He was the man who blew up the Berlinale. Michael Verhoeven was anything but a demolitionist – anyone who met the Munich filmmaker experienced an intelligent, committed and very friendly fellow. But with his film “ok” he triggered a huge scandal, a political earthquake – which led to the cancellation of the Berlin International Film Festival in 1970.
In memory of Verhoeven, who died in April, the film museum is bringing “ok” back to the screen. It tells a true story from the Vietnam War: During a ceasefire in 1966, US soldiers raped and murdered a Vietnamese girl. Verhoeven had the event re-enacted using Brechtian alienation effects: the film was shot in a forest near Grünwald, the actors (including Friedrich von Thun, Gustl Bayrhammer and Eva Mattes in her first film role) spoke Bavarian, but wore American names and uniforms. The message was as clear as it was timeless: even those who fight for “freedom” in war are capable of atrocities.
The US director George Stevens saw the film as a provocation and wanted to have him excluded from the competition in his role as jury president. This caused displeasure among his fellow jurors – and so the Berlinale was canceled prematurely (for the first and only time in its history). In addition to the film, a conversation recorded in 2020 between Michael Verhoeven and his producer Rob Houwer will be shown this evening.
ok, D 1970, director: Michael Verhoeven, Thursday, May 23rd, 7 p.m., movie museum St.-Jakobs-Platz 1