Kammerflimmern

I've watched this movie because my girlfriend rented it on DVD, and so i was a little bit unsure about what i was about to experience - she tends to rent movies that make me yawn sometimes ;-) No, just joking.

Anyway, this movie didn't make me yawn at all. It shows how cruel and distressing life can be - one of the actors works as a paramedic - but it also shows it's beauty.

I think that the other comments already tell you enough about the plot, so i will just state here, that if you like to laugh, cry, smile, hope and feel with actors in a good movie, do so and watch it.

I really liked Jessica Schwarz and Matthias Schweighoefer in their roles, they did a fabulous job in bringing "November" and "Crash" to life.

I saw this movie yesterday on television, and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised. To be honest I did not expect very much of this film, at the very best I expected it to be some kind of pumped-up teenager movie with a max of "hyped" songs in the soundtrack, flashy videoclip imagery and a thin, unimportant storyline. It turned out quite differently! The acting was very good, the soundtrack was good (and not to intrusive), the cinematography was good (although it could've been a bit more experimental for this kind of film)and the story was credible. I could not help to compare this film to Martin Scorsese's "Bringing out the dead". This film also describes the hard, fast-paced life of two paramedics and their confrontations with pain, suffering and death. To my own surprise I found this film better than "Bringing out the dead" because it was more human, more realistic and more authentic. "BOTD" had this Hollywood-like glitter and glamour to it that made it incredible, over the top and to "cool" to be authentic. While this film is certainly not a masterpiece or some kind of "must-see", it is a decent, well-made and gripping piece of cinema that is worth the watch in every sense. Don't break your head finding it, but if you do, don't hesitate to view it. A pleasant surprise and well-done film!

"Off Beat" is very different from other films, as its English title suggests. (The German title, Kammerflimmern, is the technical name for a deadly kind of heart attack that paramedics like the ones in the film hate to encounter.) For the first half hour, "Off Beat" is a realistic re-creation of the daily life of Crash, an EMT in Germany, his colleagues and the patients—many of whom are colorful low-lives. Only the meticulous production quality keeps the viewer aware that this is not a "reality" show. After that, the film goes its own, distinctive dramatic way. Along the way, Crash gets involved with the pregnant widow of a junkie he tried valiantly but unsuccessfully to bring through an overdose.

There will be long discussions as to whether or not there is a philosophical or religious Weltanschauung, conveyed in this film, or, if so, what it is. In the last half hour, the twists and turns become very intense and unexpected. I wonder if EMT services in Germany really have such crack professionalism to them as the ones in this film.

If is probably too much to expect, that this television film will have a USA release. I hope it will be made available for stateside audiences. To call it a change of pace is a great understatement: understated, this film is not!

OFF BEAT is a German film about a paramedic named Crash who relives the accident that killed his parents as a child in his dreams, over and over again. He keeps seeing a woman in his dreams with outstretched arms, who is not his mother. One day, he actually meets her. I don't wanna say more than that plot wise.

This film was fantastic. The main character, Crash (Matthias Schweighöfer), is instantly likable. No, to be honest, you will fall in love with this character immediately. I had the same connection with him as I did with James Duval in Gregg Araki's NOWHERE. I don't think this movie could have been made without him.

The soundtrack was amazing. But I think it's against the law to make a German film without a good soundtrack. Someone look into that for me.

Though I think the movie could have been edited down for a tighter feel, I was ultimately impressed by it. The story will choke you up if you are a big old sissy like I am. Definite recommendation. (8/10)

Hoelzemann might have a great future as a German film maker. The plot is subtle, the dialogs witty and understated, the acting, in particular by Schweighoefer and Kremp, great. Schweighoefer is a charismatic actor on who this film is built – my wife commented that his presence reminded her of James Dean. To me the psychology of the human relations was more important than the actions – the opposite of how Hollywood movies usually proceed. The scene with the suicidal girl on the roof – the Cologne cathedral in the background – is a game of life and death that keeps you breathless. Were it not for some sentimental, heavy scenes (in particular between November and Crash), I would rate it 10.