Reviews

Although I did see the movie in both versions, original German (as recommended by a viewer) and English, none would convince me to call it a good movie, although it has some nice music that goes into the ear. What bothers most is that it seems to hobble over a number of gaps, where elements just do not fit together, and reason for this may be that Ms Garnier took so long in making it, that by half way through she had so many more ideas she desperately wanted to see included, although they were not worked out at all (or she had really that many influential advisers), that the outcome is a weird mixed salad with no clear direction. However, it is somewhat wonderfully easy to digest thanks to some refreshing dance and music interludes, but that makes it also feel like watching a serious, yet boring movie and keeping the channel on because of frequent interruptions by some excellently done commercials (that advertise any mundane product through creating an association with cool lifestyle). Indeed, the oh-so-yummy! supporting actor is actually a HUGO BOSS perfume model, and all he is able to say (although with a cute accent) is: "Du hast wunderschoene Augen!" (-Guys, even if you don't know what that means, record it and learn it by heart - and swap it for the notorious "Isch liebe Disch!", as shown on screen this phrase will get you any girl into bed!) How fun to get to do a sex-scene a'la MTV video with something like that, no wonder that both of the girls in sexually active age (or as much as the audience wants to imagine) get to have a go. And the great side-effect of that is: the movie shows all the interested guys (and also ladies who feel like it) in the audience how it would be to have sex with the (only?) two types of hip ladies that exist out there: cutesy innocent man-murderer ("Angel"!!!) that even during flight from high-security prison chooses to wear sex-kitten outfit inclusive high-heels, and/or the ever so grumpy =equals irresistibly cool, dark, mysterious "Luna", who all of a sudden with no clothes on, covered in mud and giggling over the just experienced primal fun has lost all her darkness and turns a silly high-school-chick that cheated with the man of her best friend just to have something to do (all that guitar playing gets boring after some time, doesn't it?) until that one returns. Upon sight of her she remembers her sins and is back to being oh so dark once again. There are the two elder inmates, but why bother getting to know them a bit more, because they are not what a young (paying) audience wants to associate with. So their personal drama is limited to mini explanations. The one misses the long-since-dead man who will be met only at his grave, and reunited with just by leaving her body when things turn too rough out there (was she really THAT old, oh my God!?). The other was driven to murder after her partner through beating her up caused the still-birth of their baby. Luna gives the only comment "Tut mir leid!" (I'm sorry), that's enough said. The dialogs in this movie are sparse, which does not make them any better, and somehow the music-lyrics seem to have more body. Once again, as it seems fashion in contemporary German cinema, why do parts of the movie, especially where prison and police-scenes are portrayed, seem way too aggressive and more out of an US action movie? Are Germans ashamed that their authority systems are yet not as brutal as the BIG BROTHER's? Do you want it like that and is that a kind of "lack of cruelty-complex"? Ms Riemann, who learned drumming just for the role of percussionist Emma, shows another unexpected talent, applause for this, although she somehow carries an atmosphere of Doris Doerrie-comedies and does not convince as a killer, nor do the other three ladies for that part. Although according to story each had her reasons it feels rather we are looking at four very nice ladies that were confronted during a very average life with unlucky situations that happened to ask for murder as the only reaction, if not solution, or was it anyways all just an accident? (compare Tom Waits and John Lurie in "Down By Law"!) and if law was not law these sweet ladies would be just going back to their normal lives. Coincidentally united as a music-band, they might have called also it: "We had to" instead of "Bandits". Which is leaving out those people that did kill with different, more complex motives and backgrounds, and a movie about them might be more interesting as a story, but possibly less sexy. The shown end is unrealistic and over-sentimental but considering the other option, making it onto the ship, waving bye-bye to fans and police and forming a nice ocean-cruise entertainment band in red glitter-dresses, I agree: death had to be the only way out.

The commercial success of this movie is rather shocking, as one wants to ask the question "Who are the people, who are for whatever reason touched by a movie like this and why can they identify with the characters portrayed or the story (-and how old are they actually)?" The displayed problems are meant as very extreme, yet they really are either completely unrealistic or would simply be not that fatal in real life. Same can be said for the characters, that are theoretically very idealistic and in that way radical, but really seem just bored. They cannot convince that they would really have all the nerves, idealism, extremism and above all: drive to act out anything of what the audience is expected to believe they do according to the story. It is doubtful that a young man from a society that is comparatively strongly respectful towards authorities is so idealistic that he creates a whole series of actually rather severe crimes, this just to comment on and by doing so change this society, and that same man would just within a few days get together with his best friend's girlfriend, more or less by chance, as she herself later puts it "we just simply fell in love!" Why? Because her original boyfriend went for a few days out of town? The idea of the director may have been to portray young, impulsive youth with high ideals that just can't work out in daily life, yet if looked back upon in old age will be "the time of their lives", but the chosen actors just do not communicate any of it. They are supposed to be angry out of experienced injustice and because of that provocative, but they just are neither, they are only annoying and one wonders why they don't go to the swimming pool instead for some fun (which actually in one scene they do)! This applies to any situation like handing out fliers in the brand-trainer-store, demolishing a flat instead of renovating it, going into the posh neighborhoods to confuse residents there, taking an unexpected intruder hostage or leaving yet another message on the empty walls before they all three set off for a better life in Portugal. As a viewer I do not feel any of the pressure, fear, anger, disillusion that would make me identify with any of the characters and that would manipulate me to make the same choices. Instead they seem to make all this fuzz just to entertain themselves on the level of smoking a joint and to have something to do between holidays. It does not make sense. The already rather unrealistic movie ends with a radical instep of a huge fully armed police-corps that gives the impression these actors accidentally bolted through the wrong studio-door and really belong in a movie like "Full Metall Jacket". It is probably not the kind of action German police undertakes in a case like that, do they actually have all that expensive equipment and would they spend the (taxpayer's !) money it costs to send it out over three little naughty kids gone wild? And once again: all these policemen are brutal killing-machines and more so endlessly stupid, an effect as amusing as a fat, hungry shark snapping into empty space (see Disney's "Arielle", get the same pleasure and some nice animation for the same price!)...the audience applauds. It gives the movie an additional silly overdrawn aspect and one gets the impression of a desperate attempt after all this boredom in its last minute to live up to equally hysterical Hollywood action movies. Did the director actually do his field-research for this movie in Germany, after all? What stands out is that this is a rare movie that portraits life in 21st century Berlin as actually NOT the most desirable thing on earth. Weird! Who still remembers youth TV series like "Emil und die Dedektive" or "Fuenf Freunde" will see definitive parallels, although these shows were never meant to be realistic and are yet in many ways entertainment on a higher level. This movie could have been a great comedy and might as such even have cult-film potential, if only it would not take itself and its issues so damn serious. Same advice to the audience in awe.