BLUE COLLAR

  • Paul Schrader

Paul Schrader’s directorial debut is a wild affair: in 1970s Detroit the three colleagues Zeke, Jerry and Smokey are only moderately successful as car mechanics. Under the supervision of a nasty foreman, they work on the production line for a miserable wage and under poor working conditions, feeling generally abandoned by their trade union. Driven by sudden financial distress, they decide to sneak into the factory buildings at night to crack open the vault. To their surprise, they don’t get hold of the money they hoped for, but unexpectedly find evidence of a nasty corruption scandal. But this soon turns out to be more than they can deal with. Brilliantly cast with Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel and Yaphet Kotto, Blue Collar differs from the usual works of New Hollywood primarily thanks to its realistic accuracy. Nevertheless, Schrader’s goal is not objectivity. Rather, he uses the proximity to his characters to create an early masterpiece, thanks to its explosive mixture of genre elements, physical immediacy and blunt dialogues.

  • Paul Schrader

THE SELFISH GIANT

Clio Barnard Great Britain 2013

THE SELFISH GIANT

FACING THE TRUTH

Nils Malmros Denmark 2002

FACING THE TRUTH

MITSUKI | SEKAI

Marina Tsukada Japan 2023

MITSUKI | SEKAI

SAMSARA

Lois Patiño Spanien 2023

SAMSARA

MEMORY BOX

Joana Hadjithomas Khalil Joreige Frankreich, Libanon 2021

MEMORY BOX

CHILDHOOD OF A LEADER

Brady Corbet UK, Hungary 2015

CHILDHOOD OF A LEADER

SO MUCH TENDERNESS

Lina Rodríguez Kanada 2022

SO MUCH TENDERNESS

ARU SENDO NO HANASHI

Joe Odagiri Japan 2019

ARU SENDO NO HANASHI