Directed by Dietmar Schipek, Ursula Pürrer, A. Hans Scheirl
Written by Ursula Pürrer, Dietmar Schipek
Starring Susana Helmayr, Ursula Pürrer, A. Hans Scheirl
Running time 1 hour, 29 minutes
Now on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber

by Benjamin Leonard, Managing Zine Editor, Best Boy

Synopsis of Flaming Ears per Kino Lorber:

Super-8 DIY flmmaking at its most audacious, Flaming Ears is a pop sci-fi lesbian extravaganza set in the year 2700 in the fictional burned-out city of Asche. In this cardboard-and-plastic dystopia, Spy is a comic book artist whose printing presses are burned down by Volley, a sexed-up pyromaniac. Wounded in her quest for revenge, Spy is sheltered by Nun, an amoral alien in a red plastic suit with a predilection for reptiles...who also happens to be Volley’s lover. This story of obsession and revenge is also an anti-romantic plea for love in all its many forms.

Having been a weirdo teen in the early-to-mid nineties, much of the aesthetic and themes really brings me back to those exploratory years.

What features make it special?

Brand New 4K Master
Three shorts from directors Puerrer and Scheirl
-Super-8-Girl Games (1985, 3 Min.)
-Jagged trickle sneaks shamelessly thigh-wetting (1985, 4 Min.)
-The Black Heart Drips
(1985, 13 Min.)
2022 Theatrical Trailer
Optional English Subtitles

Why you need to add it to your video library:

I grew up on the jagged edge, dystopian video stylings of late-80s industrial bands (that I later learned were heavily referencing the films Derek Jarman made with Throbbing Gristle/Psychic TV). Abrasive music was set to grainy images depicting the struggles of being human in inhumane surroundings and breakneck jumps from asexuality to body-horror to hyper-sexuality and back again were de rigueur. They encouraged a questioning of what body, self, and sexuality even mean in an inherited world that felt doomed since way before we came along. Films that carry these themes always lure me in. Just one glance at the poster and a two sentence synopsis for Flaming Ears was all it took. (For another example, Divinity was a must-see for me at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.) There’s really not much more to tell about the story beyond the synopsis. This film is more mood and style than narrative, brought to you through handmade miniatures, stop-motion filming, and the jarring behaviors of the characters. Tori discussed all of this in their review last year, when it was screening at Metrograph.

What I want to tell you about are the three shorts that are special features on the disc. Each one adds a new piece to the puzzle of understanding the style, themes, and artistic development that eventually led to Flaming Ears. Super-8 Girl Games shows two women, dressed in tank-tops and hot-pants, basically playing a game of Pong, where their bodies are the paddles and the ball is a dart that has been scratched onto the negative, frame by frame, to superimpose the image into the scene. The game progresses from the darts to more biological projectiles as the film goes on. Continuing in the biological, Jagged Trickle Sneaks Shamelessly Thigh-Wetting may be exactly what you’re thinking from the title. Nude women with assorted body art and piercings participate in the titular trickling that leads to wet thighs. There’s a feeling of home-movie kink collection mixed with an art installation exploring the base nature of our bodies. Bringing these styles and themes together, Black Heart Drips uses paper cut-outs as props, scenery, and costumes to explore body, gender, and sexuality. There’s an evident logical connection from these no-budget shorts that the filmmakers developed into the main feature. While I enjoyed viewing Flaming Ears itself, it was affirming to witness the progression that got them there. Sometimes we forget that neither an idea nor a movie aren’t just born. There are always processes to developing the style and concepts that go into making them.

Flaming Ears is now available on Blu-ray here.