Train Birds (1998)

Hannes is a beer-truck driver in Dortmund. His biggest dream is to win the first prize at the International Time-Table Contest in Inari (Finland). When his new boss cancels his extra ... See full summary »

Director:

Peter Lichtefeld

Writers:

Peter Lichtefeld (idea), Peter Lichtefeld (screenplay)

Stars:

Joachim Król, Outi Mäenpää, Peter Lohmeyer

4 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joachim Król	...	Hannes Weber
Outi Mäenpää	...	Sirpa Salonen
Peter Lohmeyer	...	Kommissar Franck
Jochen Nickel	...	Lothar
Antje Schmidt	...	Die Kleine vom Supermarkt
Nina Petri	...	Frau Kößner, Sekretärin
Charlie Hendricks	...	Kalle, Entlassener
Johannes Herrschmann	...	Chef
Dagmar Sachse	...	Schachspielerin
Anna Posthoff	...	Kind im Zug
Hilmi Sözer	...	Harry, Assistent
Oliver Marlo	...	Lako, Schlafwagenschaffner
Peter Franke	...	Karl-Heinz, Inari-Fan
Beatrix Albl	...	Frau im Trenchcoat
Didi Jünemann	...	Hein, Zugprüfer

Storyline

Hannes is a beer-truck driver in Dortmund. His biggest dream is to win the first prize at the International Time-Table Contest in Inari (Finland). When his new boss cancels his extra holidays to go there, Hans goes mad... On his journey to Finland by train, followed by the police, he meets lot of folks and the love of his life.

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Plot Keywords:

train | finland | time table | beer | cigarette smoking | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance | Crime

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Details

Country:

Germany Finland

Language:

German Finnish English

Release Date:

9 July 1998 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Train Birds

Filming Locations:

Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

DEM 380,629 (Germany), 24 July 1998, Limited Release

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bosko Biati Film, Kinoproduction, Prokino Filmproduktion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

In Helsinki, Sirpa puts water on her husband's computer keyboard. It's a German keyboard with umlauts (ä,ö,ü) instead of a Finnish one.

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Crazy Credits

Pauli Pentti's screen credit is preceeded by the following: "and for the first (and probably last) time on the screen"

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Connections

References North by Northwest (1959)

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Soundtracks

Una festa sui prati
Performed by Adriano Celentano
Written by Luciano Beretta (as Beretta) / 'Michele del Prete' (as Del Prete) / Mogol / Adriano Celentano (as Celentano)

User Reviews

Weird story embedded in realist setting

I definitely enjoyed viewing this film at one of its first showings at Filmfest Hamburg back in 1998. I especially admire the almost documentary-like realism with which the long train trip from Germany to Kemijärvi, Finland is depicted (seems that the ferry company Silja line sponsored the film - after all, its ship gets a lot of footage). As to the story, it seemed rather weird to me despite the fact that my own attitude towards trains and timetables is not so far removed from that of the film's protagonist. And isn't it awkward that this "International contest of train timetable experts" takes place, of all, in Inari, which was never reached by any railway, forcing the participants to take a bus for the last stage of their journey?