After I read about this film, I knew I had to see it. When I lived in Berlin, I actually spent a lot of time in Friedrichshagen (where most of the action in the movie takes place) so it was a bit nostalgic for me. I'm also a sucker for low-budget shark movies. Regardless of my reasons for seeing it, I thought it was overall funny and entertaining. This is pretty much strictly a comedy with no real shark action, so if you're looking for that, this isn't your movie. After doing a little research on the movie, I saw that the term "nonsense film" was getting thrown around a lot, and I think I have to agree with the use of this term. Almost everything about the movie is very far-fetched and nonsensical, but it also offers some good deadpan humor as well some funny slapstick moments. Not all of the jokes are winners though, and some tend to drag on for too long. Watching this in America may also pose a problem, as their are English subtitles (although not the greatest) but the DVD is only released in region 2. Also, I think you have to have lived in Germany (and better yet Berlin/Freidrichshagen) to appreciate some of the humor. Overall though, I found it to be very entertaining if you're looking for a goofy shark movie that doesn't take itself seriously at all.
5 Reviews
Friedrichshagen you old *****
Horst_In_Translation17 May 2015
Warning: Spoilers
The Müggelsee is one of Berlin's biggest lakes. Or I should probably not mention Berlin, but Friedrichshagen as the protagonists in this movie put such great emphasis on how Friedrichshagen is much cooler than Berlin. The film runs for roughly 100 minutes and could actually have been very cringeworthy if this was not a 100% comedy movie and nobody is taking themselves seriously and everything and everybody is over the stop already starting with the ridiculous idea of having a shark in a Berlin lake. The severed hand of Gwisdek's character very early already indicates the direction this film is gonna take. It was a bloody scene, but also funny somehow. I have to say I am not too great on Gwisdek (actually prefer his son), but he is bearable in this movie. Same goes for Benno Fürmann. The film always walks on the fine line between being funny and being ridiculous, but most of the time it's very positive. Haußmann and Regener reunite for this movie after "Herr Lehmann" and they also cast some of the actors Haußmann regularly works with such as Uwe Dag Berlin. Most of the cast here are actually Berlin-born actors. Anna-Maria Hirsch was a very positive surprise as this was her first movie role, even if she worked already with Haußmann on theater plays. Schilling and Gwisdek reunite here. They played together in the massive success "Oh Boy" the year before for which they both won German Film awards.
Occasionally this movie reminded me of a Helge Schneider film. The humor is really random, like everything about Thalbach's character who is so funny in this film. Also most of the dialogs are. What people say and how other people react to it often doesn't make any sense at all. For me, the second half of the film was better than the first half. I watched this film back when it was released in theaters and now again for a second time and the second time was even better than the first. The film's music is pretty good too. Some really catchy tunes, especially the one in the title of my review ("Friedrichshagen, du alte Nutte"). Also this film is a prime example for a great movie trailer. They really included some of the best moments of the film in there, so you can decide very nicely on the trailer if this film is for you. I found it wonderful, especially the moment when the people from another lake call and also want shark alarm. The title is probably also a reference to the embarrassing "Hai-Alarm auf Mallorca". But Hai-Alarm am Müggelsee" is a pretty good 100 minutes and especially worth a watch for people who live in Berlin or have lived here at some point in the past. At the end, it says that a second film will come out soon, but this may also just have been a joke or another of many movie references included here. Very creative work with some great dialogs. Recommended
Occasionally this movie reminded me of a Helge Schneider film. The humor is really random, like everything about Thalbach's character who is so funny in this film. Also most of the dialogs are. What people say and how other people react to it often doesn't make any sense at all. For me, the second half of the film was better than the first half. I watched this film back when it was released in theaters and now again for a second time and the second time was even better than the first. The film's music is pretty good too. Some really catchy tunes, especially the one in the title of my review ("Friedrichshagen, du alte Nutte"). Also this film is a prime example for a great movie trailer. They really included some of the best moments of the film in there, so you can decide very nicely on the trailer if this film is for you. I found it wonderful, especially the moment when the people from another lake call and also want shark alarm. The title is probably also a reference to the embarrassing "Hai-Alarm auf Mallorca". But Hai-Alarm am Müggelsee" is a pretty good 100 minutes and especially worth a watch for people who live in Berlin or have lived here at some point in the past. At the end, it says that a second film will come out soon, but this may also just have been a joke or another of many movie references included here. Very creative work with some great dialogs. Recommended
"Shark Alarm at Mueggelsee Synopsis
rightwingisevil2 October 2013
Synopsis: "Friedrich Hagen at the beautiful Mueggelsee in Berlin has a problem: the bitten hand the lifeguard indicates that a security risk floats in water. Every effort is made to displace the problem, but sometime is not so funny: The shark alarm is declared! A devilish mixture of intrigue and anger, love and hate, power and city marketing developed a pressure under which the boiler Friedrichshagener civilization threatens to explode in an inferno of madness"
I used Google Translate to translate this film's weird title into English, but the result also turned out to be weird and almost meaningless. Shark Alarm? Guess it was simply lost in translation.
I used Google Translate to translate this film's weird title into English, but the result also turned out to be weird and almost meaningless. Shark Alarm? Guess it was simply lost in translation.
This movie will keep you on the edge of your seat from the very beginning ..
Thom-Peters13 February 2023
... the urge to just walk away will be that strong. It's really tough to get through the first 10 minutes and it won't get better. I promise.
"Hai-Alarm" is not about sharks. It is not just another parody on silly genre movies ending up being even more ridiculous and far less funny than they are. It is all about Friedrichshagen, a borough in the outskirts of Berlin, with a population of less than 20.000. That's where the author and director Leander Haußmann grew up. Except for the 20.000 it's hard to tell, what kind of audience this movie was supposed to attract. It is most likely the most provincial Berlin movie ever. It looks like it has been made by dilettantes, but it is actually an extra long insider joke, made by a bunch of well-known German artists from the higher echelons of the theater and movie world, who wanted to do something stupid and funny. Funny how?
Well, they are all into humoristic strangeness, into a very low-key, sometimes barely noticeable kind of humor. In some ways it feels like a homage to the 1990s:
It is possible to find things of cultural significance in "Hai-Alarm", it's possible to understand some of the more obscure references. It's possible to enjoy this movie, it'a just not very likely. Hell, it's even possible that some of the numerous gags will make you laugh.
One of the references hardly anybody will get: At a press conference the mayor is asked questions in English, French and Russian. He answers fluently in the same language. It's a long and pointless scene. "Hai-Alarm" is from 2013, in 2009 a guy from the BBC asked then German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle, if he could ask in English and if the minister could please answer in English. Westerwelle rejected the request. Most people would consider this to be normal and trivial. Some very special Germans cried "Scandal! Provincial!", because of this refusal. But extensively mocking this nothingburger years later? That's really too special. Then the scene gets even more special: The whole hall starts to sing: "Friedrichshagen, you woman of ill repute". This box-office disaster most certainly did not better her reputation. ("Bad German Movies"-Review No. 18)
"Hai-Alarm" is not about sharks. It is not just another parody on silly genre movies ending up being even more ridiculous and far less funny than they are. It is all about Friedrichshagen, a borough in the outskirts of Berlin, with a population of less than 20.000. That's where the author and director Leander Haußmann grew up. Except for the 20.000 it's hard to tell, what kind of audience this movie was supposed to attract. It is most likely the most provincial Berlin movie ever. It looks like it has been made by dilettantes, but it is actually an extra long insider joke, made by a bunch of well-known German artists from the higher echelons of the theater and movie world, who wanted to do something stupid and funny. Funny how?
Well, they are all into humoristic strangeness, into a very low-key, sometimes barely noticeable kind of humor. In some ways it feels like a homage to the 1990s:
- Frank Castorf (Frank Konopke). In the 90s he was the most critically acclaimed theater director in Germany. His meandering stagings often had a vibe quite similar to that of "Hai-Alarm". Henry Hübchen (the major) played the protagonist in many of them.
- Sven Regener (Co-author, co-director). From 1991 to 1994 he and his band Element of Crime released three marvelous, classic albums, with unobtrusive humorous lyrics. The songs he wrote for "Hai-Alarm" sound similar, but after a while they do get a bit on the annoying side.
- Detlev Buck (Polizist Müller). In the 90s he was famous for the very special, dry & laconic humour in the movies he wrote and directed. They were based country comedies - refreshingly different from the usual quirky urban comedies. Again, "Hai-Alarm" is probably the most provincial movie about Berlin ever.
It is possible to find things of cultural significance in "Hai-Alarm", it's possible to understand some of the more obscure references. It's possible to enjoy this movie, it'a just not very likely. Hell, it's even possible that some of the numerous gags will make you laugh.
One of the references hardly anybody will get: At a press conference the mayor is asked questions in English, French and Russian. He answers fluently in the same language. It's a long and pointless scene. "Hai-Alarm" is from 2013, in 2009 a guy from the BBC asked then German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle, if he could ask in English and if the minister could please answer in English. Westerwelle rejected the request. Most people would consider this to be normal and trivial. Some very special Germans cried "Scandal! Provincial!", because of this refusal. But extensively mocking this nothingburger years later? That's really too special. Then the scene gets even more special: The whole hall starts to sing: "Friedrichshagen, you woman of ill repute". This box-office disaster most certainly did not better her reputation. ("Bad German Movies"-Review No. 18)
Kusturica-lite at Lake Müggel
slowcando14 June 2022
This charmingly-silly film has a lot of in-jokes about Berlin rivalries, a bunch of absurdist random scenes, one superb single-take street-walk, a fantastic painterly image (you'll know which one when you see it, especially if you appreciate Kubrick's Barry Lyndon) and first-rate acting from all...we got here a rare likeable German slapstick.
I'm a Köpenicker myself so felt right at home, just not sure if outsiders could get into it. Even German non-Berliners will struggle with a lot of the humour as it's very localised.
I'm a Köpenicker myself so felt right at home, just not sure if outsiders could get into it. Even German non-Berliners will struggle with a lot of the humour as it's very localised.
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