Shoppen (2006) Reviews

• Watch it!

  peanutqueen2007-03-27

  I've just seen this movie in a preview and I can only recommend to watch it. It was about 90 minutes long and when it was over I felt like it could go on for hours. The stories of the protagonists are so realistic and you feel really at home. The movie basically consists of dialogs but I wasn't bored a minute. 18 people of really different characters and each one of them acted out so well. I had to laugh, felt awkward, was sad and still felt happiness. All in all it is a movie that shows the different kinds of people in our society, the way they communicate and how love has changed and nowadays is handled as an economic thing. Dating becomes something that is similar to an audition. The whole audience loved it. So please watch it if there's a possibility. You'll love it!

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• Very enjoyable

  john-5752007-04-22

  Currently playing at the 2007 German Film Festival in Australia http://www.goethe.de/ins/au/lp/prj/ff07/enindex.htm thanks to Peanutqueen and especially AriesGemini for her rundown on the actors in this ensemble cast. In Australia these movies were sub-titled in English and while French movies here often get a mainstream release, German movies are still to gather that sort of commercial audience. But like BMWs and Mercedes when Germans get it right I really like their films. Like PQ the time here went so quickly, lots of laughs from the audience as each of the 9 men and 9 women moved down the speed dating line 5 minutes at a time. While many films are overlong this one I could have watched much more of. It had the sort of characters and character development for a series. Given time I will re-read AriesGemini100 review and reference the actors I liked and their other work with a view to keeping an eye out from them. I agree....most of these actors will go onto bigger and better things. Some very good character actors in this fine film. I did see it in the program listed as a mockumentary. Mock or otherwise it felt very real. And quite romantic in it's way. Viva la Deutcsh!

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• Very smart, very funny

  robainsley2007-11-25

  In complete contrast to the previous correspondent here, I thought Shoppen Munich (as it was billed when shown with English subtitles here in London at the German Film Festival in November 2007) was very funny, very well acted, and excellently scripted. It's quite audacious to design a 100-minute film that consists exclusively, and relentlessly, of talking heads. But I think Ralf Westhoff succeeded with wit and élan. No standard filmic devices of, say, following a character's soul-baring pronouncement with some meditative minor-seventh-chord music and long-shot nature cutaways. But when someone said something that revealed their souls - well, we were hustled on by the man with the timer for yet another superficial introduction. Which is, of course, the point: the hurtling tickbox superficiality of thirtysomething urbanites, where everything is down to a quick question and answer. Maybe most films are so clichéd and stupid that we English are ready to laugh at any vaguely intelligent and uncontrived cinema, but I can promise you that at the screening tonight (Curzon Cinema, Sun 25 Nov 2007) the full audience bellowed with laughter most of the way through. So I wasn't the only one guffawing! My girlfriend (who speaks German and has lived in Munich) thought it was hilarious. I (who don't speak German and have not been to Munich, I think) thought it was hilarious. I'd recommend Shoppen (Munich) to anyone (especially couples...) looking for a smart, witty, original, wise film about the superficiality of modern relationships and the bewilderment of the generation who feel they've missed out on the happy-ever-after stuff first time round. NB In the English subtitled showing in London, the subtitles (which were very good) were shown completely underneath the slightly reduced picture, not inside it. I thought this was a Good Thing.

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• Well done! Highly entertaining and intelligent dating movie

  ariesgemini1002007-04-19

  Hey, this Ralf Westhoff seems to knows a lot about people! We have nine women and nine men taking part in a speed dating event, each person has five minutes to talk to each opposite. A good idea to make a movie out of these conversations. And even better: it works very, very well! The dialog is witty, original and authentic, each person is subtly characterized, without falling into the cliché trap, something that is unusual for German movies, remember: All these years, we Germans were tormented with silly zeitgeist comedies such as "Workaholic" or "Stadtgespräch". But now the time has come for young German directors to do their own thing and take the risk of producing movies which are entertaining and funny AND intelligent and sensitive at the same time. The timing of "Shoppen" is good, too: Although it presents mainly dialog, it keeps the tension and interest. After a while, you actually become curious to see how this man and that woman would do. Some of the participants meet later on for a two-some, it's fun to see them interacting together in "real life". Of course, the film has a few drawbacks: it's not very cinematic (but can such a movie be?), the musical soundtrack could have been better, but all this is only marginal. The most important thing about this movie: We have some damn good actors here. Imagine this: All of them are still pretty unknown even here in Germany (most were derived from the Munich or Bavarian theater scene). But I predict that out of the 18 main actors, at least 11 will quickly become very well-known in the movie and TV scene over here. It's great to see so many fresh and at the same time talented faces. Well-done! For those who want to read more, here's a rundown of all 18 actors:(spoilers!) Sebastian Weber: Silent waters are deep! Memorize his "Flower garden" monologue, you can win any woman's heart with this one. Anna Böger: A hell of a woman! Every time she opens her mouth, you can't help but laugh and feel good. Listen how she pronounces "asshole" and calls the pink shirt guy a "Bürscherl"! Felix Hellmann: The "Bürscherl" from above is fun to watch. The inconvenient truth is that there are too many of those guys around. His looks somewhat reminded me of Flo Weber of "Sportfreunde Stiller". Katharina Schubert: This woman has everything: love, hope, despair, beauty. Her "do you want children" scene is a classic. A great actress of whom we will hear again, no doubt. David Baalcke: Now is this guy a loser or not? Almost as authentic as Paul Giamatti in "Sideways". I hope this is NOT method acting. Julia Koschitz: The "good looking" woman in the circle. Julia used to play theater in my hometown, kudos! I think she will appear in many TV series to come. Martin Butzke: The revolutionary guy catches the cutest and most conventional woman in the end. Would you like to share a taxi with this guy? Kathrin von Steinburg: She gave a stunning performance in "Tatort" last year. Her trance-like performance in this movie is no less. SEE her beautiful face and HEAR her dirty laugh. The best scene in the movie belongs to her. Matthias Bundschuh: I know these "write down everything"-guys back from school. I'm not sure whether the hot blond got her allergic reaction because of him or his cat. Matthias' portrayal of such a chicken is outstanding. Mediha Cetin: The sister-in-law of my ex-girl-friend was the same talker like her. The day I met her was the only day in my life I needed tranquilizers, so bad remembrances here. Thomas Limpinsel: The "nice and desperate guy" in the circle. Limpinsel has a comical talent that is way better than most so-called "comedians" on TV. Lisa Wagner: The victim of Sebastian's "flower garden" metaphor. Lisa's face is funny and full of melancholy, her story made me feel good and sad at the same time, wow! Oliver Bürgin: The "good looking" man in the circle. No wonder he catches Julia in the end. These two really fit together. I think he will appear in many TV series to come. Julia Heinze: The "cute, conventional" woman. I hope she won't be underrated: Julia's face changes from naive to hurt to furious are great! Stephan Zinner: The "nature boy" from Partenkirchen likes cooking, eating – and good sex. Watch the body language between him and the hot blond! Zinner usually plays CSU politician Söder on stage! Anja Klawun: The "bargain girl" has some good moments, but, beg your pardon, fails (like most actors) in playing a drunk on screen. Christian Pfeil: Plays the arrogant and narcissistic guy. Couldn't believe that this very actor owns two art-house cinemas in Munich. Tanja Schleiff: Plays the girl who sleeps with every man around. I'm sure many male visitors will go for her. I have heard she can do dramatic roles as well, so I'm curious.

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• Defining statement on dating culture in the 21st century.

  Horst_In_Translation2017-02-14

  "Shoppen" is a German movie from 2006 (over 10 years old already) and let me start by saying that this work by writer and director Ralf Westhoff is one of my favorite German movies of all time. It is so refreshing to see an actually funny German comedy in the face of all the weak stuff by the likes of Schweighöfer, M'Barek etc. And the best is that the depth and drama that this one here offers feels also very authentic all the time. I believe these 90 minutes here are a bit of a defining film about relationships, single status and life in the big city. I may be a bit biased about this movie I can's deny as this is I think the very first film i watched on my own at the theater and hundreds should follow, probably thousands at some point. Anyway, this is the story here of almost 20 singles living in the Munich area who go to a speed dating event. In the first 10-15 minutes we see scenes with the characters in order to understand a bit who they are and what their lives are like at this very moment. Then the dating part begins and it goes on for an hour perhaps before we find out eventually what happens afterward between the characters, who may get together with whom and what their approach to a new relationship may look like. Anyway, this film is all but empty romance or comedy entertainment. It feels extremely authentic and I never had the impression during these 1.5 hours that I was actually watching characters in roles. It is a bit sad to see that Westhoff makes a new film only every five years or so, but I have to live with that I guess. In terms of the cast here, the most known members are probably Schubert and Koschitz, who also worked with Westhoff on other occasions. Now I will not go into detail about the speed dating part in particular as it basically is the entire movie. Watch it for yourself, you really should. I just personally think that it was a really difficult challenge to make the audience interested in all these characters as each and every one of them really does not have a huge deal of screen time and we also only know very basic stuff about them aside from the fact that they are all single. It is an extremely dialog-driven film of course too and this is another big challenge to make the conversations, as quick as they are, interesting to the viewers and not just random empty hullabaloo. I think Westhoff succeeded magnificently with this and it is such an interesting watch that never gets uninspired ever. Some of the characters are great fun, some are depressed and the rest is in-between somewhere. One of the main reasons of this film is because of how flawed everybody is. This is not a film with the intention to make people like everybody of these characters. It probably all depends on your very own background who you prefer, the brutally honest, the whiny, the sterile, the professionals... etc. It is also not a film that is about forced happy endings or anything. More conflicts will arise for sure and this for example became obvious from the final conversation between the cook and the woman he meets. As a whole, I think this is an absolute must-see. It is very funny, very touching, very relevant and just very accurate in terms of dating culture in the 21st century. Also a great watch for couples I think, especially on Valentine's Day today. Oh yeah the soundtrack is fun too. What are you waiting for? Go see it, if you still have a chance to. Now.

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