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Cult Review
Senior Film Conservator
If you have a thing for black-and-white comedies where everyone speaks with a certain frantic energy, you might actually enjoy Zwei himmelblaue Augen. But if you need your films to have, you know, actual plot stakes or modern editing, you will probably be bored within ten minutes. It is a movie for people who like to see how cinema used to dress up its actors.
The whole thing feels like it was filmed inside a very expensive, very crowded living room. There is a lot of looking around corners and people pretending they aren't standing right next to each other. It reminded me a bit of the frantic energy in Lucky Boy, though the tone here is decidedly more musical and less… intense.
Theo Lingen is in this, and honestly, the man could make a grocery list sound like high drama. He pops up and suddenly the screen has a pulse. Without him, the mid-section really starts to drag, kind of like how The Traveling Salesman hits those long, weird patches where nothing happens for a solid chunk of time.
I noticed a weird detail—in one of the garden scenes, there is this potted plant that looks like it’s been moved about three times in the same shot. It’s distracting! But maybe that is the fun of watching these old reels. You see the seams.
The music is catchy, if a bit repetitive. It’s got that 1930s orchestral swing that feels like a warm hug, even when the dialogue is absolute nonsense. It’s not trying to change the world, and that is a relief. I am tired of movies that think they are smarter than me.
Some of the dialogue is snappy, but it moves so fast you might miss the joke if you look at your phone. Don’t look at your phone. Not that there is much to look at otherwise, but still.
It’s not quite as weird as The Invisible Fear, but it has its own brand of oddness. There’s a specific kind of politeness in these old films that feels totally alien now. Everyone is just so earnest about their silly little romantic troubles.
Is it a masterpiece? No. Is it a decent way to spend a rainy afternoon? Maybe. It’s just… there. It exists. And sometimes, that is enough. ☕
