Stephan Graf v. Bothmer: BUSTER KEATON - SHERLOCK JR.

Bothmer's score for "Sherlock Jr." is light-footed yet highly precise. It virtuously and with surprising twists and turns comments on Keaton's dream logic with wit and charm. Slapstick thus becomes a sonic choreography.

"Sherlock Jr." is not only one of Buster Keaton's funniest but also one of his most astonishing films. He plays a shy projectionist who dreams of being a great detective. He falls asleep in the cinema—and finds himself on the screen. What follows is one of the most virtuosic sequences in film history: Like a sleepwalker, Keaton stumbles across the screen from cut to cut through locations, seasons, and situations. The cinema itself becomes the stage for a breathtaking interplay of space and time.

"Sherlock Jr." is a comedy, a love story, and a meta-film all in one. Keaton performs stunts that would hardly be filmed today for safety reasons, while simultaneously exploring how cinematic images shape our desires and perceptions. Thus, the slapstick detective story transforms into a tender love letter to cinema itself. A film about the essence of cinema—and incredibly funny at the same time. [Buster Keaton, Roscoe Arbuckle, USA 1924]