Set against a backdrop of rising Nazi power in Berlin in the early 1930s, this is a wonderfully colourful and sexually provocative piece of musical cinema that centres around the cabaret in the "Kit Kat Club". Introduced by the outstandingly ambiguous Joel Grey as the Master of Ceremonies, we are introduced to the star attraction - "Miss Sally Bowles" (Liza Minnelli) and for the next two hours we see aspects of their stage entertainment interspersed with her life, and that of her new-found friend "Brian" (Michael York) as they fall in and out of love, of bed - and of bed with their friend "Max" (Helmut Griem) too! Just to defuse some of that intensity, there is a parallel storyline featuring the lovestruck "Fritz" (Fritz Wepper) who is the initially gold-digging, but ultimately sincere suitor for the hand of the Jewish heiress "Natalia" (Marisa Berenson). The threads of the story are perfectly knitted together by Bob Fosse, who demonstrates the odious political and anti-semitic politics whilst also presenting us with some wonderfully entertaining dance numbers staged within the confines of a real theatre. This gives us an added intimacy and richness to the performances. We see their faces, the holes in their stockings, the audience are in the thick of things and frequently participants (willingly or not!). Of course, the whole thing is really about the superb voice of Miss Minnelli - and "Money, Money"; "Cabaret" and the show stopping "Maybe This Time" from Messrs. Kander & Ebb are the stuff of showbiz legend. Also, to be fair - which I am not always to Michael York; he turns in an honest and authentic effort as the hapless young Englishman who must adapt to his new friends and surroundings. I saw this on stage very recently, and thoroughly enjoyed it. This is as close a representation to theatre staging as I reckon it is possible to make and I thoroughly enjoyed it too!
**With qualities and many problems, it is a film that proves that the Oscars do not make films immortal or more significant.**
It's hard for me to believe how this film dominated the 1972 Oscar ceremony. That night, it proved to be a devourer of statuettes in a head-to-head duel with “Godfather”, Coppola's greatest work, winning eight awards: Best Original Soundtrack, Best Art Direction, Best Sound, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Actress (for Liza Minelli) and Best Supporting Actor. I know that a lot of people like to detract from the Oscars and I agree with some of their arguments, but it will be an award to be taken into account as long as it is the most prestigious cinematographic award in the world. And let's face it: eight Oscars is a lot. After seeing the film, however, I started to think that, despite his qualities, he may have been too lucky.
The film gives Liza Minelli everything she needs to shine as a top star, even though until then she could barely call herself an actress: apart from a few minor roles, she had only made two films and none of them left any relevant memory. Without much effort and with everything helping, she shows us great commitment, charisma and presence, absolutely dominating the scene. She deserves an applause and her work makes the film better. The film also features the hard-working and committed participation of Joel Grey, as the cabaret presenter. The rest of the cast is much weaker, with some actors, such as Marisa Berenson and Michael York, being particularly irritating.
Set in Berlin in the 1930s, it has good sets and costumes, managing to give us the flavor of the time and of moral decadence and the desire to escape the reality experienced in some parts of society. The cabaret is, therefore, a surreal bubble where reality does not exist. For this reason, the film fails to convey the idea of the growing popularity of the Nazis. As a musical, it's unlike any I've ever seen. In a film like “Mary Poppins”, for example, the music accompanies the action and the story doesn't stop because the characters sing and dance instead of walking and talking. Here, the songs interrupt the action and, sometimes, they do so in an unpleasant way, as if it were an intermission. To make things more difficult, the songs are uninteresting, ugly and don't stick with the ear. The film contains some nudity and touches on difficult themes (sex, abortion, homosexuality and prejudice), so it is completely unsuitable for very young children.
The biggest problem with the film is, for me, the story we are told and the fact that there isn't a single character capable of arousing any empathy. Sally, Minelli's character, is an irresponsible, self-centered, futile and toxic creature in every way, and the story told is ugly, self-indulgent, excessively bizarre and seems disorganized, very confusing and disjointed, a patchwork. surreal. Perhaps this explains why, despite the awards collected, and the qualities mentioned, this film ended up being forgotten, being unknown to most people who didn't see it at the time.
