Mutter Küsters' Fahrt zum Himmel (1975)

Director:

Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Writers:

Rainer Werner Fassbinder (writer)
Kurt Raab (writer)

Release Date:

7 March 1985 (Hungary)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Frau Kusters is preparing dinner late one seemingly ordinary afternoon in her seemingly ordinary kitchen in Frankfurt...

Cast

Brigitte Mira	...	Emma Küsters
Ingrid Caven	...	Corinna
Margit Carstensen	...	Frau Thälmann
Karlheinz Böhm	...	Thälmann
Irm Hermann	...	Helene
Gottfried John	...	Niemeyer
Peter Kern	...	Nachtclubbesitzer
Kurt Raab	...	Barbesitzer Gustav
Gustav Holzapfel	...	Herr Holzapfel
Lilo Pempeit	...	Sekretärin
Peter Chatel	...	Photograph
Peter Bollag	...	Photograph
Vitus Zeplichal	...	Reporter
Volker Spengler	...	Photograph
Y Sa Lo	...	Terroristin

Also Known As:

Mother Küsters Goes to Heaven (USA)
Mother Kuster's Trip to Heaven (UK)

Runtime:

Germany:120 min | USA:108 min

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:MA | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany

Company:

Filmverlag der Autoren

Naiive wife determined to clear murder/suicide husband's name

Fassbinder's most political film, mixes all imaginable elements dominating the news in 1970s Germany. The story begins with a radio news bulletin about a factory worker going berserk, killing a supervisor, then himself. The man's lower class family (busy with small assembly "homework") engages in evening small talk, casually mentioning the news flash in their conversation. Minutes later the bad news arrives at the door.

Immediately the vulnerable "Mother Kusters" is hounded by reporters from the boulevard press. Twisting her words, as well as those of children and a pregnant daughter in-law, along with taking countless bad-angle photographs, the press has their story. The name of easy-going, kind and obedient Father Kusters is ruined.

Several characters bring definite color to this unusual story. Mother Kusters' 30-something daughter, an aspiring lounge singer (a la Marlene Dietrich) shamelessly exploits her newly gained celebrity status by initiating press interviews about her father's tragedy, then moving in with the questionable reporter, who also arranged singing work through "connections".

Mother Kusters soon is "lulled in" by some upscale and persuasive communists, who appear sympathetic, but eventually seem to be exploiting the poor old woman for their own political gains. Finally Mother Kusters ends in a bizarre trap she unwittingly fell for: A group of anarchists, under the pretense of assuring that her husband's name will be cleared, use the woman in a hostage stand-off aimed at the release of political prisoners. - The final scene suddenly stops in a freeze frame, with a brief written description of the immediate action to follow. WOW!

Although not among Fassbinder's great classics, this is an impressive film. The statements made here were originally (in the mid-70s) met with criticism. The treatment of communism and anarchy (in a not necessarily negative way) were seen as contrary to common acceptance of the day. Years after the Cold War's end, the story of "the factory murderer" seems dated. Still, a well-worth-seeing film!