the end is near

I was looking for another nice, dark German beer to go with the classic movie, but the darkest I could find, besides the Korbinian, was Aventinus Eisbock.  It was a new product for me, and I might as well try as much new stuff as I can find.  That's the fun of festivals and designated celebratory weeks.

Pretty chestnut color, cloudier than what's been seen here in recent days.  Creamy, fluffy head, and a good strong smell.  Maybe my cold's about over.  It's a tangy bock, though, not as smooth as the doppel.  Flavorful, with a touch of candied fruit in it.  It's a strong beer, definitely not for empty stomachs, but with a little food in your stomach, eisbock is very satisfying.

Supplier: Cervecissimus
Price: €2.30

On Saturday they showed Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari/The cabinet of Dr. Caligari.  A DJ who has provided soundtracks to other classic films as on hand to give us mood music, which turned out to be OK, as it was generally non-intrusive and blended well with the scene we were watching.  There were only a couple of times when characters were talking in a manner that suggested furtiveness and quiet when the music, I felt, was just too loud.  The film was introduced as the "first horror movie", having a mad scientist, a sort of monster under his control, and a doomed love.  The backgrounds showed me a definite connection with Tim Burton, surely having influenced him in his designs, and Cesare himself shows some similarity to Burton's Edward Scissorhands in design.  The facial expressions and some of the physical movements were typical of the time, being a little exaggerated and not especially graceful, but definitely evocative.  Caligari radiated sinister intent all over.  The film we saw was a restored version using several prints as sources, and one scene in particular must have come from a British or American print: we watch Caligari run through the gates of the mental hospital and on the wall we see the sign "Insane Asylum".  In English!  In the next scene the hero also runs through the gate, stopping to notice that it now says "Irrenanstalt".  The twist at the end (SPOILER BUT IT'S A 95 YEAR OLD MOVIE FOR CHRISSAKE) shows that the hero, his love interest, and the monster are all patients in a mental hospital, and the nemesis Caligari is actually his doctor.  The "real" doctor seems to be very interested in curing delusions, rather than showing off sleepwalkers, and is pleased to discover the character his patient associates him with, saying he can now find the road to recovery.  I don't know if it's the first plot twist in movie history, but it's surely a much emulated device.