Kamikaze ‘89

Rainer Werner Fassbinder takes a rare onscreen lead role in what would be his last screen appearance in Wolf Gremm's 1982 New Wave sci-fi cop drama. Based on the satirical 1964 novel Murder on the Thirty-First Floor by Swedish crime writer Per Wahlöö, Kamikaze ‘89 is set in a near future where news and entertainment are controlled by a single entity called the Combine—a corporate monopoly that narcotizes the population with mind-numbing reality TV and upbeat news reports of sunny weather. Lt. Jansen (Fassbinder) is assigned to investigate a bomb threat at the headquarters of the Combine, which is run by a man known as Blue Panther. This is a cartoon totalitarian culture where vegetables are forbidden and the police salute one another with a thumbs up and a smile. The film is filled with comic books—both real and fictional (the Blue Panther is the star of his own series, where his nemesis Kyrsnopompas has become an icon of revolution)—that are meant to hammer the prevailing message home. While the mystery is silly and confusing, the film itself is entertaining, with Fassbinder dressed in a leopard-print suit and playing racquetball in a police disco in his off hours. One can see the ravages of drugs and alcohol on Fassbinder, who is pale, pudgy, and often out of breath (he died before the film was released). A cult film that is more curio than classic, extras include audio commentary by producer Regina Ziegler, a pair of bonus documentaries by Gremm, and a booklet. A strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)