MovieChat Forums > Herz aus Glas (1976) Discussion > Absurd Dark Comedy

Absurd Dark Comedy

posted 17 years ago by corrupted_23
5 replies | jump to latest

I think that this film is manly a comedy, full of dark jokes and absurd gags. I don't understand why is considered in imdb as Drama. Characters and dialogues are pretty (very) weird, and remember this: "People of the future will kill and die because of the benchs". ;-)

When I saw this film, at the beginning, I was upset becuase I didn't understand anything, futhermore the copy was awful, in 16mm and in a very bad state, until I realize that this movie couldn't be take seriously I was thinking in leaving the theater. Then, I couldn't stop laughing. The last scene in the tabern, with the crazy girl dancing, the man with the cards in his hand and staring to infinite, the futoroligst sheperd and irritating "musician" is one of the funniest scenes I ever seen.

Cheers.

[–] Henry J Sosenite 16 years ago

I find this funny, too, but I also find it dark, disturbing, and beautiful. but I don't think it's funny in a "ha-ha" way (even though I do laugh at a few parts), and I sure as hell wouldn't call it a comedy. having about 20 total minutes of landscapes set to music is not a common characteristic of a comedy. I also think the strange and beautiful scenes easily outweigh the funny ones, especially the absolutely perfect ending.

"Beautiful evening. you can almost see the stars..."

[–] rosabelverde_1127 16 years ago

When I saw this film, at the beginning, I was upset becuase I didn't understand anything, futhermore the copy was awful, in 16mm and in a very bad state, until I realize that this movie couldn't be take seriously I was thinking in leaving the theater. Then, I couldn't stop laughing. The last scene in the tabern, with the crazy girl dancing, the man with the cards in his hand and staring to infinite, the futoroligst sheperd and irritating "musician" is one of the funniest scenes I ever seen.

Another funny scene was the man dancing with his dead pal ... yes, I think you are right seeing the comedy aspects, it is weird Bavarian humour here which is very special and doesn't fit the ordinary "comedy" term. So the other poster who wouldn't call this film a comedy isnt't totally wrong either. There's another Bavarian filmmaker with this kind of serious humour: Herbert Achternbusch who co-wrote the script for this Herzog film; he is regarded as even more freakish and not even people in Germany get this Bavarian mindset correctly which often doesn't distinguish between comedy and drama.

Regards, Rosabel

[–] torpedoboy4 16 years ago

sounds interesting

[–] mothboy88 16 years ago

Yeah, I would say that the dance with the dead friend is incredibly tragic. The whole movie explores the insanity of humanity, which is incredibly tragic. But the OP is definitely not wrong either; it just takes a look at it from a different angle or perspective, and it's all hilarious.

[–] TemporaryOne-1 15 years ago

Yes, my first viewing, I kept thinking the master (Stefan Güttler) was a vampire...

The prophecies were hilarious...