Flammende Herzen (5 Stars)

If I describe this film's plot to you, you'll think it's a comedy. It's true, there are many ridiculous scenes, but the overwhelming atmosphere is of sadness.

The film was made in 1978. Peter Huber lives in Laufen an der Salzach, a small Bavarian town close to the Austrian border. He owns a small kiosk where he sells newspapers. Every day he goes home to his small apartment, where he lives alone. He has no friends. His only comfort is the music of Peter Kraus. Peter is obsessed with him. There are pictures of him all over his wall.

One day Peter wins a prize. Two weeks in New York. He stays with a German couple in Manhattan. To entertain him they take him to German culture centres. That's terrible! He wants to learn something about America. He already knows all there is to be known about Germany.

Peter rescues a young woman who's attempting to kill herself. He takes her home, and he's surprised to find that she has records of Peter Kraus, including "Blue Melodie", which is played in full. The woman is German. Karola Faber moved to New York from Kaiserslauten after marrying an American soldier, but she left him when he cheated on her. Since then she's been working as a stripper.

An awkward relationship develops between Peter and Karola. She likes him, but he's never had a girlfriend, so he keeps his distance.

On the insistence of his German hosts, Peter takes Karola to a Bavarian Oktoberfest taking place in Manhattan. Something he's never seen before? Poor Peter, he's being bombarded with fake Germany. But his luck is still good. He and Karola are chosen as the festival's Cornflower king and queen. They go on stage to sing, and they're surprisingly good. Then they receive their prize: a cow. They walk home leading a cow. Karola wants to take it to a slaughter house, but Peter doesn't want to kill it. What do you do with a cow in New York?

The story doesn't have a happy ending. Peter returns home to his lonely life.

Life is absurd. This film is absurd. I hope you'll like it. Unfortunately, it's never been released on DVD. It's occasionally shown on German television. I made enquiries, and I was told that the film will never be released because the company that owns the film is in limbo since the death of its owners. That sucks. Luckily you can find it on YouTube, in German, without subtitles.

Despite hardly ever being seen by anyone outside Germany, the film has a mythical status. The soundtrack album with the same name was recorded by the popular German guitarist Michael Rother. If the film were ever released it would be a big hit.