Memorial for ëRosenstrasseí German Filmmaker von Trotta Talks of Inspiration for Film by Ky N. Nguyen At an outdoor cafe on a pleasant summer day, The Washington Diplomat met with the equally warm German filmmaker Margarethe von Trotta. The previous night, to a select audience at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, she presented her film "Rosenstrasse." Itís about a little-known case of civil disobedience in World War II Berlin when Aryan women protested the confinement of their Jewish husbands. Von Trotta remarked, "The fact that they gathered and protested there at all is impossible to imagine in the face of the history of National Socialism, and the fact that these were women protesting once again comes back to a personal aspect: My films are usually about womenóthatís my prison!" She continued, "On the one hand, the women who voted for Hitler at the time were in the majority. Without them, he may not have come to power. They had surrendered to him like a bridegroom, just like religious women in the Middle Ages who worshiped Jesus as their bridegroom. Hitlerís success was to a large extent based on this loveóthe dedication and enthusiasm of German women. "And on the other hand, in Rosenstrasse there were uncompromising women who were protesting against him and fighting for their Jewish husbands. This contradiction, the age-old German virtue of loyaltyówhich over the years has sometimes been applied to undeserving causesóand these women were immeasurably loyal Ö was one of the reasons why the soldiers in Rosenstrasse could not easily shoot at them. After all, these were Aryan women, who had always done and fulfilled exactly what was asked of them: to be loyal to their husbands," the director explained. "This is possibly the heart of the matter, i.e., that this was not a political demonstration in the usual sense. These women did not intend to act as a political group, but each of the women was in search of her husband. They did not see themselves as heroines, they were afraid, they were in despair, and their courage was a result of their despair." Chris Doyle: Cinematic Painter The Washington Diplomat chatted with loquacious Hong Kong-based Australian cinematographer Christopher Doyle, via phone from New York. Catching his breath, he said, "I just shot a commercial with Lance Armstrong in Paris. He came straight from winning the Tour de France." "Hero," Doyleís visually masterful collaboration with Zhang Yimou, is finally hitting American screens after two years on Miramaxís shelf. Perhaps the worldís best cinematographer, Doyle noted, "I only work with friends." He praised Zhang, himself a former director of photography for Chen Kaige (for whom Doyle shot "Temptress Moon"). Referring to the visionary use of color used in "Hero," Doyle said, "Yimou knew exactly what he wanted." Asked to compare working in Asia with the West, Doyle remarked, "Well, I can express myself better in Chinese. I generally prefer working in Asian cinema to Western cinema, which is more Shakespearean in terms of strict plot structure and such. Asian cinema, and culture in general, is more collaborative and organic." Of course, the thought of organic filmmaking brings to mind Hong Kong auteur Wong Kar-Wai, for whom Doyle serves as the regular cinematographer. Their latest film, "2046," was rumored to be the front-runner for the Cannes Palme díor that was won by "Fahrenheit 911." For his work on Wongís "In the Mood for Love," Doyle previously won a Technical Grand Prize at Cannes. "Itís like an old marriage," Doyle said of working with Wong. "Weíve grown together over the years. We couldnít make ëChungking Expressí today. Weíve moved beyond that. Thatís why we went to Buenos Aires to shoot ëHappy Together,í for a change of pace. We ended up filming in an apartment that looks just like Hong Kong!" Takashi Miike: Master of the Macabre Japanese director Takashi Miike has a reputation as a horror filmmaker, yet heís highly respected on the international film festival and art-house circuit. In 1998, for example, he was the only Japanese director on Time magazineís list of top 10 non-Hollywood filmmakers. Following the notoriety of "Audition," his latest film "Gozu" wonít fail to astound viewers. Speaking through a translator by phone from Los Angeles, Miike said, "I liked the challenge of mixing the horror and Yakuza gangster genres, which no one has done previously. Japanese audiences have seen many Yakuza movies, but nothing like this." He also blends in a lot of black comedy into the hybrid. Miike shrugs off his reputation for shocking material. That nonchalance extends to his distinctive visuals. He simply remarked, "I prefer to shoot on location because itís easier and cheaper than building the right set. I find the places that look right by just walking down the street." Ky N. Nguyen is the film reviewer for The Washington Diplomat.