Undertaker's Paradise (2000) Reviews

• .. or the lost story

  E-Kamp2001-12-15

  One can sense that this film is built on a strong story about death, vocation, bliss, fear and hope. The characters, the great cast, intense situations and - not to forget - a beautiful soundtrack are key elements in this film that - unfortunately - remains in a pale, lost and distant view. A pity.

• Great ideas, poorly exploited

  llippi2002-07-16

  The opening scenes are great. Then, suddenly you realise that the movie doesnt fly. Hard to say why: the plot was just great. It had all the right ingredients, including some interesting carachters, and a great Ben Gazzarra. But the movie at some point seems more a telefilm from the 80s than else. I hope one day somebody will pick up the script and remake this movie in a better way, showing more death, more hate, more sex, and more love, in one word more life. This has to be a movie to pounch stomachs and to hand out hugs and kisses at the same time. LLippi

• A LOVELY FILM WITH DRY HUMOR BUT DEFINITIVELY NOT A COMEDY!

  piet_dh2001-09-13

  I recently saw this movie on a festival. I wanted to see it, just because I am a big fan of Ben Gazzara. And i was really surprised! It's such a lovely film (a bit slow maybe) but the dry humor, the cast and the photography are wonderful!! I never saw a movie about death and dying so well and tasteful made, although it is definitively not a comedy.

• German Black Comedy Doesn't Work

  volkos-12001-04-21

  When I heard that this film was a German Black Comedy I was very interested in it, cause I like both German Comedy and Black Comedy. But the combination of them both doesn't work: "Undertaker's Paradise" is surely one of the most boring films I saw this year, not funny and not "black" at all. I liked the Welsh nature you could see in this film, for this I'll give it 3 out of 10, but forget about the rest.

• A film of great passion

  henrystone692001-10-04

  "Undertaker`s Paradise" is a film of great passion, wonderful directorial virtuosity and stunning acting. In age when filmmakers are afraid to make films that are actually about something, M.X.Oberg made a film about a very important thing: death. That he does it with such an incredible energy and spirit makes the film even more powerful. I got the feeling all throughout "Undertaker's Paradise" that Oberg really loves his characters. As the camera moves over each of the characters, allowing us to see their lives, there's a constant feeling that we are seeing the characters souls laid bare on film. This film has haunted me since I first saw it. It's a heartfelt story with pain and joy to spare. Although utterly bizarre, "Undertaker's Paradise" miracously rings truth, despite several odd moments of an almost comedy nature. It manages to interest the audience and all those who are willing to put in the time and observe three dimensional characters interacting realistically for once. A triumph, it still never manages to have a clear emotional climax, it all sort of runs together in a big blotch of sorrow and every sinful situation you can think of. What an interesting movie !