The subtitle of Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet’s first feature, from 1965, “Only Violence Hel
The subtitle of Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet’s first feature, from 1965, “Only Violence Helps Where Violence Reigns,” suggests the fierce political program evoked by their rigorous aesthetic. The pretext of the film, set in Cologne, is Heinrich B?ll’s novel “Billiards at Half Past Nine,” which they strip down to a handful of stark events and film with a confrontational...
