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Mother Kusters Goes to Heaven

Play trailer Poster for Mother Kusters Goes to Heaven 1975 1h 45m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 10 Reviews 88% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
When her husband kills himself after going on a killing spree at the factory where he worked, Emma Mother Küsters (Brigitte Mira) finds herself the sudden object of a media frenzy. But, as her husband's violent end makes the news, Mother finds that no one will listen to her -- least of all the members of her own family. Her son Ernst (Armin Meier) skips town while her money-hungry daughter Corinna (Ingrid Caven) exploits her naivety to advance her career as a singer.

Critics Reviews

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Vincent Canby New York Times 07/25/2005
4/5
A witty, spare, beautifully performed political comedy. Go to Full Review
Dave Kehr Chicago Reader 01/01/2000
No other director understands the strength of mediocre minds as does Fassbinder; when his films don't slip into derision, they can be ineffably moving, as this one is. Go to Full Review
Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com 03/29/2022
FIVE STARS
Heaven is what you make it. The media just makes trash. Go to Full Review
David Walsh World Socialist Web Site 02/16/2021
Mother Küsters Goes to Heaven ... is a complex look at the social and emotional consequences, both overt and subterranean, of a society based on exploitation. Go to Full Review
Leigh Charlton Los Angeles Free Press 10/23/2019
For those who have not yet dribbled their toes in the cold waters of Fassbinder's psyche, Mother Kusters Goes to Heaven... is a worthy introduction. Go to Full Review
TV Guide 09/18/2006
2.5/4
Fassbinder created another emotionally distancing, disturbing, yet always funny and fascinating picture. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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10/10/2016 Successful both as a commentary about political manipulation, and as bleak story on grief, Mother Kusters Goes to Heaven is one of Fassbinder's most satisfying films (particularly the European version that features the tragic ending). See more 05/28/2016 Has pacing issues in the middle, but the viewer's patience is rewarded with two cracking endings. See more 03/05/2012 Ultimately sad film about media manipulation and the selfishness inherent in politics. See more 02/07/2011 As the tag line reads, this film was banned from the Berlin Film Festival in 1975, and I know exactly why. It's what you call a 'bleak comedy'. But the emotion that it carries throughout the whole movie is disturbing, yet riveting. I first watched this movie not knowing any synopsis of it at all and when it was over, my jaw literally dropped to the floor. Foreign films can be quite moving. See more 07/31/2010 Ach ja, der Rainer Werner konnte schon Filme machen. Interessant erzählt, gut gespielt und eigentlich so ziemlich gegen Alles und Jeden hat Fassbinder auch mit diesen Film bewiesen, dass man ihn einfach in keine Schublade stecken kann. Besonders angetan war ich vom alternativen Ende, das eigentliche Ende ist zwar auch in Ordnung, ist aber schon ziemlich absurd wenn man mich fragt. 3,5/5 See more 07/31/2010 La disfrute mucho, me encanto. See more Read all reviews
Mother Kusters Goes to Heaven

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Movie Info

Synopsis When her husband kills himself after going on a killing spree at the factory where he worked, Emma Mother Küsters (Brigitte Mira) finds herself the sudden object of a media frenzy. But, as her husband's violent end makes the news, Mother finds that no one will listen to her -- least of all the members of her own family. Her son Ernst (Armin Meier) skips town while her money-hungry daughter Corinna (Ingrid Caven) exploits her naivety to advance her career as a singer.
Director
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Screenwriter
Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Kurt Raab, Heinrich Zille
Distributor
New Yorker Films
Production Co
Filmverlag der Autoren
Genre
Drama
Original Language
German
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 7, 1975, Original
Runtime
1h 45m
Sound Mix
Mono