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!

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

I like movies that make me feel good and surprise me.

I am a non German language savvy viewer and as such relied heavily on the sub titles. It was clear to me that the translations or humour misses the point for English speakers in some instances.

Not withstanding that, I still laughed out loud in a room full of people who were looking at me strangely.

I appreciated the humour (and who cares if I missed any of it, I will never know). I was asked by a friend to describe it and I called it a "Flying High in the desert, in the style of sauerkraut western" They understood immediately and sat down to watch the rest of it with me, laughing just as hard.

Simple comedy, good angles for the humour. I enjoyed... 9/10 for something just out there and surprising.

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?