Mother Küsters Goes to Heaven (1975)

Frau Kusters is preparing dinner late one seemingly ordinary afternoon in her seemingly ordinary kitchen in Frankfurt, Germany. Mrs. Kusters wants to add canned sausages to the stew, her ... See full summary »

Director:

Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Writers:

Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Kurt Raab

Stars:

Brigitte Mira, Ingrid Caven, Margit Carstensen

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brigitte Mira	...	Emma Küsters
Ingrid Caven	...	Corinna
Margit Carstensen	...	Marianne Thälmann
Karlheinz Böhm	...	Karl 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

Storyline

Frau Kusters is preparing dinner late one seemingly ordinary afternoon in her seemingly ordinary kitchen in Frankfurt, Germany. Mrs. Kusters wants to add canned sausages to the stew, her annoying daughter-in-law thinks otherwise. The point, we soon find out, is moot: Mr. Kusters has murdered the personnel director at the soap factory where he works before committing suicide.

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Plot Keywords:

loss of husband | suicide | frankfurt germany | murder suicide | german communist | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

23 March 1976 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Mother Küsters Goes to Heaven

Filming Locations:

Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

DEM750,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,623, 16 February 2003

Gross USA:

$8,144

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$8,144

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmverlag der Autoren, Tango Film

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

[All trivia items for this title are spoilers.]

User Reviews

Good Fassbinder with a great Brigitte Mira

Good Fassbinder, if a little lethargic. Brigitte Mira, who just passed away earlier this month, plays a housewife who has long settled in her uneventful life. One day, however, her husband commits murder-suicide at the factory in which he works. Suddenly she has to deal with the media, as well as her uncaring family. She can't really figure out why her husband did what he did. Luckily, some local communists show up to help her figure it out. Soon she's a pawn in their politics. And, when they don't satisfy her need for an explanation, a group of anarchists steps in to use her for their own political purposes. The film ends twice – once we read Fassbinder's original scripted ending, then we see the ending he did use. Both work, though I think the first, unfilmed one is a lot more Fassbinder-esque. Mira is wonderful, as usual; some of the family material is too close to Fear Eats the Soul, and is rendered somewhat ineffective because of that.