Alfred Edel’s Attack on Himself

It must have been his drive to remain alien to any form of categorization that motivated the Lower-Bavarian acting eccentric Alfred Edel (1932-1993). Alexander Kluge first discovered him for Abschied von gestern (1966). He subsequently rose to become a sought-after actor in the New German Cinema movement of the 1970s and 80s, playing curious supporting roles in films by Herzog, Klick, Syberberg, Treut, Achternbusch, Straub/Huillet and Schlingensief. Whereby playing is not apt for what Edel did in front of the camera: He always assumed a persona he must have invented for himself very early on – if it wasn't identical...