"Im Himmel ist die Hölle los", also known as "Hullygully in Käseburg", is a West German 82-minute film from 1984, so this one is already over 30 years old too. The director and one of the writers is Helmer von Lützelburg and it baffles me to see that he was in his 20s still when he made this one and nonetheless it was pretty much the end of his (until then) prolific career. Billie Zöckler plays the female lead and her talent here carries the film nicely. Also surprised to see her career did not really go off at any point afterward. The most known cast member is certainly the late Dirk Bach, who was also just like his co-lead Ralph Morgenstern at the beginning of his career. Much more experienced actors in here include Marianne Sägebrecht and the Fassbinder gang Valentin, Raab and Baer. This is without a doubt a very unique movie. It is shrill,m loud and extremely over the top and with all these attributes, it is a perfect parody of the German television (show) branch. Yes, a whole lot of the action here is neither realistic nor authentic, but there are also many scenes that bring a lot of truth with them and they depict it exactly (or slightly exaggerated) the way it is. A teenage girl (actually played by a grown-up woman) is happy when her favorite television show and host come to her little village. But things are not what they seem and this appears to all the characters just like a murder happening during all the spectacle surrounding the relocation. It was a fun watch for the most part and it's good the film is really short, because this way it stays essential and never drags. Here we have the evidence that quality film from 1980's Germany exists. Go see it!
3 Reviews
Is it trying to be sarcastic?
ann-ty13 December 2006
"Im Himmel ist die Hölle los" is a film trying to be sarcastic and bright. It has however everything what a bad film has - poor cast, amateurish director, unskilled editor and mediocre scenario.
Mimi Schrillmann (Billie Zöckler) is in love with a TV host Willi Wunder (Dirk Bach). She is young, naive and psychedelic. He is middle-aged, hooked and unavailable. They are both fat and ugly.
She lives in a small town in Germany and her life consists of going to school where nobody likes her, eating and getting bored in front of TV. She has no father (I wonder if it has any deeper meaning...), her mother (Barbara Valentin) has an affair with their neighbor (Harry Baer). He has a manlike wife (Walter Bockmayer) and a either normally stupid or being deliberately obtuse daughter Elke (Cleo Kretschmer), who is also in love with Willy Wunder, like all the people in the world.
Willi Wunder has a kitsch TV-program and a pretty assistant Vanessa played by Beate Hasenau (it's funny-she's the only pretty person in the film). His assistant (Ralph Morgenstern) ensures him drugs and deals with his problems.
I must say that for the first twenty minutes happens nothing, but it seems to be nicely psychedelic (because of Mimmi and Willy Wunder Show). But the film gets duller. Even if the deliberately kitsch scenes make you laugh they do it only for few minutes. Showed constantly are getting tiring.
Willy Wunder comes to Mimmi's time to do his show there. Because of Vanessa's big demands Willy (or rather his assistant) "fires" her. Now he is looking for a new one and Mimmi is trying to get this job.
I watched this film because of the title actually. And I am disappointed. The characters are as strange as it is possible, probably because the writer had no idea how to build a good plot. This film is a big mess actually. To make something ironic it must be at first bright and intelligent, not over-original. "Im Himmel ist die Hölle los" pretends to be sarcastic and mock at TV-society. Well, the director failed. And a beautiful title is wasted.
Mimi Schrillmann (Billie Zöckler) is in love with a TV host Willi Wunder (Dirk Bach). She is young, naive and psychedelic. He is middle-aged, hooked and unavailable. They are both fat and ugly.
She lives in a small town in Germany and her life consists of going to school where nobody likes her, eating and getting bored in front of TV. She has no father (I wonder if it has any deeper meaning...), her mother (Barbara Valentin) has an affair with their neighbor (Harry Baer). He has a manlike wife (Walter Bockmayer) and a either normally stupid or being deliberately obtuse daughter Elke (Cleo Kretschmer), who is also in love with Willy Wunder, like all the people in the world.
Willi Wunder has a kitsch TV-program and a pretty assistant Vanessa played by Beate Hasenau (it's funny-she's the only pretty person in the film). His assistant (Ralph Morgenstern) ensures him drugs and deals with his problems.
I must say that for the first twenty minutes happens nothing, but it seems to be nicely psychedelic (because of Mimmi and Willy Wunder Show). But the film gets duller. Even if the deliberately kitsch scenes make you laugh they do it only for few minutes. Showed constantly are getting tiring.
Willy Wunder comes to Mimmi's time to do his show there. Because of Vanessa's big demands Willy (or rather his assistant) "fires" her. Now he is looking for a new one and Mimmi is trying to get this job.
I watched this film because of the title actually. And I am disappointed. The characters are as strange as it is possible, probably because the writer had no idea how to build a good plot. This film is a big mess actually. To make something ironic it must be at first bright and intelligent, not over-original. "Im Himmel ist die Hölle los" pretends to be sarcastic and mock at TV-society. Well, the director failed. And a beautiful title is wasted.
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