User Reviews

The plot kernel of this German black-and-white crime film is very strong, with the protagonist recruited as bagman for an industrial espionage job. But the plot isn't fleshed out enough, with too many gaps in logic, almost no characterization, and too much left unexplained. A lot of screen time is wasted with transition scenes where characters are driving or walking from place to place. And there are too many segments where two people are talking and the camera only shows the non-reactive listener instead of the speaker, seemingly to make overdubbing easier, since neither character displays emotion. The only seeming emotion in the film was a few seconds when Monika Zinnenberg was happily dancing. The soundtrack includes some cover music from Liberty Records, including numbers by Cher, Johnny Rivers, and The Ventures. The main characters are mostly unemotional but quite attractive, and some of the arty camera shots are visually impressive. The film probably succeeds on some level, as a French New Wave / New German Cinema hybrid, even if it is not fulfilling for a mainstream audience.