User Reviews

This is another one of those films that I have seen a while back, and I'm somewhat surprised that I haven't actually written anything about it. Maybe it was because I watched it prior to starting to write reviews on movies, though since I watched it back in the days of the SBS cult movie show, I'm sure I would have been writing about it then. Anyway, this is one of those films that is an absolutely delight, and a right laugh - the fact that it is German just adds to it.

Basically it is about these two guys, both of them in the late stages of incurable diseases, one of them having an inopperable brain tumor, the other having bone cancer. While they are lying in their hospital beds realising that this is the last place they are going to be, they basically say 'stuff it', steal a baby blue Mercedes, that happens to have a million dollars in the back, and go for a cruise to the beach, namely because neither of them have seen the sea. Mind you, Baby Blue Mercedes tend not to just be lying about the place, particularly if there is something like a million dollars in the boot, and if they are, then you probably don't want to get on the wrong side of the people that actually own it.

Yeah, we have a couple of incompetent goons who are supposed to be delivering a package to somebody, but these guys just can't get anything right. So, after knocking a kid off his skate board, they leave the car, unlocked, with the key behind the visor, and take him into the hospital. Oh, and our heroes are wearing nothing but their pyjamas, so because they basically have nothing left to lose, a crime spree is also on the cards, though of course only one of them happens to be a criminal, the other is basically just along for the ride, and the police all think he is a hostage anyway.

Yet there is more to this film that a couple of goof ball crooks, and two guys that are taking advantage of their last few days left on Earth, there is some pretty confronting drama as well. The thing is that these guys are dying, and this isn't hidden away - in fact in many cases it is front and centre. In a way it is also a quest, a quest to get to the sea, because, well, there is just something magical about the sea. Yet it also makes you wonder what one would actually do if you literally had nothing left to lose, therefore no need to abide by those social restraints.

This is actually a pretty bleak movie, but it is also very entertaining - a black comedy if you will. In fact some have suggested that it could almost be considered Germany's Pulp Fiction. Look, personally, I don't think so, though it does come pretty close. However, in many cases it is a film that pretty much stands on its own two feet, and it is also one of those films that you simply could not remake, even if it is to appeal to the English speaking world. In a way it is made in such a way that the skill and artistry of the director pretty much means that nobody ccould build upon what he has already created.

I think this is a very decent movie. It does make you think and has enough depth and intelligence hidden in the characters alone. Its great the way the "hard" guy has a dream to do something nice for his mother and the more "loser" character wants to have sex with two women. This is a great way to juxtapose two characters and makes the film more interesting to watch. I liked the idea of the two guys meeting before the hospital scene. The jokes in the film are both visual and dialogue-based. Most of them are good and made me chuckle a couple of times. The choice of music was very good and the ending was a good concept. I knew the guy would die in the end but i thought they wouldn't get to the sea in time. I should have thought otherwise but the film is made cleverly enough for me to mistake the two outcomes/climaxes. Overall i think everyone should see this film if they get the chance.

There is a play which it's context is like that in "Knockin' on Heaven's Door". It's name is "Two subtract". Morever, we have watched other movie "Bucket List" before about two old man which scape hospital near their dead times. But "knockin' on Heaven's door" distinguish itself somehow from others by some different aspects. I think one of this different aspects exists about "Aura" concept! From my point of view, in this film there is an invisible aura around major characters and this aura protects them from all the dangerous things around them. Look at the sequence which they have been besieged from two sides by gangsters and police officers; however, they can run away. there is a spectacle Mise-en-scene here,too. Some vertical camera angles which shoot from up in the sky and exhibiting how that invisible aura protects two young man. "knockin' on Heaven's Door" is a lovable movie because there is an aura around it which make us an obligation for loving it!

"Knockin' on Heaven's Door" is a German film from almost 20 years ago that was written and directed by Thomas Jahn. It is easily his most known work to this day. It stars Til Schweiger, Jan Josef Liefers and Moritz Bleibtreu, a trio that could be considered the most known actors here in Germany right now. Fittingly, this film here is among the best-known German films too, also abroad. It is not a long movie, only runs for under 90 minutes and that includes a fair share of closing credits already.

The film covers several areas, crime story, comedy, drama, moments of tragedy and how you deal with it etc. Certainly a very versatile film. Still I must say that to me it never really delivered 100% in any of these areas. It was not as touching as I hoped it would be and not as funny either Bleibtreu won a German Film Award for his performance here and I also liked Til Schweiger. Nice to see him get some awards recognition, easily one of his best performances, maybe even his very best. He is not the greatest actor in terms of range, but he frequently makes up for it through charisma. On the downside, this also confirms that Jan Josef Liefers is really not a particularly good actor at all. It sure takes a fair share of mediocrity to be clearly inferior to an actor like Schweiger, but Jan Josef Liefers succeeded. He is another actor who scored through charisma instead of talent and his popularity is absolutely not justified by his range.

Anyway, the story here is probably the most interesting thing. Frequently, it feels extremely absurd, but if you approach this film by seeing it as fiction instead of reality, it can be a good experience. Nothing bad here, but nothing great either. All in all, a decent watch and I recommend it. Many familiar faces from German film in here.

Martin and Rudi, two terminally ill hospital roommates decide that they have nothing to lose and after a wild night steal a car from the hospital garage. The car belongs to two unwitting gangsters transporting load of cash. Chased by the police and the car owners, the couple is determined to make the most of their last days.

It's not the plot, it's the fast pace and the blend of humor and tragedy that makes this movie special and brilliant. I don't understand why it wasn't released worldwide.

I see there's an American remake (The Bucket List: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0825232/) scheduled for this year. While I am a fan of both Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, I don't think it will match "Knockin' on the Heaven's Door".