Les bouffons

Original title: Absolute Giganten

1999
1h 20m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Frank Giering and Florian Lukas in Les bouffons (1999)

Three friends from Hamburg spend one last night on the town before one of them leaves the city forever.Three friends from Hamburg spend one last night on the town before one of them leaves the city forever.Three friends from Hamburg spend one last night on the town before one of them leaves the city forever.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.6/10

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 5 wins & 2 nominations total

Photos1

Top cast40

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Frank Giering

Floyd

Florian Lukas

Ricco

Antoine Monot

Walter
(as Antoine Monot Jr.)

Julia Hummer

Telsa

Jochen Nickel

Snake

Albert Kitzl

Elvis

Guido A. Schick

Dulle

Silvana Bosi

Walters Oma

Marcnesium

Typ mit Rastalocken

Johannes Silberschneider

Hans

Barbara de Koy

Irmgard

Gustav-Peter Wöhler

Horst

Michael Sideris

Dieter
(as Mischa Sideris)

Hannes Hellmann

Klaus

Peter Franke

Meister

Alfons Lütje

Bewährungshelfer
(as Alfons-Andreas Lütje)

Sven Pippig

Pornomann

Joshy Peters

Alfa-Fahrer
(as Joshua Peters)

Director
- Sebastian Schipper
Writer
- Sebastian Schipper
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

User reviews19

7.65K

Featured reviews

10parkrangerno7

A beautiful small movie dealing with some of life's big issues

The last night together for three friends in Hamburg, before one of them will board a ship to Africa. Crazy, wild, touching. A tribute to their friendship and friendship in general. And a tribute to that unique Northern German city as well. Plus a fantastic soundtrack which adds a lot to the movie: lots of electronic music, some rock, fast, pumping, but also minimal in the lonely moments of the story. Not to forget the great cast of these three unlike friends - and the girl, of course. And, last but not least: A tribute to passion, to what is called "Fernweh" in German, the need to get out of where you are right now and see the whole big world, without - in my impression - forgetting the loneliness that accompanies the traveler who doesn't quite know where he belongs (yet?).

What should I say? It's a wonderful small big movie.

9gigaclaw

Heart and soul in Hamburg

I already watched this movie some years ago today I watched it again and I really like this movie. The story tells about 3 friends living in hamburg the night before one of them will go to a ship to Africa and later singapore. It's their last evening they spend together and they have much trouble but fun too. A really nice scene is the kicker-scene where they play against the "snake", a really strange guy who plays kicker very well. This movie got so much emotion and is very funny too, so this proves that there are coming up some good talented directors, producers and actors. I hope to see more movies like this in the future, telling realistic stories from peoples lifes without spending so much money on movies to plaster bad stories. We have that movies from Hollywood all the time so I'm really glad to have movies like this one.

9/10

10A-N-N-A-2

RESPEKT!

When I first saw "Absolute Giganten" it instantly became my favourite. I just love this movie. It is wonderfully sad but at the same time it seems to keep a certain happiness that just moves you and makes you feel glad to be alive. Sebastian Schipper has made a beautiful but also very real film with wonderful actors and great music by The Notwist. Directors of the world do me a favour and give me more films like this one!

9ken-ji

A must-see!

This film truly is exceptional in many ways. Exceptionally funny, exceptionally touching, melancholy and energetic, set in exceptionally cold ghetto and harbour districts of Hamburg. Three friends, Ricco, Floyd and Walter, live their easy lives there. All three of them are quite different, still tight together by a deep friendship. Although the quarter they live in, the harbour that pulsates continuously, the places they go to, although these all seem very surreal and unpleasant, as if illuminated by cold neon light, one never feels uncomfortable with that - due to the deep sympathy the three friends have for each other. They manage to have fun and analyzing thoughts about their situation at the same time. A film full of contrasts, both in pictures and in moods. A must-see!

choke-on-em

Fantastic

Normally I am not a big fan of German cinema, but every now and then a gem like Lola Rennt or this comes out of nowhere. Unlike anything Hollywood would have done, this does not clutter the story with subplots and just focuses on the three friends' last night together. The music is perfect, as it helps the audience realize the sadness these people must feel, knowing that they will never be together again. The script is very funny, and the direction is perfect, as Schlipper is able to let the story pause and simply film Floyd, Ricco and Walter as they sit in silence. However, somehow the film does not turn into a long-winded cheesefest. Along with Tom Tykwer(I think that's how you spell it) who produced the film, I think Schlipper is a talent to watch, cos, if there's any justice in the world, he will have a bright future. This film rocks.

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Quotes
[last lines]
Floyd: The first thing that I can remember is when I got a sparkler from my mother on New Year's Eve. The sky was full of rockets and fireworks that exploded and sparked. That was loud. But I wasn't afraid. I just held my sparkler up to the dark sky... and shook it like crazy. I shook it so hard, so incredibly hard, as hard as I could. And even harder. Until I couldn't any more and on and on. Senseless and harder and harder. And I was small. And so was the sparkler. But I was part of the biggest and most incredible thing... I've ever seen. The greatest and biggest ever, and I was there. Without me knowing it, without me knowing anything. I think, I've never done anything like that in my life again. So hard and uncompromisingly and totally. I think, I never experienced anything in my life again, that was so big and so gigantic. What time is it, by the way?

Connections
Featured in Falk, Ferris MC & Das Bo: Wer hätte das gedacht? (1999)

Soundtracks
The Things That I Used To Do
Written by Garrett Dutton, Jeff Clemens, James Presscott
Performed by G. Love & Special Sauce
Courtesy of MELODIE DER WELT, J. Michel KG / Rondor Musikvertag GmbH Sony Music Entertainment (Germany) Gmb