Verdict: Decidedly German comedy about three old women fighting back
and winning is more than mildly entertaining.
Growing old disgracefully, the three elderly women in this German comedy have been saving their marks and pfennigs (the film was made before the euro) for years so they can take
a cruise together. Their aspirations are modest (the Baltic rather than the Pacific) and their tactics unorthodox (shoplifting cigarettes and schnapps to smuggle into the local old folks' home). But when catastrophe strikes just as they are about to cash up, they resolve to get even.
The comedic tone is decidedly Teutonic - at times dry enough to be a fire danger and often rueful and philosophical, even when the action is farcical. But the performances from the three women are marvellous and the film's various subtexts - about the power of the elderly to shake a defiant fist in the face of death and the ingratitude of children to their parents - are beautifully woven into the action. It's more diverting than knee-slappingly hilarious, but it is an unusual and rewarding entertainment.
- Peter Calder
Cast: Gudrun Okras, Elisabeth Scherer, Christel Peters
Director: Lars Buchel
Running time: 90 mins
Rating: M - In German with English subtitles
Screening: Academy
