Der bewegte Mann

Based on the work of Ralf König -- the king (no pun intended) of the Teutonic queer comic strip -- Wortmann has made a film about the vicissitudes of coming out. Hand in hand, these two men from the country of "poets and thinkers" dare utter the words: "we are German, we are funny, and we are not ashamed!" In case you missed Wortmann's "Kleine Haie" (1992) -- a road film about three young men coming to grips with their thespianism -- here's proof that comedy is not merely a genre inflicted unilaterally by Hollywood on the rest of the world. Although this film does make concessions in order to be more palatable to its hetero viewership, it is clearly head-and-shoulders above recent Hollywood forays into the queer-exploitation venue such as the abysmal "In&Out" featuring Kevin Kline. After Fassbinder and Wenders it now looks like Germany has a commercially viable director with something worthwhile to say!

This film is about a man's life turning upside down after spending the night in a gay man's house.

This film is so funny! The acting is great, the two lead characters, Axel and Norbert are outstanding. Axel is a man who cannot say no to temptation. Norbert, is a secret admirer of Axel. He is cute and hilarious. Axel's wife, Doro, accidentally discovers her husband befriending Norbert. One coincidence after another, she becomes convinced of her husband's homosexuality.

The plot is also very good. Though I can only catch German isolated phrases here and there, I still find the film entertaining. I laughed out loud many times. The sets are also decorated nicely, each of the apartments are set up so that they really feel like a home sweet home. Apart from being entertaining, it also promotes tolerance and diversity.

I saw this movie a few months ago with my German class, and we were rolling on the floors. At first American audiences might be a little "on edge" when they hear about what the guy does, where he stays, and that he has no idea about the people he is staying with in the beginning. But after getting into it, you see that what he goes through is just so funny, and you can't believe that he didn't see it coming. Plus, the Bull Power is all the more reason to go see, or rent, the movie. I mean I can't believe that they didn't come up with this type of stuff in the U.S. I know a lot of people who would go out and buy it right now if they had the chance. My friends and I now have a fun time talking/joking with our teacher about the movie, and we randomly bring Red Bull energy drinks to class, just to make him laugh. It's a great movie, and everyone should see it. I loved it.

`Maybe, Maybe Not' is one of the most odd movies I've ever seen. I liked it. I think I liked it because it is so completely different than all the American movies I'm used to seeing. In the beginning, the main character, Axel, decides to randomly have sex with some girl in the bathroom of his workplace. A woman in the next stall recognizes the key chain that dropped from one of the fornicating couple's clothes. She peeks over the stall to find her boyfriend of three years mindlessly humping another woman. She kicks him out of their apartment and throughout the rest of the movie he struggles with where to live. Initially he calls old girlfriends who all readily turn him away. Then he ends up at a `men's group' with a lot of gay guys. After that, he gets drunk at a party and goes home to sleep at one of their houses. This is when the gender preference battle begins. A lot of stereotypes were defied in this movie and I found that extremely refreshing. For example, it is commonly thought in American society that gay men are promiscuous, however in this movie, no homosexual sex is shown. There is one man-to-man kiss in the club and in another scene homosexual activity is inferred while watching slides but not directly shown on the screen. There are, however, two comparatively graphic heterosexual scenes. Another stereotype defied was the `effeminate gay men' stereotype. The main gay character, Norbert, didn't act effeminate at all, not even in drag. My favorite part of the movie however perpetuated and made fun of an existing stereotype - the stupid Stallone-loving straight guy. The guys in the movie theater were very intriguing. I thought they added welcome comic relief to an otherwise tense and dark movie.

This is gem of a movie which does not lose any of its wit and charm with the passage of time. The fast pace and irreverence to social institutions kept us howling until our sides ached. Don't misunderstand me, however; the plot of one mans journey to his sexuality is pursued with fever right up to its hilarious climax! I would say that anyone of any sexual orientation with a sense of humor should watch this one with a friend or lover or both!