Gigantic (1999)

Three friends from Hamburg spend one last night on the town before one of them leaves the city forever.

Director:

Sebastian Schipper

Writer:

Sebastian Schipper

Stars:

Frank Giering, Florian Lukas, Antoine Monot Jr.

5 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Frank Giering	...	Floyd
Florian Lukas	...	Ricco
Antoine Monot Jr.	...	Walter
Julia Hummer	...	Telsa
Jochen Nickel	...	Snake
Albert Kitzl	...	Elvis
Guido A. Schick	...	Dulle
Silvana Bosi	...	Walters Oma
Marcnesium	...	Typ mit Rastalocken
Johannes Silberschneider	...	Hans
Barbara de Koy	...	Irmgard
Gustav-Peter Wöhler	...	Horst
Michael Sideris	...	Dieter (as Mischa Sideris)
Hannes Hellmann	...	Klaus
Peter Franke	...	Meister

Storyline

In the port town of Hamburg, Germany, Floyd decides that he's shipping out to South Africa and Singapore now that his two-year probation for an unspecified juvenile offense has been completed. When he shares the news with his devoted friends Chubby, a mechanic, and Ricco, a fast-food cook and would-be b-boy, they can't comprehend their thoughtful friend's willingness to trade camaraderie for a wider view of the world. Overcoming their anger and bewilderment, the guys decide to spend one last night with Floyd, but the problem, as always, is how to find some fun. A succession of fast-food restaurants, parking garages, and local watering holes chronicles the inherent boredom of life in the provinces. But a run-in with a convention of dragster-racing Elvis impersonators sends the boys and their friend Telsa Julia Hummer on a series of adventures that veers from the farcical to the almost-tragic.

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Plot Keywords:

elvis impersonator | fast food | cook | mechanic | fast food cook | 

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Taglines:

What did we do last night?

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Did You Know?

Quotes

[last lines]
Floyd: The first thing that I can remember is when I got a sparkler from my mother on New Year's Eve. The sky was full of rockets and fireworks that exploded and sparked. That was loud. But I wasn't afraid. I just held my sparkler up to the dark sky... and shook it like crazy. I shook it so hard, so incredibly hard, as hard as I could. And even harder. Until I couldn't any more and on and on. Senseless and harder and harder. And I was small. And so was the sparkler. But I was part of the ...

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Connections

References Pulp Fiction (1994)

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Soundtracks

Moron
Written by Michael Acher
Performed by The Notwist
Courtesy of Wintrup Musikverlag
Community Records

User Reviews

A beautiful small movie dealing with some of life's big issues

The last night together for three friends in Hamburg, before one of them will board a ship to Africa. Crazy, wild, touching. A tribute to their friendship and friendship in general. And a tribute to that unique Northern German city as well. Plus a fantastic soundtrack which adds a lot to the movie: lots of electronic music, some rock, fast, pumping, but also minimal in the lonely moments of the story. Not to forget the great cast of these three unlike friends - and the girl, of course. And, last but not least: A tribute to passion, to what is called "Fernweh" in German, the need to get out of where you are right now and see the whole big world, without - in my impression - forgetting the loneliness that accompanies the traveler who doesn't quite know where he belongs (yet?).

What should I say? It's a wonderful small big movie.

Details

Country:

Germany

Language:

German Italian

Release Date:

30 September 1999 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Gigantic

Filming Locations:

Alter Elbtunnel, St. Pauli, Hamburg-Mitte, Hamburg, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

DEM2,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

X-Filme Creative Pool, Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), ARTE

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min 72 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1