Menu total (1986) User Reviews

Extremely bizarre, never coherent, typicsal Schlingensief, but also not really entertaining sadly

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 11 September 2018]

"Menu total" is a German 80-minute movie from 1986 and this one was written and directed by the late Christoph Schlingensief who was also in charge of the script here and he was only in his mid-20s at that point, but somehow more prolific than pretty much every other German filmmaker. Here we got one of his rare black-and-white films and as always with him, the cast includes people that you will see in many of his films, but really only there, most of them not even trained actors. But they don't need to be because of the material and screenplay and this is what makes the film really. It's never the individual performances, even if it is somewhat fun to see the young Helge Schneider in here in a way you have not seen him for a long time and probably never will. Well, his performance here and also the film as a whole is typical Schlingensief really: no coherent plot by any means, all over the place, but still somehow it is working at times. Lots of music, some dancing, some political references, but all in all, it's never about anything except the generally awkward state and how bizarre it all feels. There is violence here, even connected to sexuality at times. But it's not a film supposed to shock audiences really, even if this one may include some more scary or horrific scenes than most other Schlingensief films. Yeah I don't really know what to make of it all. I am sure the film is packed with symbolisms and references to other films on so many occasions, but it's tough to make them out really. I like Schlingensief. I think he was some kind of genius with his very own approach to film, theater and performances. It's not for everyone and I must say this film here is not for me either, among my least favorites looking at everything I have seen from him, but still I can see the artistic impact and it's so much in the face of traditional filmmaking that it's a joy to watch. Just not frequently enough unfortunately, which is why ultimately I have to give this film a thumbs-down and I don't recommend checking it out. Also if you want to get into Schlingensief's works, this may not be the best choice to start with. Pick something more mainstream instead, which probably is still less mainstream than every other film from its time from Germany. That's all folks.