Jesus Christ Savior (Jesus Christus Erloser)

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Documentary

At the height of the free love movement, Jesus Christ Superstar is a stage sensation, and controversial actor Klaus Kinski takes the stage of Berlin's Deutschlandhalle to read from his own text entitled Jesus Christus Erlöser. The date is November 20, 1971, and Kinski stands bathed in the spotlight on an otherwise empty stage.

The focus of the evening is for Kinski to tell the tale of a man who would rather be massacred than continue to live and fester. The resulting performance erupted into a frenzy of anger and turmoil. But later, after most of the crowd had departed in disgust, Kinski accomplished his goal of reading his text beginning to end.

For the handful of audience members who remained, it was an enthralling experience to witness a hoarse Kinski's quiet intensity.

For modern audiences, filmmaker Peter Geyer's document of the evening's events serves to capture the energy of an uncertain period in 20th Century history and offer a compelling portrait of an artist who never ceased to challenge either himself or his audience.