Tor zum Himmel
Germany,
2003, 90 min
Shown in 2004
CREDITS
- dir
-
Veit Helmer
- prod
-
Veit Helmer
- scr
-
Gordan Mihic, Veit Helmer
- cam
-
Joachim Jung
- editor
-
Silke Botsch, Hansjörg Weissbrich
- cast
-
Masumi Makhija, Valera Nikolaev, Miki Manojlovic, Udo Kier
- source
-
WORLD SALES Bavaria Film International, Bavariafilmplatz 7, D-82031 Geiselgasteig, Germany. FAX: 49-89-64-92-507. EMAIL: bavaria.international@bavaria-film.de.
- premiere
-
U.S. Premiere
-
COMMENTS
Veit Helmer, Valera Nikolaev, Joachim Jung in person.
OTHER
It is a natural function of international airports that people representing a vast variety of countries will be shuttling through on a daily basis. But what about the people who make sure that these travelers arrive safely, with luggage intact, at their final destination? The conceit of Veit Helmer’s utterly charming film, which is set entirely at the Frankfurt airport, is that the folks who clean the planes and unload baggage represent an equally multinational microcosm as those who benefit from their travails. Using well-known actors from ten different countries, Helmer tells the poignant story of an Indian janitor who longs to be a flight attendant and a Russian illegal immigrant trying to achieve his residency by working for a tyrannical baggage official. They meet one evening in a deserted plane—she’s practicing her stewardess patter while he imagines being a pilot—and begin a relationship. For the most part, Helmer keeps things brisk with Bollywoodesque numbers, conveyor belt rides and clandestine kisses, but more serious subplots concerning citizenship and people seeking asylum add a considerable weight to the film that reminds viewers that the airport is only a way station for both passengers and employees and that the promised land remains in the distance.
—Rod Armstrong
FACTOID #111
Both parents of TV star Mariska Hargitay attended the Festival, but not at the same time. Actress Jayne Mansfield attended in 1966 on a lark, and bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay attended in 1989, having appeared as himself in György Szomjas’s film Mr. Universe.
