Stroszek (1977)
Genre: Drama / Comedy
Duration: 115 minuten
Country:
West Germany
Directed by: Werner Herzog
Stars: Bruno S., Eva Mattes and Clemens Scheitz
IMDb score:
7,7 (16.696)
Releasedate: 12 January 1977
Stroszek plot
"A Ballad"
Bruno Stroszek has been released from prison and tells him to stop drinking. He has few skills and even fewer expectations. With a glockenspiel and an accordion he tries to survive as a street musician. He befriends Eva, a prostitute. After being beaten up by Eva's pimp, they leave Germany, together with Bruno's neighbor, Scheitz, to continue living in Wisconsin in the US. However, life there will not be without its problems either.
Actors and actresses
Bruno Stroszek
Eva
Scheitz
Souteneur
Pimp #2
Mechanic
Mechanic's Assistant
Prison Warden
Bank Teller
Pimp #3
Reviews & comments
Jonathan Crane
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- 121 messages
- 61 votes
No filmmaker touches me so directly in the soul as Herzog.
In that same soul, Aguirre and this masterpiece vie for the title of favorite, but that battle is actually arbitrary. This is, without a doubt, the most humane work Herzog has ever created, and that says a great deal in an immense oeuvre in which admiration, but also disgust for, and above all observation of, our species, takes center stage.
Bruno S.'s performance is of such exceptional purity that with every viewing, it is just as if I am seeing the film for the first time. Eva Mattes is an actress whom, on a sad day in the future, they may bury in a pyramid in the heart of Germany, surrounded by all her well-deserved acting awards. And Clements Scheitz is in a category of his own.
Tender, brutal, hilarious, and utterly unique despite the much-filmed subject matter. It is the details in which the film lives and breathes. The frozen turkey and the shotgun. Bruno's piano. The moustaches of the Berlin pimps... Everything is real and stylized at the same time. In Herzog's hands, film is a medium that makes you dream with your feet on the ground.
5*
Translated from Dutch · View original
Sir Djuke
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- 388 messages
- 1087 votes
Werner Herzog felt so guilty about taking the lead role in 'Woyzeck' away from Bruno S. (Schleinstein) in favor of Klaus Kinski that he wrote a screenplay specifically for S. containing many elements from his real life. 'Stroszek' initially appears to be a typical European film about people on the fringes of society, but transforms into an alternative road movie when the story moves to America.
The last half hour is so overwhelming and disorienting that it lingers in your mind for a long time. It was the film that Joy Division singer Ian Curtis watched just before he committed suicide, by which I do not wish to suggest a causal connection, incidentally.
Translated from Dutch · View original
El Loco
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- 1334 messages
- 2574 votes
I wouldn't exactly call this Stroszek a comedy, but rather a tragic story about an awkward character trying to make something of his life in America with a girlfriend and his neighbor. Although I did laugh at the auction of the mobile home and when Bruno and Scheitz just go to the supermarket across the street after their robbery.
It is from the trio's arrival in America that the film really starts to take off. Initially, everything seems to be going well with the new jobs Bruno and Eva have managed to get, but ultimately their lives are no better than those in Germany. Eva has to resort to prostitution again to earn money and even leaves Bruno. The mobile home is also confiscated, leaving Bruno and Scheitz completely broke. I felt sorry for the two men who couldn't manage a single English conversation. In this way, Herzog portrays the American Dream as an illusion.
While watching, I also had the feeling that I was watching a documentary rather than a feature film. To some extent, this probably has to do with the acting, especially that of Bruno S. He seems like the kind of character picked straight off the street and is not a typical actor. Scheitz also delivers a distinctive but enjoyable supporting performance as Bruno's old neighbor, as does Eva as Bruno's girlfriend, who is the only one who can communicate in English and is therefore important to the two men.
I didn't know what to expect from this Stroszek beforehand, but it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. For now, I'm sticking with a 3.5*, but it seems like one that could end up higher on a subsequent viewing.
3.5*
Translated from Dutch · View original
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