Der Schuh des Manitu

If you are not fluent in German my summary line might not make much sense to you. It is actually a riff on something that is being said in the movie (with a twist since they say the exact opposite - "ich bin mit der Gesamtsituation unzufrieden")! But that aside and as you can tell, I really did enjoy myself rewatching this. And I remember why we were into the whole Bully making movies thing. He seems like a good guy in general, but I had some issues with some of his other movies, that didn't seem to glue as good as this one did. But that is always a personal and subjective thing - you may like everything he did and if that is the case, I sincerely can say: good for you.

But back to this and while I have bookmarked to rewatch the movies this is based on (Winnetou movies, the original trilogy that was made in Germany) and it is a nice throwback. Not all jokes are actually hitting their marks, but more than enough to make this as enteraining a spoof movie as I have seen from the best ones coming from America ... the love for the original movies is real .. and you can tell. I don't think you have to know them to enjoy this, but it doesn't hurt. You also shouldn't be too concerned about political correctness ... you may have issues while watching if you care about that.

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!

To appreciate the full nuances of this movie a very good grasp of German and particularly Bavarian slang is a must. Without it it's simply an average slapstick comedy and any review of it is destined to miss the mark. The movie simply lives from the German dialogue, especially the slang. I'd say watch it in English or subtitles, by all means, but don't write a review since you probably missed 50% of the real funny stuff. It'd be the same as writing a review about the German dubbed version of Romeo and Juliet. Why bother?

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.

"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!