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| Directed by Joseph Vilsmaier; Starring Ben Becker, Heino Ferch, Ulrich Noethan, Heinrich Schafmeister, Max Tidof, Kai Wiesinger, Meret Becker, Katja Riemann, Dana Vávrová, Noemi Fischer, Otto Sander, Michaela Rosen, and Günter Lamprecht |
I must admit that I knew nearly nothing about this film when I entered the theatre. The only thing I knew was what I read from the newspaper’s capsule review (I missed the Siskel & Ebert episode reviewing it and had to settle with listening to the reviews making it a little forgettable). I guess this served as a plus for the film since from the beginning I was learning stuff about the Comedian Harmonists that I did not know. In fact I do not believe that I had ever heard of the group before.
For those unaware of the group, they were a sextet of German singers that would at times go to comical actions like vocal sound effects. The group became famous in the early thirties but were forced to meet opposition around the rise of Hitler due to the fact that three of them were Jewish. The film mainly centers on Harry Frommermann (Noethen) who falls in love with a local record salesgirl, Erna (Becker). Things get complicated when his friend and fellow Harmonist Robert Biberti (Becker; looking remarkably like Michael McKeon) falls for Erna too.
The Harmonists is the best foreign language film I have seen for the first time this year. The direction seems slight for the usually edgy German directors, but still serves its purpose. The main thing that makes this film remarkable is its fine performances (I especially liked Noethen and Ferch). The songs are impressive too, as the actors lip sync, though at times poorly, to old recordings of the group. A great film I recommend to anyone who has it playing nearby.
