I really don't understand why this film did not get any distribution in the US. Maybe it was because we don't really like to share our rides with other people, so the concept would have little meaning--I don't know. I do know that this is an exceptionally interesting movie. The acting is superb, the directing is spot on, and the camera-work is great. The film never resorts to simple answers, allowing every character to have more than one facet. The character of Peter (strikingly played by Ulrich Matthes) is certainly creepy, but the film shows us his social awkwardness and loneliness. We understand the Carolin's anger (Carolin played by the always lovely Anna Brüggemann), but we also see that she has demons of her own to contend with. I really wish more people could see this film. If you don't speak German, the German DVD does have English subtitles. That might help. If you find a copy of this (and you have a multi-region DVD player), by all means, see it.
2 Reviews
Next roadhouse comin' up; you can break my nose there."
HuskyEnzo23 July 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Once more – a widely unknown but excellent German film. Contrary to your average road-trip-movie this one is all true. Because it could be.
The movie tells us some very regular stories around ordinary people which meet first (and last?) time via car-sharing, driving trough Germany towards Berlin on different routes. They have to spent hours in their pods, strung-out by traffic-jams, getting along with each others deficits, ignorance, lack of inter-cultural or general sensitivity, sexual tresspassing (without getting voyeuristic), annoying communication but as well fun, relation and maybe even perspectives for later lifes.
All of them actors are plain and simple performing on highest grades. They ain't actors after a while anymore, they become the characters! The editing is great, the music outstanding without drowning the visual, the camera physically accelerates the film towards it's climax. The story ... well ... everyone who ever hitchhiked or used car-sharing knows that this is real. There ain't nothing better to say about a movie. Although the film doesn't even show car-racings, shoot-outs, gory violence, obvious sexuality or other standard-ingredients of regular road-movies it creates increasing tension until the end when the three storielines and their characters coincidentally appear to meet.
Mitfahrer" (=copilot) is one of the best roadmovies I've ever seen!
Oh, one of the cars and their inmates are from Kassel which granted this flick my 10th star. ;-)
The movie tells us some very regular stories around ordinary people which meet first (and last?) time via car-sharing, driving trough Germany towards Berlin on different routes. They have to spent hours in their pods, strung-out by traffic-jams, getting along with each others deficits, ignorance, lack of inter-cultural or general sensitivity, sexual tresspassing (without getting voyeuristic), annoying communication but as well fun, relation and maybe even perspectives for later lifes.
All of them actors are plain and simple performing on highest grades. They ain't actors after a while anymore, they become the characters! The editing is great, the music outstanding without drowning the visual, the camera physically accelerates the film towards it's climax. The story ... well ... everyone who ever hitchhiked or used car-sharing knows that this is real. There ain't nothing better to say about a movie. Although the film doesn't even show car-racings, shoot-outs, gory violence, obvious sexuality or other standard-ingredients of regular road-movies it creates increasing tension until the end when the three storielines and their characters coincidentally appear to meet.
Mitfahrer" (=copilot) is one of the best roadmovies I've ever seen!
Oh, one of the cars and their inmates are from Kassel which granted this flick my 10th star. ;-)
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