I give this movie 7 points. Although it has its lengths I liked the characters and the destructive sense of humour as the story develops. I can understand if younger people think it is boring. Maybe the fun only comes through when you´re getting closer to your own "midlife crisis". But then it is terribly funny...
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robocut116 August 2001
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dr.julian_bashir15 December 2000I've seen the movie yesterday for the third time and I think it's one of the best Austrian movies..ever! The actors are all well known Austrian "Cabarettists" (a Cabarett is a sort of comedy which has an high content of themes from politics and society).
And that's the movie about: Politics, society, midlife-crisis and so on...it's an universal movie...
But you have to be an Austrian or you have to know Austria very good to understand the whole content of it. Two out of three jokes are specific Austrian and about the situation in Austria and aim at political Parties or other specific habitudes of the "Homo sapiens Austriacus"
If you are an Austrian, you love the movie. If you aren't an Austrian, you don't understand the movie - that's it... -
stipsix-11 October 2002well, obviously raymond doesn't seem to understand austrian humor, because actually this is a really funny movie, IF one is able to understand it.
there are a lot of jokes which can only be understood, if a person has really good german language skills (and especially austrian dialect). so, from my point of view i can really recommend this movie to anyone who wants to have a good laugh. -
"Freispiel" or "Free Game" is an Austrian 90-minute movie from 1995, so this one is already over 20 years old and this is one of director Harald Sicheritz' early, but not earliest, career efforts. He was also in charge of the script and that one is actually a co-effort between him and lead actor Alfred Dorfer. these two collaborated on many occasions actually. Here we have the story of a disillusioned music teacher who dreams of having an actual musical career, but there prove to be so many obstacles in his way on the road to fame.First of all, he is really annoyed with his students usually who do not seem to possess the slightest musical talent despite apparently thinking otherwise. Then there are occasional struggles with his wife as well as with women in general. And those people in positions where they could help him with his dream also prove to be really annoying. Remember the quote where one guy asks him what he does and he responds that he teaches music and then the other guy says something like well somebody has to do it. Anyway, in my opinion the negative was more frequent than the positive here. Or maybe lets say the forgettable was more frequent than the memorable as I was never really impressed with the story here. It is a comedy according to IMDb, but there are also more than just a few dramatic references and scenes in here. Overall, the fact that I did not end up enjoying this one too much has probably to do with the fact that script as well as performances are nothing really that stays too much in the mind I guess. But there is also a subjective component to it I am sure as in terms of most known Austrian actors I have always been more of a Hader guy and not a Dorfer guy. Other known names here include Düringer (always like him) and Böck. Utimately, I give this film a thumbs-down, even if here and there it has a solid scene and it is by no means a failure. If you like Austrian cinema (from the 90s), then you can still check it out I guess and you won't be majorly disappointed. Lets see if you share my opinion that the second half of this movie was weaker than the first. And one final note: Maybe get subtitles, even if you are German as the thick Austrian accents make it difficult at times to understand.
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Rocke15 December 2000Well, the only good version of this movie is the original one, the Austrian one! I watched both versions, the original and the English version. I think, people which don't speak English won't understand the Austrian humor. The guy, which translated the movie should learn German first... or English... or translating. It's not as good as other Harald Sicheritz movies, but it is a good movie. No, it isn't a non-stop-laughing-but-no-sense-in-it-American-film some of you guys might like. It is a tragic movie, but also a Sicheritz movie, so that all the comedy can't be left out.
Once more: Most of the jokes got lost in the translation, if anybody wants to make "Freispiel" bad without knowing anything about it, I have something for him: learn German, loser, before you open your mouth! -
raymond-1518 October 1999This movie is said to be a comedy about a man going through a mid-life crisis. It's true he's a guitar-playing loser. Nothing goes right for him. Alfred Dorfer in the lead role has a certain roguish charm and he delivers his lines well with an unusually dry wit. In one scene his partner discovers a stain on an upholstered lounge. Jumping to the conclusion that he has enjoyed another woman in her absence, she trashes everything in the apartment. The room is a complete mess. When he comes in he asks: "Have you been looking for something?"That's about the standard of the humour throughout. To be honest, I couldn't raise a laugh. This is one film that isn't worth a replay. Indeed, if you haven't seen it yet, don't bother.