Themes: Musician's Life, Faltering Friendships, Ladder to the Top
Main Cast: Ben Becker, Heino Ferch, Ulrich Noethen, Heinrich Schafmeister, Max Tidof
Release Year: 1998
Country: DE
Run Time: 124 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Joseph Vilsmaier (Stalingrad and Brother of Sleep) directed this fact-based German musical drama about a popular barbershop sextet in Nazi Germany of the '30s. In 1927, musician Harry Frommermann (Ulrich Noethen), attracted to music-shop assistant Erna (Meret Becker), joins ambitious vocalist Robert Biberti (Ben Becker) in forming a vocal group with arranger Erwin (Kai Wiesinger) and Bulgarian cafe-singer Ari (Max Tidof). As their fame increases, the authorities, who object to the Jews in the group, pressure them to perform National Socialist material. Traveling to New York, they eventually must decide whether to remain in the U.S. or return to Germany. The musical numbers use digitally remastered recordings by the real-life group, and computer graphics were employed to re-create a 1934 concert aboard an aircraft carrier in New York harbor. Barry Manilow's stage musical Harmony is based on this same music group. Shown at the 1998 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
Review
It's films such as this that make one wonder what other unknown masterpieces exist. Absolutely brilliant in every regard, The Harmonists is a stunning achievement. The film vividly renders its period setting, its casting is dead perfect, the performances are startlingly controlled, and the fact-based story touches and thrills without manipulation. Then there's the music: When was the last time an a cappella novelty song sung in German stuck in a viewer's head for three days? Ulrich Noethen is amazing as the poverty-stricken dreamer who puts together a vocal ensemble with a gimmick -- not only do the five singers perform without instrumentation (save for a bit of piano), but they take solos by mimicking wind instruments. It's a charming effect that summarizes the magic of the film overall. The Comedian Harmonists (as they are known to all of Europe) rise to the heights of fame, living in luxury when before they couldn't afford bread. In the last reel, when the Nazis begin to assert their nasty selves, the movie becomes a fragile study of character as the band members' friendship is tested to the straining point. There is heartbreak, but director Joseph Vilsmaier doesn't let the tragedy overwhelm the good spirits that have come before it. It's an amazing piece of work that won a shelf full of trophies overseas, but the film never got a chance in the States, playing on a handful of screens in painfully few cities. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
Kai Wiesinger - Erwin Bootz; Meret Becker - Erna Eggstein; Katja Riemann - Mary Cycowski; Dana Vávrová - Ursula Bootz; Noemi Fischer - Chantal; Otto Sander - Bruno Levy; Michaela Rosen - Ramona; Günter Lamprecht - Eric Charell; Gerard Samaan - Roman's Father; Rolf Hoppe - Streicher
Credit
Bernhard Henrich - Art Director, Barbara Voegel - Casting, Regina Weber - Choreography, Ute Hofinger - Costume Designer, Joseph Vilsmaier - Director, Peter R. Adam - Editor, Joseph Vilsmaier - Executive Producer, Harald Kloser - Composer (Music Score), Rolf Zehetbauer - Production Designer, Joseph Vilsmaier - Cinematographer, Hanno Huth - Producer, Daniel Krausz - Producer, Reinhard Klooss - Producer, Heinz Ebner - Sound/Sound Designer, Klaus Richter - Screenwriter, Joerg Widmer - Second Unit Camera, Peter von Haller - Second Unit Camera
