Knockin' on Heaven's Door

"Knocking On Heaven's Door" has been a big German box office hit in the winter of 1996/97 and is still considered one of the best German movies of that decade next to the international success "Lola rennt". This is a breath-taking comedy about two losers (Til Schweiger and Jan-Josef Liefers) dying of cancer and getting anything they want during their last days on earth. They are robbing a bank and nicking a car containing a gangster's suitcase with a million marks in it. Of course the gangsters and the police hunting the guys who just want to reach the sea to die somewhere at the shore.

Although this road-movie story itself isn't very new and has been filmed many times in Hollywood movies, it stands on its own. The story has dozens of quotes and references from American movies and film genres, but it also knows how to add a local, German and European style to it. You see two henchmen, a Turk and a Belgian, dressed in black suits and with sunglasses like taken from a Tarantino film. You see Hannes Jaenicke dressed as a fatally-looking leather cop U.S.A. style, drinking Jaegermeister (a popular German spice liquor). You see popular fifties girlie actress Conny Froboess playing Til Schweiger's mum, an Elvis Presley adoring fan.

There are plenty of funny scenes in this movie, many witty dialogues, absurd situations and brilliant performances by all actors featuring Corinna Harfouch as a doctor, "Sexluder" Jenny Elvers as a nurse, Dutch movie stars Huub Stapel and Rutger Hauer as gangster bosses, Ralf Herforth as dumb police officer, etc. Schweiger and Liefers are giving the best performances of their career, adding pain, sadness and tragedy to the all-action-comedy style. The photography, editing and the surf-rock-like sound track by Selig are also outstanding. Take a look at this example of best German nineties cinema!!!

This movie is not bad, but it is not to good either. I would classify it as a fairy-tale. Rudi and Martin, to about 30-years old man, have both cancer and flee out of their hospital. They make a journey to the sea und use their last days to fulfil their wishes.

By intention this movie is far from realism. For example, you never see symptoms of illness at Rudi, despite he is very sick of bone cancer. There are lot of gunfights, but no one dies or gets hurt. In one scene dozens of police cars chase the two guys. The two main gangsters, Henk and Abdul, are in their black suits a mixture of Tarantino-style guys and the typical german smalltown thug.

That makes the movie very light-hearted, but a bit stupid also. To me good fun for 90 minutes, but I would not look it a second time.

First of all, WHY HAS THIS FILM NOT BEEN RELEASED IN ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES??!! Is it because Hollywood is afraid of German films that are actually as good as theirs? Is it because this is a foreign film that isn't "foreign" enough (e.g. Bergmanesque symbolism or Wender's "poetic imagery") or is it because neither America nor Britain have the nerve to properly dub this film into English? In any case, the world is missing out. This is a highly entertaining film with a simple plot, lots of humor, plenty of action, and two terrific leads. The plot, regardless of how many people will compare it to "pulp fiction" (a comparrison, by the way, which I simply cannot understand,)is a straight-forward buddy flick about two terminally ill men in their early thirties. Like all buddy movies, (Lethal Weapan, 48 hours, Nothing to lose) the characters couldn't be more different at the beginning, and find a way to get along by the films end. Nothing new here, except for the fact that both men know they will be dead by the film's end, thus eliminating (thank goodness) any chance of a sequel. Anyway, our heroes meet in the hospital, and quickly decide that they want to really "live" their final days on earth, and see the ocean before they pass away. They steal a car which happens to belong to a dutch gangster (brief cameo by rutger hauer). Thus begins the chase across Germany and Holland, a chase which combines road-movie laughs a-la Dumb and Dumber (there is a VERY similiar scene where the two men find the suitcase filled with money, and check into a rediculously fancy hotel) with genuine character development and bonding, a-la Thelma and Louise.

The real star of the film is not the plot, but the little moments of genuine humor and tenderness between the leads. Director Thomas Jahn's balance between over-the-top action-comedy and emotional "cancer drama" is amazingly played out by the two actors (til schweiger and jan josef liefers)

I would recommend this film to ANYBODY who likes to be entertained. The music is great, the jokes (most of them, at least) fly, and the relationships are genuine. The only problem is probably that at this point, you have to speak German fluently to understand most of what's going on. BUT BE PATIENT! Someday Hollywood will discover this film and at least SUBTITLE it like they did the equally terrific(er) "lola rennt". My only hope is that they don't simply ruin the film by remaking it with american stars. That would be a great letdown, because this film is already perfect. I doubt that most people would even think it's foreign, if they simply forget the subtitles and get into it.

2 men who were sentenced to death by their doctors spent their precious remaining time together to experience something they never had chance to do before when they occasionally found a lot of money two stupid gangsters left.

This is a crazy comedy with good entertainment, and because we know the tragical end, so the highly contrast of the hilarious story really make me have a bittersweet feeling which is wonderful.

Their last wish is to see sea with their own eyes, a quite common wish but they never did before. We always think we have a lot of time to do things we want to do, but nobody knows what will happen tomorrow. We never have the courage to do something derailed from our normal track of life, and gradually lost the aim and fun of it, living numbly and waiting to the final destination.

The cast is good and I Love Til Schweiger so much, really a charming role! Moritz Bleibtreu is outstanding as one of the moron gangster too.

I rarely watch Germany comedic films, "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" is an exception even it might be too crazy for some people, still need a good recommendation.

European movies do have this feature: they combine drama and comedy and make you smile because it is too sad to cry.

Moreover, this particular film has a perfectly selected crew and the screenplay is flawless.

To have a dream. This masterpiece is all about it.

Two men, trapped by cancer unconsciously recognizing the sea as the symbol of freedom and eternity are making their last 500 km to the Baltic Sea.

Acting at its best the crew is offering us this warm feeling of sad happiness while singing Guns&Roses "Knock, knock, knockin' on the heaven's doors" and understanding, that such moments do make life.