On the Magic Cast by the Movie "Bagdad Cafe"

"Bagdad Cafe" is a West German film produced in 1987. (Original title: Out of Rosenheim)

It is one of those "good movies" that became a topic of conversation in Japan during the mini-theater boom that started in the late 80s.

Many people love this movie.
Just like with "Cinema Paradiso," I feel like I've never really heard anyone speak ill of it.
I myself am one of those people who, since watching it in college, have felt a sense of fantasy in its unique visuals and story.

Well, it's a masterpiece that I don't really need to talk about now, but since I love it, this time I'm going to "Bagdad Cafe" note" about it.

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"Bagdad Cafe"

Director: Percy Adlon
Cast: Marianne Sägebrecht, CCH Pounder

This movie, which is also called an adult fantasy, has such beautiful shots in every scene.
There are visuals throughout that look like they have a yellow filter on them, which is one of the characteristics of director Percy Adlon.
There is no doubt that the impressive imagery and colors, such as the scene where the water tower is cleaned—which was also used for the poster—and the boomerang scene at sunset, create a unique fantasy.

However, that is not the only magic cast on this movie.
Especially in the beginning of the movie, I think there are many truly |magical parts.
If I were to introduce a few of those personal "magic points"...

Magic No. 1: The Unstable Intro Scene

Sorry, you might say, "Is that where you start?" but what drew me in was the intro part where the couple who came from Germany breaks up after a fight. (It's really the very first scene.)
The tempo is good, but the angle of the screen is tilted, and it feels unstable; don't you think it conveys the frustration between the couple?

And then, when the woman (Jasmine) starts walking down the road alone, the theme song begins to play, the angle returns, and the screen stabilizes...
It's a scene of just over three minutes, but for me, it was an intro that really captured my heart.

Magic No. 2: The Divine Theme Song

The theme song that plays following the intro scene mentioned earlier, "Calling You," is just so impressive.
The singing voice of gospel singer Jevetta Steele is so divine that once you hear it, you can't forget it.
My memory of that time is hazy, but I think this theme song actually became a topic of conversation before the movie itself did...

"Calling You"

This song was written for the movie, and the lyrics are based on the story.
"A road from Vegas," "a coffee machine that needs some fixing," "a little cafe"—the scenery that will be depicted later is scattered throughout the lyrics.
And the part sung in the chorus is "calling you"...
If you translate it literally, it feels like "I am calling you," but who is calling whom... at this point, you don't know.
It's that kind of mysterious lyric.

The second verse includes the line, "But we both know a change is coming."
You understand this after watching the movie, but I think this "we" refers to the two protagonists: the cafe's owner, Brenda, and Jasmin, who came from Germany.
If so, this can be interpreted as the "inner voice" of the cafe's owner, Brenda, calling out to Jasmin, who is wandering the desert road.

This theme song, "Calling You," is a song filled with such prophecies.

Magic No. 3: Two Lights Representing Two Women

This work depicts the interaction between Jasmin (left), who came from Germany, and the owner, Brenda (right), set at the Bagdad Cafe.
However, at the beginning of the story, both are in despair.
Jasmin had a fight with her husband while traveling and ended up wandering into the Bagdad Cafe.
Also, Brenda is at rock bottom, having kicked out her husband who wouldn't work properly and struggling with everything, including running the cafe, and she is crying alone.
The story begins to move when these two meet.

The theme song prophesies that a change will come to the two of them, but there are other scenes that foreshadow their fateful encounter.
That is the "two lights" that Jasmin sees in the sky while wandering the road as the theme song "Calling You" plays.
It feels like these lights symbolize the two women who will meet later, and it's a somewhat revelatory sight.

Later, Jasmin, who was led to the "Bagdad Cafe," finds a painting in her assigned room that depicts two lights in the sky.

This painting is the work of Rudy, an old painter who lives on the cafe's grounds, and it seems as if Jasmin feels something fateful about the place called "Bagdad Cafe."

There are various other spells cast in the early stages, such as the "magic of the yellow coffee pot."
That is precisely why I think the subsequent developments feel like a fantasy.

Magic No. 4: The Well-being of the Community

Now, it's not exactly the early stage, but one more thing...

Director Percy Adlon has made three films with Marianne Sägebrecht, who plays Jasmin.
"Bagdad Cafe" is the second, the first is "Sugarbaby," and the third is "Rosalie Goes Shopping."

"Sugarbaby" 1984

"Rosalie Goes Shopping" 1989

I have seen all three, but honestly, I don't feel the same fantasy in the other two as I do in "Bagdad Cafe." (This is just my personal opinion, though.)

I thought about why that might be this time, and in "Bagdad Cafe," the protagonist's "well-being" is connected to the "well-being" of the community that is the Bagdad Cafe.
The happiness depicted in the other two works is personal and not connected to the happiness of the community.
I think this is probably the big difference.

In real life, it is quite rare for one's own well-being to be connected to the well-being of the community.
Of course, while I think it would be wonderful if that were the case, achieving it is quite difficult.

The state of 'Bagdad Cafe', which realized such a difficult situation, is like a small utopia and is truly a fantasy for adults.
I think that is the reason why so many people love this movie.

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It was produced in 1987, so it is a movie from over 30 years ago, but it remains just as charming today.

In a previous article, I wrote that I wouldn't watch the 'New Director's Cut,' but actually, I have watched it since then!
I didn't notice much of a difference, but there is no doubt that the picture quality has been improved!

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