Mother Kusters Goes to Heaven
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Ingrid Caven, Karlheinz B?hm, Margit Carstensen, Peter Bollag, Peter ChatelDVD: Region Code 1
Audio: German (Original Language), Unknown; English (Subtitled)
Format: Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 112 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-05-20
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Fox Lorber
Movie Reviews of Mother Kusters Goes to Heaven
Movie Review: Fassbinder's critical view of media exploitation.
Summary: 5 Stars
"No other director understands the strength of mediocre minds as does Fassbinder"--Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader.
There is a profoundly sad quality to this provocative film. Set in Frankfurt and based on Heinrich Zille's short story, "Mutter Krausens Fahrt Ins Gl?ck," Fassbinder's 1975 film, Mother K?sters' Trip to Heaven (Mutter K?sters' Fahrt zum Himmel), tells the story of Emma K?sters (Brigitte Mira, known for her role in Ali - Fear Eats the Soul), a dowdy hausfrau, whose husband Hermann (a tire-factory employee) goes berserk one day on the job, killing his foreman, and then killing himself. (It is a familiar story that could just as easily be found in today's headlines.) While Mother K?sters grieves the loss of her husband, the media sensationalizes the incident, characterizing her husband as "The Factory Murderer," an alchoholic child-beating, wife-beating, ill-tempered lunatic. Emma's daughter, Corinna Coren (Ingrid Caven), a cabaret singer, schemes to use the media hype to advance her own career. Emma K?sters seeks solace from two members of the German Communist Party (DKP), who attempt to put their own political spin on the tragedy by portraying Emma's husband as a victim of capitalism. None of this rings true for Mother K?sters, who becomes frustrated with the public hysteria surrounding her husband's irrational act and meaningless death, prompting her to join a small group of anarchists in a sit-down strike at one of the newspapers that sparked the hysteria. Fassbinder filmed two very different endings to Mother K?sters. In the first, Emma K?sters is killed by the police when anarchists attempt to take control of the newspaper. (Based upon the film's title, this was arguably Fassbinder's preferred ending.) In an alternate ending ("the American version"), the anarchists become bored with their cause, while K?sters begins a romantic relationship with a newspaper worker. In the wake of recent shootings at schools, churches, and malls, and the resulting public hysteria surrounding such unfortunate events, Fassbinder's controversial film has become even more relevant since it was released nearly 25 years ago. (The film was considered so controversial upon its release that it was banned from the Berlin Film Festival. Arguably, it is even more controversial today.) While the film is primarily about alienation, exploitation, and the corruption of society, Mother K?sters (along with his Why Does Herr R. Run Amok?) makes it clear that Fassbinder had the ability to see through the power of the media to manipulate the minds of our time into public hysteria surrounding such meaningless incidents. This film is the work of a brilliantly prophetic film genius.
G. Merritt
Summary of Mother Kusters Goes to Heaven
When Hermann Kusters goes berserk at his factory and murders his manager before killing himself, a media blitz descends upon his middle-aged wife (Brigitte Mira) and her adult children. Her daughter attempts to use the situation to improve her cabaret singing career, but Frau Kusters remains distraught that her husband has been depicted in the papers as a boozing maniac. Her search for some solution leads her to the communist party, then finally to a group of anarchists who take drastic action. While Mother Kusters Goes to Heaven isn't one of German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder's more lively films--the pace is almost monotonously steady--but Fassbinder's eye for selfishness, hypocrisy, and manipulation remains sharp. The movie shifts from a darkly comic tone to a deep sadness; perhaps unable to decide which mood to commit to, Fassbinder shot two strikingly different endings, both of which are presented. --Bret FetzerArt House & International DVD Video
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