Reviews

'Höllentour' for me is regarded as the best cycling movie of the last five years, which gives an authentic insight into the real-life of professional cyclists during the 'Tour de France', the most outstanding bike-race in the world. The protagonists Aldag & Zabel do not really act, instead they just do what pros are used to do during extreme race situations with its ups and downs- they fall down and stand up again, which has a very motivating effect(perhaps a successful further development of method acting). From the very beginning of the movie both convince by their natural and sympathetic manner. For the audience it is definitely worth to get an intimate insight into the work of a professional cyclist. Danquart succeeds in transporting aesthetic pictures and combines them with a superb soundtrack. Some scenes, e.g. the prologue in Paris, are so motivating just by the power of their pictures. Even non-cyclists really enjoyed the film, since it does not demonstrate special secrets for insiders, but convinces with a fascinating composition of narrative means,e.g. editing, music, flashbacks and 'actors', who play their own role authentically.

This film was a masterpiece. It even shows that Nicholson is able to act unusually. We are used to him as grinning a man with pointed irony and sarcasm. But in the role of Warren Schmidt he did not use this specific talent just to entertain us but to open our mind for the possibly deep emptiness of people who call somewhere in their life and recognize that they aren't as rich as they are supposed to be. Schmidt tries to convince the audience that a full life should be the goal instead of just living without being aware of the own role. This can give a very positive motivation for every age.