Focus on R.W. FASSBINDER II: Nora Helmer (1974)

In closing off my comments on Fassbinder's adaptation of 'Wildwechsel' for television, I made note of the impressive ego that is implicit in such imprinting one's own artistic world view on another author's work so vigorously. indeed, Fassbinder's interpretation sparked the lifelong ire of the play's author, Franz-Xaver Kroetz. But if it is real ego you want, look no further than the director's next adaptation.

Nora Helmer is Fassbinder's take on one of theatre's sacred cows, Ibsen's 'A Doll's House'. It is not a play to fuck with on a whim. Indeed, Fassbinder proves he knows this when he lays down his opening titles; he opens with just the surnames: Ibsen. Fassbinder. Carstensen. One may question if he's placing himself and Margrit on the same tier as Henrick himself - even accounting for the pecking order, the listing of the names in this way shows balls.

He approaches the play with similar gusto.

Now, I'm one of the few people in the western world who managed to emerge from my entire education without having encountered 'A Doll's House', or Ibsen for that matter. So, I really can only comment on Fassbinder's alterations to the text based on my cursory knowledge of the play (gleaned from my many friends who mainlined the text during their studies) and from the rabid critical reaction at the time.

Basically, I had always considered 'A Doll's House' to be primarily a feminist work. Clearly Fassbinder did not, as he espoused in an interview with Danish film maker, Christian Braad Thomsen (whose documentary, Fassbinder - To Love Without Demands, I managed to catch this year). He says:

Everyone in the play, including Nora, needs to emancipate themselves, and Nora certainly doesn’t see the light of revelation at the end. She is just as dumb as before, and I see the struggle between Nora and Helmer as a battle for points, which I think is cheap, but also very realistic. In reading Ibsen, I have been unable to find any confirmation that she is a pioneer of women’s liberation.

Even skimming cursorily through Ibsen's text I can see Fassbinder's assertion must be facetious, at least on some level. In any event, his de-feministed reading of the text didn't go down well. The quote above I grabbed from a paper by Ronald Ng from the University of Toronto, which provides ample examples of the critical consensus that Fassbinder's work wrecked unnecessary havoc on Ibsen's with little return (though as Ng is at pains to point out, the dominant feminist reading shouldn't necessarily invalidate others).

Having come to the play fresh, I admit to feeling Fassbinder's film to be a little flat, and Carstensen's performance to be too assured for the famously oppressed title role (well, the title role in Germany at least). Actually, I found Carstensen and the overall take on the play to be very much in line with Fassbinder's adaptation of Bremen Freedom, with Carstensen again set upon but in control. It is easy to see the director's attraction to the work.

And yet, Fassbinder's take on the material has meant that he has elided key scenes and altered the text considerably to eliminate much of Ibsen's infantilisation and subjugation based on gender. Instead, as alluded to in Fassbinder's quote, the characters are subjugated by their bourgeoise existence. It is an interesting take but not one that is successfully borne out. With self-actualisation arc removed, Nora Helmer feels like a film with a point to make but struggling with a way to respectfully voice it.

More successful, at least from a design perspective, are Fassbinder's set and his intricate mise-en-scène. Nora's house is cluttered, fractured, mirrored and laced. Every shot is layered with latticework and etched glass. The effect is claustrophobic and allows Fassbinder to work his fluid camera magic with impressive effect. All these barriers clear as the play pushes on, leading to Nora's famous (though here somewhat unmotivated) exit. It is a stagecraft nod to Fassbinder's interpretation of the text in the absence of explicit support in the text itself. The sign of a director fully committed but possibly in over his head.

Like I say, I can't speak with much authority on the matter but Nora Helmer presents a hobbled work. Hats of to Fassbinder for having a crack, and kudos for bringing Ibsen's text to a point that it could be considered a joint effort, but overall not the blinding success it needed to be to escape the "don't fuck with the classics" lambasting.

Next up: Women in New York...

This post contributes to Director Focus: Rainer Werner Fassbinder II.