Almost Heaven (2005)

Director:

Ed Herzog

Writers:

Ed Herzog (screenplay) &
Paul Herzberg (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

25 August 2005 (Germany)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy | Music

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Ambition | Braids | Caribbean | Con Artist | Con Woman

Cast

Heike Makatsch	...	Helen Schuster
Wotan Wilke Möhring	...	Carlo Schuster
Katharina Schmalenberg	...	Goth Patient
Ivan Shvedoff	...	Strike
Bernhard Marsch	...	Security Nerd
Piet Fuchs	...	Security Nerd
Valeria Risi	...	German Airline Representative
Wieslawa Wesolowska	...	Female Airport Security
Lars Gärtner	...	Male Airport Security
Kerry Stacey	...	Jamaican Woman at Security
Neila Ebanks	...	Stewardess
Michael London	...	Jamaican Priest
Natalie Thompson	...	Jamaican Airways Representative
Chris McFarlane	...	Taxi Driver
Carlton James	...	Elderly Man

Also Known As:

Lively Up Yourself (Germany) (working title)

Runtime:

102 min | Canada:95 min (DVD version)

Country:

Germany

Language:

German | English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Canada:14A | Germany:6

Filming Locations:

Cologne, North Rhine - Westphalia, Germany

Company:

Egoli Tossell Film

Movie Connections:

References Dawn of the Dead (2004)

Soundtrack:

Country Roads (Hotel Version)

A good antidote for ennui.

How many times have we seen movies about someone whose dreams are frustrated, fighting for the chance to realize those dreams? Often. And often, too, an element of urgency is added by making this person one who is terminally ill.

In this version of that theme, a German woman has no wish but to sing in Nashville once before she dies. She is diverted to Jamaica and forced by circumstances to stay there long enough to notice that there is more happening right here and now than either her dream or her death. Her antagonist and co-protagonist is a Jamaican woman who is struggling with her own circumstances in a less than effective way.

The setting is colourful and provocative. The performances of the main characters and the struggles they face are convincing and affecting.

A couple of minor plot elements are indicated enough to be understood but not developed fully enough to be completely effective--no doubt the details can be found on a cutting room floor. The only addition I would have wished for would be a slight filling out of the characters' pasts, to increase the impact of their current circumstances. However, this is a minor criticism of a generally excellent film.

In total, an engaging, entertaining, and uplifting film; a good antidote for ennui.