The above is basically the summary of the inner struggle the filmmaking seemed to be having defining what this film is supposed to be about. "Die neue Wohnung" is one of the least known films by Hans Richter, the German expressionist painter and filmmaker who became one of the more important dadaists of the 1920's and 30's. Understandably, it is one of his least known movies, a fact unsurprising mostly because of how much it deviates from the rest of his output, but also due to the lack of a mainstream English title. The translation of the German is apparently "The New Apartment", but this is neither an adequate nor appropriate way to describe the movie, as it contains far more variety in subject matter than what the title seems to suggest. Simply put, it is a puzzling and slightly enigmatic work that certainly deserves more attention than it has gotten - not a brilliant movie but interesting in its own unique way.
"Die neue Wohnung" seems to be Hans Richter's attempt at making a documentary film, but he seems to have struggled a lot with the concept of a movie that just captures brief moments of life. This is because of the fact that while the twenty-eight minute short begins documenting scenery of a German town, it struggles to remain focused on just this as Richter starts throwing in all manner of abstract effects, such as stop-motion and superimpositions which distract from the main focal point. The man seems to have been unable to resist doing the usual sort of dadaism with what he intended to be a documentary movie, which is rather humorous to see. This is not to say it is a bad thing; in fact, it adds a fairly entertaining element to a film that is otherwise interesting mainly to historians wanting to see German life in the early 30's. Strange, interesting, and certainly worth more recognition than it seems to be getting online.
"Die neue Wohnung" seems to be Hans Richter's attempt at making a documentary film, but he seems to have struggled a lot with the concept of a movie that just captures brief moments of life. This is because of the fact that while the twenty-eight minute short begins documenting scenery of a German town, it struggles to remain focused on just this as Richter starts throwing in all manner of abstract effects, such as stop-motion and superimpositions which distract from the main focal point. The man seems to have been unable to resist doing the usual sort of dadaism with what he intended to be a documentary movie, which is rather humorous to see. This is not to say it is a bad thing; in fact, it adds a fairly entertaining element to a film that is otherwise interesting mainly to historians wanting to see German life in the early 30's. Strange, interesting, and certainly worth more recognition than it seems to be getting online.
