ThePowerofEmotionexplainsthatemotionisn’ttobeconfusedwithsentimentality.Emotionisancientandmorepowerfulthananyartform.Thefilmlooksatyoungcoupleswhorunintodifficultiesastheytrytotranslatetheirexperiencesofloveintocleardecision-making.Awomanwhohasshotherhusbandprovidesajudgewithapuzzle.Thosewholovecanbringthedeadbacktolifebymeansofco-operation.That’sthefocusoftheopera,"ThePowerPlantofEmotions"andthe"Operaofthe20thCentury"cinema.AlexanderKluge:ThePowerofFeelingWhenIstartedworkingonThePowerofFeeling,Iwasnotinarationalstate.Ididnotsay,IhaveasubjectandnowIwillmakeafilmaboutit.InsteadIwasspellboundandobservedinmydirectsurroundings,forexample,howfeelingsmove.Ihavenotreallydealtwiththethemeofmymother’sdeathandthefactthatshewastheonewhotaughtme"howfeelingsmove."NorhaveIdealtwithhowshedied.Thatwasanentirepaletteoffeelings:"Allfeelingsbelieveinahappyend,"andeveryonebelievestacitlythattheywillliveforever:Theentirepaletteissomehowoptimistic,apositiveattitudetowardslifehavingbeenputontheagendaaslongasshewasyoung,aslongasherbodyheldout,fromonedaytothenextshecollapsed.Shejustsuddenlycollapsed,likeinanoperawheredisastertakesthestageinthefifthact.ItfeltasifIhadobservedanairraidoradisaster.ThefilmThePowerofFeelingisnotaboutfeelings,butrathertheirorganization:howtheycanbeorganizedbychance,throughoutsidefactors,murder,destiny;howtheyareorganized,howtheyencounterthefortunetheyareseeking.Whatisallthisorganizationoffeelingsabout?Generallyfeelingstendtobeadictatorship.Itisadictatorshipofthemoment.ThestrongfeelingIamhavingrightnowsuppressestheothers.Forthoughtsthiswouldnotbethecase.Onethoughtattractsotherslikeamagnet.Peoplethereforeneedaffirmationbyotherpeopletobesureabouttheirownfeelings(tocounteracttheacquisitionoftheirfeelingsthroughoutsideforces).Throughtheinteractionofmanypeople,forexample,inpublic,thevariousfeelingsalsohaveamagneticattractiontooneanotherjustlikethoughtsdo.Feelingscommunicatethroughtheirmanifestationinpublic.Thecinemaisthepublicseatoffeelingsinthe20thcentury.Theorganizationissetupthusly:Evensadfeelingshaveahappyoutcomeinthecinema.Itisaboutfindingcomfort:Inthe19thcenturytheoperahousewasthehometofeelings.Anoverwhelmingmajorityofoperashadatragicend.Youobservedavictim.Iamconvincedthatthereisamoreadventuresomecombination:Feelingsinboththeoperaandtraditionalcinemaarepowerlessinthefaceofdestiny’smight.Inthe20thcenturyfeelingsbarricadedthemselvesbehindthiscomfort,inthe19thcenturytheyentrenchedthemselvesinthevalidityofthelethalseriousness.
