Bandits (1997)

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.

This was an emotionally charged film about the life paths of four women, each pulling the group in different directions while fighting to co-exist and survive the cards dealt to them. While it started to get very "Hollywood" toward the end, it still offered several things that moviegoers will find very appealing. The soundtrack offers a variety of catchy tunes for music lovers. For the romantic types, it offers two scenes of intense passion and sex appeal. While some of it was slightly over the top on believability, it was still none the less, a movie that warrants an audience. It was very well made and that can be seen and heard throughout. Obviously, the crew behind the scenes did their part in all aspects of the film making process. From sound to cinematography, to editing, this tasty little film has a touch of class that offers a deeper meaning then initially expected. I just watched it for the first time (12/21/05), but have wanted to see it since the first time I saw the trailer when I bought "Lola Rent" several years ago. Finally I found it in cyberspace and was pleasantly surprised that it was subtitled and not dubbed.

The "Bandits" show extraordinary circumstances of the heightened possibilities of human life. The skin shapes in women's prison, which reflect meticulously composed images that threaten to overwhelm the viewer's sensibilities, makes actress Jasmin Tabatabai a personification of the heroine of an action thriller. Her performance makes a compelling passion below her rebellious surface.The script takes the audience on a ride full of peaks and valleys, forcing them to experience a full range of emotion in a very short time. All four female actresses, Emma (Katja Riemann), Luna, (Jasmin Tabatabai), Angel (Nicolette Krebitz), Marie (Jutta Hoffmann), performed superbly in their scripted characters, yet, none of them is particularly happy with their lot in life.From the moment they escape from the police vehicle, one thing leads to another and they throw off the shackles of their old existence, and turn, instead, to fugitives-on-the-run and ironically they become celebrities who orchestrate a pop-rock band, "The Bandits," selling their albums while being on the run.The movie perhaps is articulating the distaff aspects of human life. The women live in a man's world full of sexist slobs. The theme rotates on freedom, not necessarily from the prison, but from a male-ordered universe. The women, have financial freedom, which translated into world terms, and means economic security for the female gender.Their journey is absolutely a classic one. Four women, buddies, heading out together into the nowhere land, away from structure, away from conventional civilization and responsibilities, sometimes into romantic destruction in the quest for "freedom," at all cost. Outlaw roles usually reserved for males, but viewers here see women coming into self-knowledge and finding their aggressive nature.In this awe-inspiring acting, Jasmin Tabatabai, a Persian-German actress, plays her role and pattern just perfectly. She has the talent and a great artistic ability and temperament. She has a delightful voice and very expressive face and gestures. She is supremely confident in her ability to create a unique person. She has what it takes to elevate the motion picture to superlative heights.Acting becomes an art of persuasion for her in the Bandits. She has claimed of the nobility of this art, and then she received the acclaim of her audience. She has become an important element in the success of this movie as the illuminator of the human heart in the society.Actors must absolutely complement each other in order to come up with a memorable performance, as we see in the Bandits the harmonious and natural performance from our four beautiful German Actresses.

Hey, this definitely is one to watch. A one of a kind "German Females Shawshank Redemption goes Rock'n Roll." It was a big hit in Germany, though of course that is usually a deterrent for some odd reason. Don't let it be. If you follow video and DVD Releases, you will know it has been available for a few months now (finally) in the USA, where, I believe a movie like this would be a huge success. That is of course if it were in American English and starred Julia Roberts, instead of Katja Riemann, a big star in Germany, but of course a nobody in the US, in spite appearing in the only German movies released in the US in the past 5 years including Der Bewegte Mann - MAYBE, MAYBE NOT, and the COMEDIAN HARMONISTS. She is awesome in this role. If you like prison films, and triumph of the underdog, seemingly against all odds, run and rent this film. It is for you. As the Shawshank Redemption remains the second top-rated movie of all time here, it would follow that BANDITS should be a comparable success in the foreign film department. Additionally, it has all that female bonding which men (who usually make up over 52% of the audience) and I believe most emancipated women love to watch. See it now. You never know when these European films suddenly go out of print. In Germany, it will always be available, and is already a classic, as the previous comment indicates, and represents the majority opinion here. But no one can pinpoint why German movies are just being totally ignored since the 80s, when in fact, they have experienced a rebirth, and have become so much more accessible, so much more American, as has been the trend in almost everything in post World War II Germany. (RUN, LOLA, RUN to many is not really a movie, but a series of music videos according to many, and so can not really be called an exception.) But BANDITS is a real movie, not particularly German AT ALL. Most people will really get a kick out of it if they only gave it a shot. Watch it.