Die Reise ins Glück

In the beginning Gustav saved Knuffi's life. They stayed together until Eva shows up. Knuffi wants to date Eva - but she resents him. She takes Gustav with her on the run. They get on the snake ship that is powered by astonishing analog machinery. Several years -and daughters- later they meet Knuffi again... The constructions and buildings are very cute, excellent work, and the camera work is also good, the actors and the soundtrack are o.K. The story: it is a far out fairy tale, you can compare it with Shrek. A narrator guides through the story, and I would have preferred less guidance and more insaneness. The insaneness comes through in details, the story rests in straightness. Two aspects that troubled me: It is my opinion that there is too much of ministers pissing in it. (You know about them from the trailer, I don't think I'm spoiling here.) It's getting boring after a while. The creation acts are male humor too, and the first is very good. And then there are some political parties badges that will substitute the Knuffi Reich's insignia. It is a very short scene, but it is a disaster. All fantasy slips away in this scene, all humor is lost, and the worst of all: the ministers demystify the Reich's Insignia. All other decoration details aren't explained in detail, they are open for the viewers fantasy, and that is how they should be handled. And no other scene intervenes with the real world - only this one has politics, and it fails. Dramatically.

Much talk was in German media on the release of "Die Reise ins Glück" (better known to international audiences as "Journey into Bliss"). Unluckiely this did not show in terms of admissions, which is a really sad thing, as director/writer/producer/etc. Wenzel Storch invested pretty much everything he had into this production. He is probably ruined for life, which would mean that this will be his last movie ever.

In the nineties, Wenzel Storch was THE most celebrated star of German underground cinema who had then just released "Sommer der Liebe", which became the highest grossing movie shot on Super 8 ever (well, at least in Germany). Then it got rather quiet around him. From time to time there were news popping up that he was working on something new, but years went by without anything released. Wenzel and his friends went out of money again and again, the rumor even was they called it quits and canceled the whole project, until they somehow completed it in spring '04, after 12 (!) years in the making. I was lucky enough to attend the world premiere here in Bochum at the German Psychotronic Film Festival in June 2004.

To make it short, "Die Reise ins Glück" is a film you either love or hate, with very few shades possible between those extremes. I consider it one of the most beautiful things I've ever witnessed and have seen it four times by now, but I know that there are people who would walk out of it or even yell vicious curses against the screen (I'm not joking here!).

This is due to Wenzel Storch's quiet unusual style of movie-making. If you are familiar with his other films, then you'll know that most of his material feels like it was written on LSD (in fact, it was. Repeat: I'm not joking!). From his three movies, this one is by far the most accessible for a mainstream audience. If your favourite is one of the current box office top 5, you should however handle this piece of information with care...

The story: Captain Gustav traveled the seven seas for years, but now he, his crew (consisting of some frogs, an owl, a rabbit, a bear and several other animals) and of course his living snail-ship want to retire. They stop at a beautiful island – only to find out that it is inhibited by Knuffi, an old enemy of the captain. In Gustav's absence, Knuffi went for a career as an evil King and now does what all really evil kings do: he kidnaps the captain's children. Gustav has to go on a final mission to free his kids and stop the mad dictator.

Okay, you probably see where this is going: "Reise" is basically a fairytale on psychedelic drugs with an anarchic and very anti-fascist attitude that clearly reveals the director's punk background. But after all, the story is not that important. This is a movie that is neither character nor plot driven, it is the atmosphere which keeps one totally stunned.

Everything in this movie was hand made, from the strategically placed, cute stop-motion sequences to the superb art direction. Open up your eyes wide! In a righteous world, the sets, costumes and props would make this movie a certain nominee for an academy award. Storch delivers a bizarre, postmodern mix of a dream-like fairground and glittering Christmas elements, much too reflexive to be kitsch – every set has it's very own colour scheme and predominant material. It is incredibly beautiful to look at, from Gustav's snail-ship to Knuffi's golden palace, and you will find something new every time you watch it.

This fits with the brilliant dialog, something you'll never quiet get if you are not a native speaker. Just like Storch found much of the material for the sets in torn down factories or on disposal sites, big parts of the dialog consist of old-fashioned teenager slang from the seventies and eighties, which is somehow still in our collective mind, just waiting for Storch to pull it out and make use of it.

Although the movie's overall tone is very sweet and uplifting, Storch does not spare out the dark side of fairy tales. There are some pretty hefty splatter scenes and make-up effects, which made me shake my head on the bigotry of the German film censorship board who have cut almost every horror movie known to mankind, but gave this one a "not under 12" – rating, meaning every 6 year old with a parent can watch it. And this is definitely not the only border the film crosses. Wenzel Storch (who, by the way, turned out to be an extremely nice, sympathetic guy when I talked to him) gives you smoking kids, gallons of vomit and sperm, kids being peed onto, horny grandmas, a literal brain wash and other quite somatic moments, so be warned if you don't dig stuff like this. But if you are willing to confront yourself with something really unique, go for it! No matter if you love or hate it, it is an experience like nothing else. "Die Reise ins Glück" is a trip beyond the rational, a bizarre, postmodern mish-mash of "Alice in Wonderland" and the comic book classic "Little Nemo", a phantasmagoria which seems to come directly from another world – sweet, surreal and completely psychedelic.

if you get to the end of this movie, you ll need ages to get it out of your mind. its like terry gilliam, alejandro jodorowsky, federico fellini & jan svankmajer together on acid. it is the definitely the safest trip you can have. incredible sets and a story that is out of this world. you can watch it several times, and still its going to be hard to explain your friends what you have seen. if you like rare movies, here you go... i just know people who hate this movie or simply love it. i do love it! taking in mind the whole German cinema... i m glad that wenzel storch exists. and i hope there will be more like this!