The Harmonists ***
rated R starring Ulrich Noethen, Ben Becker, Meret Becker, Heino Ferch, Heinrich Schafmeister, Max Tidof, Kai Wiesinger in German with English subtitles written by Klaus Richter and Jurgen Egger based on the story by Jurgen Buscher directed by Joseph Vilsmaier
We are now still at the beginning of a year packed full of films, and we already have our first Holocaust comedy. That is what some people will say after a first glance at Joseph Vilsmaier's wonderful THE HARMONISTS, but actually they will find little to be offended by. THE HARMONISTS, unlike the wildly popular Oscar winner LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, is a true story that just happens to occur during an untimely era. THE HARMONISTS is the more than slightly fictionalized story of the rise and fall of the Comedian Harmonists, a group that was so popular worldwide(especially in Europe) that one member was quoted as saying that they could have been as famous as the Beatles...had they not broken up.
Yes, the story of the Comedian Harmonists is not an easy one to tell. It starts with the dreams of a young Jewish man named Harry Frommermann(Ulrich Noethen, who looks unmistakably like Roberto Benigni) living in Berlin circa 1927. He is a talented musician, but he is also a poor man who does not have money to even feed his bird. He then posts a newspaper ad that says he wants to start a singing group. The first lock for the group is a monk named Bob Biberti, and the next 4 singers come rolling along. The 6 begin having vigorous rehearsals in order to get everything perfect. Then, of course, there are the cliches of members threatening to leave because the group isn't any good, etc. And Harry soons begin to realize that Erna, the girl of his dreams, has taken a liking to Bob, and eventually moves in with him. But the real twist begins when slowly the members of the group, 3 Jewish and 3 gentile, begin to realize the overwhelming anti-semitism in Germany. Soon, it comes to the point when they are being threatened to no longer be allowed to perform together, by the same people who are supposed to be their fans.
THE HARMONISTS works very well for the most part, telling an interesting story and getting great performances from all the leads. The songs are also all very catchy and well done. Sometimes, the film's subplots threaten to take away from the story, but the characters are always interesting enough to follow. It is obvious that THE HARMONISTS has taken the liberty of changing a few things from the actual story, but it's hard to care since the film is so vividly engrossing. THE HARMONISTS is made by Miramax, which is having a lot of luck with it's other two foreign films, the similar LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL and CHILDREN OF HEAVEN. I must say once again that Miramax is still putting out better movies than any movie studio on the planet.
a review by Akiva Gottlieb, The Teenage Movie Critic akiva@excite.com http://www.angelfire.com/mo/film watch me on TBS' "Dinner And A Movie" May 21, 8:05pm EST
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