Bagdad Cafe (1987)

A lonely German woman ends up in the most desolate motel on Earth and decides to make it brighter.

Director:

Percy Adlon

Writers:

Eleonore Adlon (screenplay), Percy Adlon (screenplay)

Stars:

Marianne Sägebrecht, CCH Pounder, Jack Palance

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 14 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Marianne Sägebrecht	...	Jasmin Münchgstettner
CCH Pounder	...	Brenda
Jack Palance	...	Rudi Cox
Christine Kaufmann	...	Debby
Monica Calhoun	...	Phyllis
Darron Flagg	...	Salomo
George Aguilar	...	Cahuenga
G. Smokey Campbell	...	Sal
Hans Stadlbauer	...	Münchgstettner
Alan S. Craig	...	Eric
Apesanahkwat	...	Sheriff Arnie
Ronald Lee Jarvis	...	Trucker Ron
Mark Daneri	...	Trucker Mark
Ray Young	...	Trucker Ray
Gary Lee Davis	...	Trucker Gary

Storyline

Out of Rosenheim (Bagdad Café) is a look into the minds and lives of some people most of us have met but few of us know much about. This movie exemplifies how one person in the right place can affect a community of lives. The Adlons seem to express the view that all change and "magic" comes from hard work and mutual acceptance. A well-crafted view of the lives of tourists everywhere and the difficulties they can face. A Whimsical and lovingly Photographed look at the vast wasteland that is too often ignored by much of humanity.

---

Plot Keywords:

gas station | motel | magic | desert | restaurant | 

---

Taglines:

Off Route 66 between Vegas and nowhere a little magic's going on...

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

---

Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Imagica TV [Japan]

Country:

West Germany

Language:

English German

Release Date:

22 April 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bagdad Cafe

Filming Locations:

Bagdad, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$3,587,303

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pelemele Film,Pro-ject Filmproduktion,Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was shot in sequence in order to accommodate Marianne Sägebrecht who did not speak much English.

---

Goofs

Christine Kaufmann's character's, the tattoo artist, name is spelled Debby in the film credits but the sign outside her shop spells her name Debbie.

---

Quotes

Phyllis: [nonchalantly plopping down in front of her mother's office desk after she's been out with some friends] Hi, mom! That trucker was a real cute dude, for a trucker. Like, I mean, he let me off in town, and I ran into Reggie, and so we buzzed around in his cruise-mobile over to Devil's Playground. Then we ran into these really grody airheads...
Phyllis: [noticing her mother's nicely cleaned and organized office desk] What happened here?
Brenda: [normal voice] Pick up your shit, sweetie.
Phyllis: [...]

---

Alternate Versions

The soundtrack album (click the Soundtrack icon for info) contains a track with Percy Adlon, the director, narrating the story of the film. The scenes missing in the US version are described here.

---

Connections

Featured in La confiance règne (2004)

---

Soundtracks

C-Major Prelude From The Well Tempered Clavier
Written by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed by Darron Flagg

User Reviews

Brilliant character drama - a tiny masterpiece even.

A overweight German tourist is dumped in the middle of nowhere by her angry husband and puts in motion a set of unlikely comic and touching events.

Here in the Internet age we can do a lot of good work digging up and re-appraising films that deserve to be seen. While this is film might not to be everyone's taste it is a wonderful light drama about people of no particular importance doing very little beyond learning about each other.

Yet it works so well and haunts you for days after seeing it.

For reasons I also can't explain I find the American hinterlands strangely poetic and underused. Films such as Paris, Texas and The Last Picture Show also used these regions effectively.

More than any other film I have seen it cannot really be explained in words. It is about atmosphere and delivery and superb acting for a cast of - mostly - unknowns. It doesn't really have a plot as such and merely lingers in small-town America and observes small town mores and manners with cold detachment.

A little gem.