Ethnic Stereotyping? – Kekilli in What a Man (2011) ............................. 237 Femininities in What a Man: the ‛Businesswoman’, the ‛Bimbo’ and the ‛Manic Pixie Dream Girl’ ............................................................................................ 242 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 248 Chapter Six Diane Kruger: International Stardom and the Diffusion of National Identity ....................................................................... 255 Career Trajectory: From Ex-model to International Film Star ........................................... 255 Kruger’s Star Image: Beauty, Fashion, and the American Dream ...................................... 258 Star Discourse in the USA and Britain, France and Germany: Stardom Through a National Lens .......................................................................................... 263 The Face that Failed to Launch a Thousand Ships: Kruger’s International Breakthrough ...................................................................................... 267 Becoming American: National Treasure (2004) and Unknown (2011) ................................... 269 Kruger’s Period Dramas: Exploring National and Feminine Identities ............................ 273 Bridget von Hammersmark, a Feminist Film Star? – Performing Stardom and National Identity in Inglourious Basterds ....................................... 283 Recognition as an Actress: Farewell, My Queen (2012) ........................................................... 295 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 301 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 307 Filmography ............................................................................................................................... 315 Selected Filmography Marlene Dietrich ................................................................................. 315 Selected Filmography Hanna Schygulla .................................................................................. 315 Selected Filmography Zarah Leander ..................................................................................... 316 Selected Filmography Hildegard Knef .................................................................................... 317 Selected Filmography Romy Schneider .................................................................................. 318 Filmography Nina Hoss ............................................................................................................ 320 Selected Teleography Nina Hoss ............................................................................................. 321 Filmography Sandra Hüller ....................................................................................................... 322 Selected Teleography Sandra Hüller ....................................................................................... 322 Filmography Sibel Kekilli . ........................................................................................................ 323 Selected Teleography Sibel Kekilli ........................................................................................... 323 Filmography Diane Kruger ....................................................................................................... 324 Selected Teleography Diane Kruger ....................................................................................... 325 Other Films Cited ...................................................................................................................... 325 Other TV Programmes Cited ................................................................................................... 332 List of References ................................................................................................................... 335 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................. 367 I. German Film after 2000 ........................................................................................................ 367 II.German Cinema Studies ....................................................................................................... 370 III. Feminist Film Studies/Women on Film ......................................................................... 374 IV. Film Studies .......................................................................................................................... 375 V. Studies of Individual Performers ........................................................................................ 377 VI. Studies of Film Acting/Performance, Star Studies ........................................................ 377 VII. Cultural Studies .................................................................................................................. 378 VIII. Sociological Research ...................................................................................................... 379 List of Figures Figures Page Figure 1: 43 Marlene Dietrich in The Blue Angel (1930). The Blue Angel DVD capture (detail). Eureka DVD, 2002. Figure 2: 43 Hanna Schygulla in The Marriage of Maria Braun (1978). The Marriage of Maria Braun DVD capture (detail). Arrow DVD, 2006. Figures 3&4: 49 The differences between Lola Lola’s first and second performance of ‛Falling in Love Again’ epitomise her transformation from seemingly innocent flirt to callous femme fatale. The Blue Angel DVD captures (detail). Eureka DVD, 2002. Figure 5: 50 Dietrich’s/Lola Lola’s legs are fetishised by von Sternberg’s camera. The Blue Angel DVD capture (detail). Eureka DVD, 2002. Figure 6: 66 A static long shot of Effi, facing away from the viewer, contrasts markedly with the voiceover, which describes a moment of intense feeling. Fontane Effi Briest DVD capture. Studiocanal DVD, 2008. Figure 7: 69 Schygulla’s Maria Braun symbolises the blind materialism and moral hollowness of 1950s Germany. The Marriage of Maria Braun DVD capture (detail). Arrow DVD, 2006. Figure 8: 75 Zarah Leander in La Habanera (1937). La Habanera DVD capture (detail). Universum Film DVD, 2005. Figure 9: 75 Romy Schneider in Sissi (1955). Sissi DVD capture (detail). Studiokanal DVD, 2007. Figures 10-13: 85 Zarah Leander’s character changes from lascivious, vain revue star (above) into an angelic figure boosting German morale (below). Die große Liebe DVD captures (detail). Koch Media GmbH DVD, 2009. 7 Figures Page Figures 14&15: 89 Skewed angles communicate the male protagonist’s lack of control, while the agency of Knef’s Susanne is communicated by her mastery of the gaze. The Murderers Are Among Us DVD captures (detail). Icestorm Entertainment GmbH DVD, 2002. Figures 16&17: 98 In the Sissi trilogy, Romy Schneider portrays her character’s transformation of from carefree child of nature (left) into a troubled young woman trapped in the golden cage of courtly life in Vienna (right). Left: Sissi DVD capture (detail). Studiokanal DVD, 2007. Right: Sissi – Die junge Kaiserin DVD capture (detail). Studiokanal DVD, 2007. Figures 18&19: 99 The endings of the second (left) and third Sissi film (right) epitomise the trilogy’s revelling in melodramatic excess, presenting the empress as a suffering, self- sacrificing saviour figure. Left: Sissi – Die junge Kaiserin DVD capture (detail). Studiokanal DVD, 2007. Right: Sissi – Schicksalsjahre einer Kaiserin DVD capture (detail). Studiokanal DVD, 2007. Figure 20: 105 Nina Hoss in Yella (2007). Yella DVD capture (detail). Artificial Eye DVD, 2008. Figures 21-24: 109 Rosemarie’s typical cold, disdainful look. Above left: in the prison cell, Above right: with Hartog; Below left: confronting Fribert, Below right: at the party preceding her death. Das Mädchen Rosemarie DVD captures (detail). Eurovideo DVD, 2001. Figures 25&26: 110 Physical attributes, hairstyle and lighting reinforce the characterisation of Rosemarie (left) as emotionally detached as opposed to Hartog’s sympathetic fiancée (right). Das Mädchen Rosemarie DVD captures (detail). Eurovideo DVD, 2001. Figure 27: 118 Yella’s ghostlike state after escaping from the water signals her mental and emotional disintegration. Yella DVD capture. Artificial Eye DVD, 2008. 8