Vaya con Dios (2002)

Three monks are making their way from Germany to a monastry in Italy, because they cannot afford the rent for their facility any longer.

Director:

Zoltan Spirandelli

Writer:

Zoltan Spirandelli

Stars:

Michael Gwisdek, Daniel Brühl, Traugott Buhre

6 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Gwisdek	...	Benno
Daniel Brühl	...	Arbo
Traugott Buhre	...	Abt Stefan
Matthias Brenner	...	Tassilo
Pamela Knaak	...	Frau Brenner
Konstantin Graudus	...	Anwalt
Chiara Schoras	...	Chiara
Christian Kleinert	...	Müllmann 1
Randy	...	Müllmann 2
Hans-Uwe Bauer	...	Tankwart
Christel Peters	...	Tassilos Mutter
Jenny Deimling	...	Chiaras Freundin
Uwe Bohm	...	Chiaras Chef
Bernhard Leute	...	Schaffner
Joachim Lätsch	...	Bahnhofspenner

Storyline

The story begins in a fictional monastery somewhere in northern Germany, of the "Cantorianer" order. We gather that this order claims to encounter God primarily in music, and that it was excommunicated from the Catholic Church many years ago. The last four monks are eking out a poor existence (but singing beautifully) among otherwise deserted buildings, when the landowner comes with an impossible demand for back rent. The Abbot has a heart attack, tells the others to take the precious old book containing the order's rules, and travel to the only other monastery of the order, in Italy; he then dies. The remaining three set out on foot across country with little idea of the route. Benno (Michael Gwisdek) acts as leader; he is an ascetic lover of books. Tassilo (Matthias Brenner) is always hungry. Arbo (Daniel Brühl) is still young - he came to the monastery as a baby and has never known the outside world. They nearly get run over by Chiara (Chiara Schoras), an attractive reporter from ...

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Plot Keywords:

organ | monk | italy | male female relationship | priest in love | 

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Taglines:

Und führe uns in Versuchung

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Genres:

Comedy | Music | Romance

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Details

Official Sites:

Senator Film [Germany]

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

28 March 2002 (Germany)

Also Known As:

To Milo tis amartias

Filming Locations:

Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

A.Pictures Film & TV Production,die Film GmbH

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Chiara Schoras is a pop singer in real life. The song that the monks criticize in Chiara's car is one of her own titles.

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Connections

Referenced in Charmed: Vaya Con Leos (2005)

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Soundtracks

Pater Noster
Composed by Igor Stravinsky
Performed by Meindert Zwart, Henning Voß, Thomas Wittig

User Reviews

Weird, funny, romantic and a real musical treat

The obviously very low-budget production describes the adventures of three monks of an imaginary, extremely musical order, who, after having to close down their small monastery in the north of Germany for lack of funds and people, are picking their way south towards the only other branch of the order left. On the way they have to cope with the modern world quite strange to them, as well as with their own back stories and desires (thus the tagline 'and lead us into temptation'). They get mixed up in church politics and make the acquaintance of a charming and crafty young journalist, a romantic yet disturbing meeting both for her an for the youngest monk. Somehow they manage to sing many a beautiful medieval or renaissance hymn on the way, and in the end it is the mysticism of their music that carries them through. The cast does an excellent job in portraying the quaint protagonists, the locations have been chosen lovingly and fit right into the story, and the whole cinematography is very solid work. If you have the chance to see this rather obscure gem, go ahead and have a treat.