2.5/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 2.5/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Rivalen der Luft - Ein Segelfliegerfilm remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Honestly, only if you have a weird itch for 1930s aviation history or really, really love the sound of wind rushing past a fabric-covered wing. If you’re looking for a tight, modern thriller like The Raid, you’re going to be bored to tears within ten minutes. But, if you like watching people get obsessed with things that probably shouldn't fly, stick around.
It’s very much a product of its time. The acting is loud. The men spend a lot of time staring into the distance looking determined. It’s a bit like watching Power, but with more clouds and significantly fewer political machinations.
There’s this one sequence where a glider just circles for what feels like a lifetime. It’s hypnotic, but also kind of exhausting. The movie really wants you to feel the danger, but because it’s 1934, the stakes feel more like a friendly bet between gentlemen than life or death.
Sybille Schmitz is in this, which is always a treat, even when she’s given very little to actually do. She’s mostly there to look concerned while the men talk about wind currents and thermal drafts. It’s a shame, really.
There’s a strange energy to the rivalry scenes. It’s not quite as sharp as the tension in Modärna fruar. It feels more like two guys trying to out-do each other at a backyard barbecue, if that barbecue happened to be at 5,000 feet.
The pacing is… well, let’s call it leisurely. It stops to admire its own shots of the sky constantly. Sometimes it works. Sometimes I found myself checking my phone to see how much runtime was left. It lacks the punchy, grounded reality of something like Grain, but it has a certain honest, dusty charm.
Ultimately—wait, I promised myself I wouldn't use that word. The movie just sort of ends. It doesn't build to a massive explosion or a grand realization. It just lands the plane. Which, in a way, is kind of refreshing. ✈️
