Deutschland 2001
Director: Michael Herbig Actors: Michael Herbig
Abahachi (Michal Herbig) and his blood brother Ranger (Christian Tramitz) are in big trouble. When buying a property, the gangster Santa Maria (Sky du Mont) cheats them both. He also steals Abahachi's gold borrowed from the Shoshones and kills the chief's son. The chief of the Shoshones believes that Ranger and Abahachi are the murderers of his son and therefore wants to have them killed on the torture pole. The two blood brothers, however, can flee and set about proving their innocence. Abahachi wants to find a treasure in order to recover the borrowed gold (stolen by Santa Maria) from the Shoshone. The only thing that's stupid is that the Indian has only a quarter of a treasure map and the other three parts have been given away to friends and his twin brother. But that's not the only problem: The Shoshones are Ranger and Abahachi because of the flight from the torture pole on the heels and Santa Maria with his gang is interested in the treasure they are looking for...
You couldn't expect much when Michael Herbig made a film. And in fact, you don't find many good scenes in this movie. Just like in the unspeakable PRO7 comedy series "The Bully Parade", the Manitu's shoe is filled with one dumb, flat joke after another. Care for a little taste? The Indians are not digging up the hatchet, they're digging up a folding chair! Oh, man, what a laugh we had! Well, from time to time the jokes are quite nice, but on the whole the film is one single joke (in a negative sense). And besides, there's no need to be naive humor, as other movies (maniac for Mary, stupid and dumber...) prove. The plot in "The Shoe of Manitory" is extremely poor. Basically, a good story doesn't matter in a comedy anyway, but if the jokes are bad, you could at least have stuck to it... In short:"The Manitu's shoe is as funny as "The Bully Parade", not at all, and that's the death sentence for a comedy, of course. This film is another good example of how nothing good can come of it if the director, screenwriter and lead actor (in a double role) is the same person. After all, the film has something positive to offer. Apart from a few funny scenes, the outstanding scenery and equipment is striking. In this respect, the film doesn't look cheap at all, and there is a real "Western feeling". (Old Italo-Western were already produced on location. Sky du Mont is also convincing in his role and one would have preferred him to be seen in a "serious" western. But what is really outstanding about the "shoe of Manitu": The huge marketing machine, which was launched at PRO7 and the other Kirch stations (Sat1...). No commercial break, no magazine in which "Der Schuh des Manitu" was not mentioned. That may be the only reason why so many visitors want to see this film. Because of the quality of the film, I'm not sure.
A movie review by Jörn
