Der Schuh des Manitu

"Der Schuh des Manitu" may not be the best movie ever made, but it is certainly the best one to keep me sane in times like these (September 2001). It is such a feelgood movie, that no matter how foul my mood is that day, after I've seen it, I'm really uplifted. It is very easy to get addicted to this movie because the characters are so lovable, and it pays sort of hommage to one of my childhood heroes - Winnetou. The dialogues are made of phrases that we in Munich use in daily life, and Abahachi, Winnetouch and Ranger speak the same dialect as my friends and I do, so it is more like following our neighbours lives, than watching a movie, except maybe for the locations and the costumes. The camera work is splendid and the musical score is very touching. Michael Herbig has done great in writing and directing, and his unforgettable performances as the Indian twin brothers are way too good for words. A highly recommended movie if you are in need of a laugh. And stay till after the end credits, you won't regret it!

The main characters known from german TV (Bully Parade, SAT1) play a very funny comedy western parody. If you understand german, please watch it in our language, because in translations you wouldn't know that the Indians and Cow-Boys speak Bavarian dialect! (But understandable - don't worry!) This movie is really worth to watch and as far as I know THE best visited german made movie in cinemas!

Well, you shouldn't expect a good story-line or high-drama. But if you expect laughs and some movie-parodies your at home. You will notice a lot of scenes are spoofed from classics. The cast definitely had a lot of fun making the movie. The shots are great.

So to sum up the story: Abahachi borrows money from the apache. Unfortunately the son of the apache chief gets killed by Santa Maria (the villain), who also steels the money. So Ranger and Abahachi go look for a treasure map, to find a diamond, Abahachi once hid a long time ago.

The story is secondary, the emphasis on this movie is on FUN. I gave it a 9. Go see it, and wait till the end. After the credits Winnetouch has a little scene.

I think this movie is great, one of the very rare funny German movies that made me laugh really hard. the accents are funny, it probably isn't that interesting in English. the gay jokes are good, but not mean, rather nice and funny!! the actors are great, the roles are too funny. even if some jokes might be a bit low, they still make you laugh like hell. simple, but great jokes make the movie so great to watch. I remember one scene, where Ranger talks to Uschi, who stands behind a mirror and you see Uschi's head and Rangers body :D great!! the names are all very fitting, you already know how the person is when you hear his name, things like "Listiger Lurch" get lost through the translation :( probably only interesting for a German speaking audience 4 1/2 stars out of 5

There were some laughs, and there were a few annoying parts. I like simple humor, but if it comes in the 20kg family pack it sometimes gets boring. I cannot comprehend why this film has been such a huge success. Though, I don't regret too much having seen it. It's a 6/10.