fbpx
Wikipedia

Mother Küsters' Trip to Heaven

January 31, 2023

Mother Küsters' Trip to Heaven (German: Mutter Küsters' Fahrt zum Himmel) is a 1975 German film written and directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. It stars Brigitte Mira, Ingrid Caven, Karlheinz Böhm and Margit Carstensen. The film was shot over 20 days between February and March 1975 in Frankfurt am Main.[1] The film drew on both Sirk-style melodramas and Weimar era workers' films to tell a political coming of age story.[2]

Mother Küsters' Trip to Heaven
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRainer Werner Fassbinder
Written byRainer Werner Fassbinder, Kurt Raab, Heinrich Zille
StarringBrigitte Mira
Ingrid Caven
Karlheinz Böhm,
Margit Carstensen
Armin Meier
Irm Hermann
CinematographyMichael Ballhaus
Edited byThea Eymesz
Music byPeer Raben
Distributed byTango Film
Release date
7 July 1975
Running time
103 minutes
CountryWest Germany
LanguageGerman

Plot

Emma Küsters (Mira), a working-class woman, lives in Frankfurt with her son and daughter-in-law. While she is doing outreach work assembling electric plugs, Frau Küsters learns that her husband Hermann (a tire-factory worker for twenty years) has killed his supervisor or his supervisor's son and then committed suicide. It later becomes apparent that Mr. Küsters had become temporarily insane after hearing layoff announcements.

A group of reporters take advantage of the grieving Mother Küsters to sensationalize the deaths. Finding no solace from her son Ernst (Meier), daughter-in-law Helene (Irm Hermann), who promptly go on holiday, or daughter (Caven), Küsters turns to Karl and Marianne Thälmann (Böhm and Carstensen), two members of what turns out to be the German Communist Party (DKP). They introduce themselves at Hermann's funeral, and invite her to their home, which Marianne had inherited.

The Communists see Küsters's husband as a 'revolutionary' and a misguided victim of capitalism, but she is initially unpersuaded; her husband saw communists as troublemakers. Her daughter Corinna advises her mother to have nothing to do with them, and points out the differing conditions enjoyed by the authorities and the people in the East. An article on the tragedy by Niemeyer (Gottfried John), a photojournalist who had earlier shown a particular interest in the family, appears in a magazine. Emma finds the article objectionable, but her daughter, who has embarked on an affair with Niemeyer, defends him on 'earning a living' grounds. At the factory, Emma Küsters finds that the company pension scheme will not apply in her case; the workers' council and the company board are at one on the issue. Her daughter leaves, and Ernst and Helene, newly returned from holiday, announce they are to set up home on their own. Helene, expecting a child, does not get along with her sister-in-law.

Emma Küsters now joins the Communist Party, having found Karl's newspaper article more sympathetic, but after Küsters speaks at her first DKP political gathering she meets a young male paper seller who claims to really have her interests at heart in clearing her husband's name. He gives her his contact details. She quickly grows impatient with the communists' passive tactics; they have to campaign in the forthcoming elections Karl explains. She connects with a small group of anarchists, who, though even smaller in number than the communists, claim to have more spirit.

There are two endings to the film:

  • The anarchists' leading member, Horst Knab, demands to see Niemeyer at the magazine's offices but the secretary ('Lilo Pempeit', Fassbinder's mother) says he is unavailable. The editor suggests Küsters send in a letter which he might publish. The anarchists take the staff hostage at gunpoint, including Niemeyer, now living with Corinna, who arrives unaware how far the situation has developed. The anarchists demand the release of all political prisoners in West Germany, a Mercedes 600 to take them to the airport and a Boeing 707 to take them out of the country. Küsters looks horrified at the anarchists' demands but is killed in a subsequent clash with the police. Knab kills Linke (the editor) but Knab is also shot. (The last stages of the narrative are detailed with captions.)
  • In another ending (primarily used for the American edition), Niemeyer is at the magazine offices but as the staff start to leave at the end of their working day, the two anarchists grow bored with the sit-down strike and leave with Küsters remaining. After being told by her daughter Corinna, clearly now living with Niemeyer who has 'phoned her, that she is making herself ridiculous, Emma Küsters meets the friendly janitor of the newspaper's offices, whose wife is dead. The widow and widower leave to have dinner together, apparently beginning a romantic relationship.[3]

Fassbinder's film criticizes the bloodthirst of the 1970s German media in a similar manner to The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum (directed by Volker Schlöndorff and Margarethe von Trotta). However, Fassbinder's film goes further by criticizing the overwhelming selfishness present in contemporary society. Nearly everyone who Mother Küsters encounters is self-serving and unconcerned with comforting her. Fassbinder also clearly criticizes the small German Communist Party's moderation and "armchair activism".

Cast

References

  1. ^ Braad Thomsen, Fassbinder, p. 332
  2. ^ Gerhardt, Christina (February 2017). "Fassbinder's Mother Küsters Goes to Heaven in a Genealogy of the Arbeiterfilme". Film Criticism. 41 (1). doi:10.3998/fc.13761232.0041.109. hdl:2027/spo.13761232.0041.109. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  3. ^ The two versions are included in the Arrow Films Region 2 (UK) DVD edition of the film.
  4. ^ German sites use this form of the character's stage name; subtitles on the Arrow Films (UK) Region 2 DVD spell the surname as 'Coren'.
  5. ^ The Internet Movie Database erroneously names the characters Böhm and Carstensen play after Ernst Thälmann, the leader of the German Communists (then the KPD) during the Weimar Republic.

Bibliography

  • Braad Thomsen, Christian, Fassbinder: Life and Work of a Provocative Genius, University of Minnesota Press, 2004, ISBN 0-8166-4364-4
  • Gerhardt, Christina, "Fassbinder's Mother Küsters Goes to Heaven in a Genealogy of the Workers' Films," Film Criticism 41.1 (February–March 2017).

External links

  • Mother Küsters' Trip to Heaven at IMDb
  • Review of the Mother Küsters' Trip to Heaven DVD at the World Socialist Web Site

January 31, 2023
mother, küsters, trip, heaven, german, mutter, küsters, fahrt, himmel, 1975, german, film, written, directed, rainer, werner, fassbinder, stars, brigitte, mira, ingrid, caven, karlheinz, böhm, margit, carstensen, film, shot, over, days, between, february, marc. Mother Kusters Trip to Heaven German Mutter Kusters Fahrt zum Himmel is a 1975 German film written and directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder It stars Brigitte Mira Ingrid Caven Karlheinz Bohm and Margit Carstensen The film was shot over 20 days between February and March 1975 in Frankfurt am Main 1 The film drew on both Sirk style melodramas and Weimar era workers films to tell a political coming of age story 2 Mother Kusters Trip to HeavenTheatrical release posterDirected byRainer Werner FassbinderWritten byRainer Werner Fassbinder Kurt Raab Heinrich ZilleStarringBrigitte MiraIngrid CavenKarlheinz Bohm Margit Carstensen Armin Meier Irm HermannCinematographyMichael BallhausEdited byThea EymeszMusic byPeer RabenDistributed byTango FilmRelease date7 July 1975Running time103 minutesCountryWest GermanyLanguageGerman Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 References 4 Bibliography 5 External linksPlot EditEmma Kusters Mira a working class woman lives in Frankfurt with her son and daughter in law While she is doing outreach work assembling electric plugs Frau Kusters learns that her husband Hermann a tire factory worker for twenty years has killed his supervisor or his supervisor s son and then committed suicide It later becomes apparent that Mr Kusters had become temporarily insane after hearing layoff announcements A group of reporters take advantage of the grieving Mother Kusters to sensationalize the deaths Finding no solace from her son Ernst Meier daughter in law Helene Irm Hermann who promptly go on holiday or daughter Caven Kusters turns to Karl and Marianne Thalmann Bohm and Carstensen two members of what turns out to be the German Communist Party DKP They introduce themselves at Hermann s funeral and invite her to their home which Marianne had inherited The Communists see Kusters s husband as a revolutionary and a misguided victim of capitalism but she is initially unpersuaded her husband saw communists as troublemakers Her daughter Corinna advises her mother to have nothing to do with them and points out the differing conditions enjoyed by the authorities and the people in the East An article on the tragedy by Niemeyer Gottfried John a photojournalist who had earlier shown a particular interest in the family appears in a magazine Emma finds the article objectionable but her daughter who has embarked on an affair with Niemeyer defends him on earning a living grounds At the factory Emma Kusters finds that the company pension scheme will not apply in her case the workers council and the company board are at one on the issue Her daughter leaves and Ernst and Helene newly returned from holiday announce they are to set up home on their own Helene expecting a child does not get along with her sister in law Emma Kusters now joins the Communist Party having found Karl s newspaper article more sympathetic but after Kusters speaks at her first DKP political gathering she meets a young male paper seller who claims to really have her interests at heart in clearing her husband s name He gives her his contact details She quickly grows impatient with the communists passive tactics they have to campaign in the forthcoming elections Karl explains She connects with a small group of anarchists who though even smaller in number than the communists claim to have more spirit There are two endings to the film The anarchists leading member Horst Knab demands to see Niemeyer at the magazine s offices but the secretary Lilo Pempeit Fassbinder s mother says he is unavailable The editor suggests Kusters send in a letter which he might publish The anarchists take the staff hostage at gunpoint including Niemeyer now living with Corinna who arrives unaware how far the situation has developed The anarchists demand the release of all political prisoners in West Germany a Mercedes 600 to take them to the airport and a Boeing 707 to take them out of the country Kusters looks horrified at the anarchists demands but is killed in a subsequent clash with the police Knab kills Linke the editor but Knab is also shot The last stages of the narrative are detailed with captions In another ending primarily used for the American edition Niemeyer is at the magazine offices but as the staff start to leave at the end of their working day the two anarchists grow bored with the sit down strike and leave with Kusters remaining After being told by her daughter Corinna clearly now living with Niemeyer who has phoned her that she is making herself ridiculous Emma Kusters meets the friendly janitor of the newspaper s offices whose wife is dead The widow and widower leave to have dinner together apparently beginning a romantic relationship 3 Fassbinder s film criticizes the bloodthirst of the 1970s German media in a similar manner to The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum directed by Volker Schlondorff and Margarethe von Trotta However Fassbinder s film goes further by criticizing the overwhelming selfishness present in contemporary society Nearly everyone who Mother Kusters encounters is self serving and unconcerned with comforting her Fassbinder also clearly criticizes the small German Communist Party s moderation and armchair activism Cast EditBrigitte Mira Emma Kusters Ingrid Caven Corinna Corinne 4 aka Corinna Kusters Armin Meier Ernst Kusters Irm Hermann Helene Kusters Karlheinz Bohm Karl Tillmann 5 Margit Carstensen Frau Marianne Tillmann Gottfried John Niemeyer Matthias Fuchs Horst Knab Kurt Raab as GustavReferences Edit Braad Thomsen Fassbinder p 332 Gerhardt Christina February 2017 Fassbinder s Mother Kusters Goes to Heaven in a Genealogy of the Arbeiterfilme Film Criticism 41 1 doi 10 3998 fc 13761232 0041 109 hdl 2027 spo 13761232 0041 109 Retrieved 28 June 2017 The two versions are included in the Arrow Films Region 2 UK DVD edition of the film German sites use this form of the character s stage name subtitles on the Arrow Films UK Region 2 DVD spell the surname as Coren The Internet Movie Database erroneously names the characters Bohm and Carstensen play after Ernst Thalmann the leader of the German Communists then the KPD during the Weimar Republic Bibliography EditBraad Thomsen Christian Fassbinder Life and Work of a Provocative Genius University of Minnesota Press 2004 ISBN 0 8166 4364 4 Gerhardt Christina Fassbinder s Mother Kusters Goes to Heaven in a Genealogy of the Workers Films Film Criticism 41 1 February March 2017 External links EditMother Kusters Trip to Heaven at IMDb Review of the Mother Kusters Trip to Heaven DVD at the World Socialist Web Site Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mother Kusters 27 Trip to Heaven amp oldid 1112376017, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.