Opening 15 Aug 2013
Directed by:
Thomas Arslan
Writing credits:
Thomas Arslan
Principal actors:
Nina Hoss, Marko Mandic, Peter Kurth, Uwe Bohm, Rosa Enskat
The Klondike Gold Rush began in 1896 and when the news hit San Francisco, it was said that it literally was a stampede of so-called prospectors headed there with crazy dreams of gold in their heads. Only a third of them served the journey and even less realized their dreams.
Sounds like an exciting script right? This film could have had a lot of potential but director Thomas Arslan decided to beat a dead horse. We start by meeting the proper but quiet Emily (Nina Hoss), a German housemaid who uses the last of her money to join an unknown group of German travelers. Emily stays perfectly clean in her white blouse and says very little the entire time. We have seen her in such a role before in the film Barbara, but in that film it worked, and in this film she is too mundane. The film then proceeds with the group going over the hill, then over the next hill and so on and so on. Very little happens with the exception that one man dies, and then another, then a couple quits and it goes on and on. The only excitement is that two men are tracking them down, but even that is not very exciting. To put it in a nutshell: it is one of the most boring films I have seen in a long time. My recommendation is miss it if you can! (Shelly Schoeneshoefer)
