AFI FILM FEST: WEEK 2

L istings and commentary for Week 2 of the American Film Institute Film Festival of Los Angeles, which runs through March 26:

FRIDAY

“My Life for Zarah Leander” (U.S.A./West Germany, 1986, 3 p.m.). As the title suggests, Christian Blackwood’s intriguing documentary is not just about the Nazi-era, Swedish-born UFA singing star, but also about one of her most devoted fans, Paul Seiler, a middle-aged homosexual. That both Seiler and Leander (1907-1981)--seen in a comprehensive German TV interview late in her life--are remarkably candid helps define the elusive, sometime cruel and tragic nature of stardom. The self-absorbed, ambitious Leander--famed for her deep voice--didn’t, alas, forsake Germany until 1943; clips from her films suggest that by and large they are perfect examples of Nazi kitsch. Recommended.