Hummel - Hummel: Old School Chaos in Hamburg

Is it worth your time?

If you like black and white comedies that move fast and involve a lot of shouting in parlors, you’ll probably enjoy this. It’s not for people who need constant action or high-stakes drama. If you’re looking for something that feels like a theater play caught on camera, this is your jam.

The whole thing feels a bit like a fever dream about 1930s manners. It moves at such a clip that I honestly forgot why some of the characters were even angry by the second act.

The vibe

There’s this specific kind of performance style in Hummel - Hummel that feels like everyone is constantly vibrating. It reminds me a bit of the frantic pacing in Quelle drôle de gosse!, where the comedy comes more from people being unable to sit still than from any actual jokes.

I spent a good ten minutes trying to figure out if the set was actually shrinking or if the actors were just getting closer to the lens. The framing is tight. Like, uncomfortably tight.

Odd moments

• The way people enter a room in this movie feels like they are being fired out of a cannon.
• The side characters seem to have been told to just stand there and look confused whenever a secret is revealed.
• There is a chair that gets moved at least six times in one scene, and I think it’s the real star of the show.

The plot is thin, but honestly, who cares? It’s basically just a series of people realizing their secrets are out and then hiding behind furniture. It’s silly, it’s loud, and it doesn’t try to be anything else.

It lacks the sharp wit of Ruggles of Red Gap, but it has a weird, frantic energy that I sort of respected. It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s definitely a time capsule of people just trying to survive a wedding day without losing their minds. 🎩

Sometimes you just need to watch a guy from Hamburg sweat through his suit while his past comes back to haunt him. It’s relatable, in a very specific, old-fashioned way.