Vom Suchen und Finden der Liebe

I saw this film when I was in Frankfurt. I had seen trailers for it, but I had no real idea what it was going to be about. The film sometimes seem to move too quickly or too slowly, but it tells the story it sets out to tell, and does so really well. It is a strange film, in the way that German films can be strange (I mean this as no bad thing, Goodbye Lenin, or more appropriately Run, Lola, Run.).

There are many recurring ideas and images in the film, which is something I alway appreciate. Despite the difficulties I had understanding the language, I understood the story, many of the jokes, and the characters' relationships to each other.

The music, the setting, the mythology used and the "twist at the end" (I didn't see it coming because I am not particularly familiar with the myths used) left me breathless. I also walked back into see it again. (But I had neither the time nor the money.)

Watching a film by Helmut Dietl you expect the usual posse of sometimes hysteric and strange people. You get this here - but intelligently woven into a true romance drama of love, life and death and their relationship. One of his best works was the TV series of "Monaco Franze" in the late 70ies, here he succeeds again in showing REAL feeling. Additionally it is sheer unbelievable how strong Dietl can lead his actors into impersonating their roles - wonderful and worth an academy award.

If you're into Greek mythology, German films or true love and its remainder - go see it. Don't forget your handkerchief by the way...

Fits of laughter followed by uncontrollable sobbing. I have to ashamedly admit that I cried over this film and like a baby. Actually, I am not ashamed at all. The cast were faultlessly BRILLIANT. The story was so well adapted from Dante's Inferno and Opheus's trip through the Underworld (Enfers). Those with a foreknowledge of these works will NOT be disappointed no should they expect to be able to guess what is coming next, especially not the ending. Took me completely by surprise and finished off my box of tissues. You will split your sides and cry a river during the viewing of this film. So if you are a macho-man who refuses to cry in public then I strongly suggest renting the DVD but whatever you do DO NOT MISS THIS MOVIE!

A release in the English Language should be a serious consideration because IMHO this film has the potential to be a global blockbuster!

Mimi with the help of her love (Venus) is becoming successful as a music star, which Venus can't digest. While not being so overly happy with the trailer, the movie itself was great. I've seen it on DVD and even there the pictures and all the beautiful scenery comes out. Even more important, the main actors are great, not forgetting to mention the side characters. Heino Ferch dressed up as Hermes playing the most surprising (at least to me) role of his movies. Alexandra Maria Lara already seen in the Downfall stands out as well. The most important thing is though, that it is not just comedy or tragic it is 1.) harmony of these two together with great shots and visualization 2.) it is about acting and 3.) about the storyline. I can only recommend it.

The movie is excellent and one of the few deeply touching me. I had tears in my eyes all the way home. It is a wonderful movie about "true love" and what "true love" on this world really means. It shows that even the greatest love on Earth can not stand the persistence of memory, the impermanence of the body and the insignificance of all our day to day actions. While it doubtlessly demystifies "true love" on one side, on the other side it shows how powerful it is and that the world is empty, dark and meaningless without it. Especially the casting of Alexandra Maria Lara as "Venus Morgenstern" is as brilliant as it gets. She is not only a stunning beauty; she also has so much soul and amiability in her eyes, she should get an academy award for it. The movie basically is re-telling the story of Orpheus and Eurydice from Greek mythology. For this, it is re-using the wonderful music of Christoph Willibald Gluck's Opera. The scenes in the underworld are generally well done, but when Venus (aka Eurydice) sings out her love for Mimi (aka Orpheus), even the God Hermes starts crying and EVERYBODY in the movie theatre will start crying too. However, the movie has one big drawback. The movie is a mirror: it makes only sense to people who have already experienced deep love and loss in their life. For all the others, it will be just "kind of a weird story" as some of the comments here already show. The movie comes with a reflection of feelings of love and loss but only to those who already learned about this before. For the others, it will certainly just be a quite silly comedy. I hope the small group of the others will prevail. This movie is not mainstream.