"Mutter Küsters' Fahrt zum Himmel" or "Mother Kusters Goes to Heaven" is a West German German-language film from 1975, so this one had its 40th anniversary last year. It runs for slightly under two hours and was written and directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, who was 29 when he made this film, but already very experienced. Co-writer is Kurt Raab, who also acts in here, just like in many other Fassbinder films and the original story is by Heinrich Zille. This story is about a woman who fights for the truth when a dubious newspaper article is released that deals with the death of her husband. Fassbinder presents two entirely different endings to this movie and this contrast is possibly the most interesting aspect of the film. Which reaction is more accurate? The pacifist or the radical? I think Fassbinder's take is clear. The radical solution results in tragedy, also for innocents like Mother Küster and the other solution result in her finding happiness again possibly. There's two kinds of heaven and I quite like the title from this perspective. Just like almost always with Fassbinder, the title contains the name of the (usually female) protagonist and for older characters Fassbinder usually picked Brigitte Mira. I cannot blame him and it's nice to see Mira received a German Film Award nomination for her portrayal here. She is such a likable presence. I probably did not end up liking this one here as much as "Angst essen Seele auf", but it was still a convincing watch that almost never dragged which is a good achievement for a film that runs for almost 2 hours. And Mira alone is reason enough to see this one. One of my preferred films when it comes to Fassbinder. Thumbs up.
