This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

Fantastic!

Am I Missing Something?

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Watching "Shultze Gets the Blues" is like taking a vacation. It quickly transports you away from the rush rush rush world we normally live in, and places you in a much slower paced and relaxed reality. There are no fast paced car chases, gun battles, or any other violence. Only the intriguing story of a newly retired salt miner who changes his life after hearing some Zydeco while scanning across the international radio offerings.Schultze is also an aging and obese accordionist, who frequently displays his talents through playing the polka. But once he happens upon a bit of Cajun musical culture, he's hopelessly hooked. What sounds like a boring premise isn't, as his journey takes him out of sedentary retirement and on a personal international quest.Almost all of this off beat story is told via long, locked down static camera shots devoid of pans, tilts, zooms, or pulls. Each scene is carefully and artistically framed, and it feels as though we're watching a series of interconnected paintings that have motion. The acting is superb, sometimes this story feels more like a documentary for its complete lack of self awareness.Highly recommended for those who love music, especially Zydeco, and aren't too offended if it comes from an accordion. The film is also a tribute to the restorative power of music, no matter what language barriers might exist. But it IS a German film after all, so it doesn't pull any reality punches along the way.

The movie gets everything. An amazing story, a sympathetically main character and surprising plots and of course funny dialogues. Good pictures and very good (really special) music. But no question Horst Krause is the Deal here. Its Not Easy to imagine another actor than him. He looks and acts so typical boring German from a small village like no other actor in Germany i know. But with a heart of gold. Like a big fat buddha.Somebody will find the story a Little Bit cheesy. Not for me. Its the story from a normal very quite people with dreams and hopes deep inside him. And only the "destiny" gives him the chance to get his "inside"-dreams alive. Lovely. Isn it? Sometimes WE with it will hit us too:)

In fact, it ain't a typical road movie. It is rather a tragic-comedic study of a man left behind by the rest of the world. A man, who after losing his job is left without a real meaning in his life. In addition, his only living relative, his demented mother, who he visits from time to time in a nursing home, suddenly dies. Out of the blue he gets to hear a piece of Zydeco music on the radio. At first, he is flabbergasted and doesn't know what to think about it. But from then on, very gradually, this type of music changes his life. He figures that he cannot hope to find the roots of it in Germany, where he has lived ever since his birth. So he ventures out into the USA to find the roots of his new love, the Zydeco music. He finally reaches them in the heart of Louisiana. Shortly after that he dies.What does this tell us? Well, probably not a whole lot. But maybe at least that it's better to pursue happiness in life even if you think you're probably already too old for it. And that it's a better life if you die happy.

I rented this film because of its connection to Louisiana. The acting is absolutely superb in this German movie about a man who retires and finds his passion for life has gone until he discovers Zydeco music. This is not the typical Hollywood tale but rather a very foreign, in this case German, look at how a person deals with the end of their life. I watched this film after Hurricane Katrina, so it was good to see some of the old local landmarks like the Rock'N Bowl being used as a location. The storyline had me hooked from the very start as Schultze and his friends drew me into their world and everyday mundane lives and following Schultze's evolution. This is a story that resonates for all of us as we must one day face the question of existence like Schultze's character did and I hope I do it as well as he did by seizing the day. If you enjoy a good old-fashioned story that doesn't rely on juvenile humor, huge explosions or gee whiz special effects, then go rent this movie today.