Wer früher stirbt, ist länger tot

This movie is about how a child growing up in a small village in the south of Germany, startled by the thought of being guilty of his mother's death, tries to find a way to find the secret to eternal life -in a funny, twisted way only possible in the mind of a kid-.

One of the great virtues of this movie is that it captures the essence of Niederbayern. Not the busty girls in Dirndls, stocky men with enormous moustaches eating Brez'n or the other usual paraphernalia surrounding the Oktoberfest: this is the REAL life in the small villages. The violent/loving affection demonstrations among acquaintances and family is there, the house interiors, the rugged language, the tell-it-like-it-is attitude, the insane tales and explanations about life told by parents to their children... Nothing is missing here.

What I resented about this movie is the lack of good acting in many of the actresses/actors and the evident US sixties and seventies' fashion and music references that seemed to permeate the director's mind. This insistence in referencing Woodstock, Elvis and hippie mysticism glitters unnecessarily in an almost uncomfortable way, polluting an otherwise amusing tale. (The kid's mother was into a hippie lifestyle while being born in 1969? Come on, she should've been more into padded shoulders and checkered patterns!) There's even a particular shot to the face of the radio DJ that seems a carbon copy of the classic "camera round trip" of the basement pot-reunions in the TV program "that 70's show".

Asides from that, it is an enjoyable movie that pays a lot of attention to detail and provides with laughs and insights into how can we perceive the world while being kids. And of course, a vivid portrait of the rural Germany, the one you don't get to see on Thomas Cooke's trip brochures.

I couldn't disagree more with the previous commentator. I saw this movie last night at the German Film Festival in Washington DC and was absolutely blown away (as was the person I watched it with). It is one of the most beautifully written movies we have ever seen. Set in rural Bavaria, the audience follows the adventures and thought processes of an 11-year old boy (played by a brilliant actor). The plot fits together perfectly, captures you completely, makes you laugh out loud hysterically at times and cry at others. The vivid portrayal of the community surrounding the boy lets you become a part of it. There was not a moment of boredom for me, and the first thing I said to my companion after the film was that I wanted to get it on DVD to watch it again. While the characterizations are larger than life, they are the farthest thing from clichés. This is a brave movie that has some of the best treatment of both youth and death that I have seen.

I really enjoyed this movie, because it made me laugh so hard even though the subject of the movie could be considered quite serious. But the way the little boy deals with his fear of going to hell after he dies is just hilarious. And it might not be the most realistic or sophisticated German movie that has ever been done, but if you want to hear Bavarians swear and argue and have a great time, this is the movie you should watch! The movie is about an 11 years old boy living somewhere in the Bavarian countryside together with his brother and father, who runs the local "Gasthaus". The boy is (what you would call) quite a brat. When he accidentally kills 3 of his brothers rabbits, his brother tells him that he will go to hell after he dies, because of all the sins he has committed, especially because he "killed" his mother, who died at his birth 11 years ago. In order to redeem his sins, he seeks advice from the local men, who always hang around at the Gasthaus, but also from the priest, his teacher and the radio host.

Very funny (if you understand the strong Bavarian accent)!!!

I'd never have thought that a German, well it's actually more a Bavarian movie, could be this exceptional anymore. But it continues the line of rare Bavarian films that capture life in all its facets, in the great tradition of Franz Xaver Bogner's "Irgendwie & Sowieso" from the 1980s. It's true and funny, sad and heartwarming, telling a grand story with an outstandingly authentic cast, an exceptionally good soundtrack in beautiful pictures. If you want to be entertained well for an evening and you want more than just a cheap laugh, go see this movie (despite its strange title, meaning something like "The sooner you die, the longer you'll be dead") and see Bavaria beyond all kitsch!

I was a little wary of this movie, German comedy is often too shallow and unimaginative. But Rosenmüller went the other way instead, choosing to make a deliberately whacky and funnily dark movie about a kid seeking immortality to escape eternal punishment for his mother's death. That's a great concept, the movie plays it for what it's worth and the Bavarian setting in all it's strangeness helps a lot. For me, there is a problem, though: the leading role. Finding a 11-year old who can act is hard, I personally can think of only one or two movies with boys figuring prominently that they didn't sink. Girls seem to do a better job of it somehow.

Anyway, Markus Krojer is no exception to the rule. His acting is wooden, he barely seems to be able to act his role rather than himself (or at least it seems like that. Never met him.) He's just a kid, so no blame there, but it hurts the movie.

Fundamentally, Bavarian comedy is an exception from the "Germans have no sense of humor"-rule. At their best, they live up to the Brits. "Wer früher stirbt..." is proof of that once again.