Rio das Mortes (TV 1971)

Michel and Guenther, working in dead-end jobs, are obsessed with going to Peru to find buried treasure, using a map of the Rio das Mortes. Michel's girlfriend, Hanna, humors their plan, but... See full summary »

Director:

Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Writer:

Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Stars:

Hanna Schygulla, Michael König, Günther Kaufmann

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hanna Schygulla	...	Hanna
Michael König	...	Michel
Günther Kaufmann	...	Günther
Katrin Schaake	...	Katrin - Hannas Freundin
Harry Baer	...	Michels Kollege
Ulli Lommel	...	Autohändler
Marius Aicher	...	Meister
Walter Sedlmayr	...	Sekretär
Carla Egerer	...	Kundin (as Carla Aulaulu)
Joachim von Mengershausen	...	Joachim - Katrins Freund
Hanna Axmann-Rezzori	...	Mäzenin
Franz Maron	...	Hannas Onkel
Elga Sorbas	...	Secretary to Hannas Onkel
Rudolf Waldemar Brem	...	Kneipenbesucher
Eva Pampuch	...	Freundin des Tänzers

Storyline

Michel and Guenther, working in dead-end jobs, are obsessed with going to Peru to find buried treasure, using a map of the Rio das Mortes. Michel's girlfriend, Hanna, humors their plan, but really just wants to get married.

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Plot Keywords:

written and directed by cast member

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

15 February 1971 (West Germany)

Filming Locations:

Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

DEM 125,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Antiteater-X-Film, Janus Film und Fernsehen

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in Von Sex bis Simmel (2005)

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Soundtracks

"Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town"
Written by Mel Tillis
Performed by Kenny Rogers & the First Edition

User Reviews

Et Ad Rivum Mortuorum Ego

In Fassbinder's published manuscripts, interviews, notes and his own work as a playwright, poet, film critique, including philosophical writings, there is practically nothing to be found about the possibly highly interesting relationship between Fassbinder and Herbert Achternbusch (in 1971, Achternbusch's first big novel had appeared). Achternbusch must have taken up "Rio Das Mortes" thematically in his film "Das Letzte Loch" (1982) and in the novel "Das Haus Am Nil" (1981), respectively. Thereby, it does not matter if the Nil is in Egypt or not - the Nil is the protagonist, best a personification of an abstract concept "Nil" - and like is bearer basically unbound. And so is the Rio Das Mortes - by the way, it is not in Peru, but in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. Nietzsche wrote his famous passage about Mexican Oaxaca - needless to say the had never been there and the name and his concept have not much more than a phonetic reality. Such use of landscapes, cities, rivers, etc. have a good and long tradition in German literature, going back at least down to Goethe's Arcadia: Et in Arcadia ego.