Daniel – Der Zauberer
Encyclopedia
Daniel – Der Zauberer is a German grotesque experimental film
about the pop singer Daniel Küblböck
, starring as himself.
and a wand
on his person, has sometimes just one arm and wears a cap under his top hat.
The first attempt on Daniel's life fails, because the teenagers are discovered and scared away by Daniel's vocal coach. Daniel shall take part in a screen test
for Hollywood
. Meanwhile Johnny and Baltazar talk with each other. Suddenly Baltazar changes Johnny into a cockroach
. He assumes human shape again as he says the words: "I’m a celebrity, get me out of here!"
Later the girl Petra visits Daniel. She is a fan of Daniel and wrote him a letter before. Petra works at the café of her grandfather (Grandpa Winter) in Daniel's hometown Eggenfelden
. Grandpa Winter can't stand Daniel's music and the guests of his café agree with him. Daniel samples some torte
s with his finger, buys them and gives Petra two cost-free tickets for his last concert of this year that takes place in Passau
.
Rike and Tom plan to shoot Daniel on the stage at this concert. But instead Rike just kidnaps Daniel and brings him to her house. Soon after that Tom arrives. Beforehand Baltazar encouraged Tom to kill Daniel once more. Tom and Rike want to film Daniel's execution, in order to become superstars themselves. When Daniel is alone in the room, his grandfather appears and emboldens Daniel to take the hardest test. Afterwards Rike and Tom don't bring off Daniel's murder. Instead of it they talk about their unhappy childhoods. Tom confesses that Daniel's latest hit song isn't bad in his opinion. Rike goes away and Tom makes a deal with Daniel. He releases Daniel and in return Daniel doesn't report the kidnap. Finally, Daniel returns to his concert. Grandpa Winter who is a concert attendee becomes convinced of Daniel and after it, he's a fan of him who behaves like a teenager.
Johnny appears again in the evening. As Daniel asked for his Christmas gift, Johnny says to him that he forgot Rike and Tom and that he shall give them his new guitar. At first, Daniel disagrees with him, but then he does it anyway, whereupon the three of them become best friends.
After all, Daniel finds a wand under the Christmas tree, with the note: "By the One-Armed". Daniel's grandma tells that her husband had just one arm. He was a musician at the Oktoberfest
. She shows a picture of him and Daniel says that he appeared several times to him. His grandma says that Daniel is only allowed to use the wand in order to help people.
Johnny and Baltazar meet again. Baltazar says to him that Johnny won the fight, but the war isn't over yet and the new wizard doesn't know how to use the wand rightly.
The film includes many references to Küblböck's real life: For example, when Daniel has a nightmare in the film, a scene from his appearance in the reality TV show
"Ich bin ein Star – Holt mich hier raus!
" is displayed, in which he had to lie in a coffin full of cockroaches. Headlines about Daniel Küblböck in the tabloid newspaper Bild are also shown (one refers to Küblböck's car accident with a truck).
Ulli Lommel tried to find an explanation for the controversy about Daniel Küblböck in Germany:
The film contains four songs by Daniel Küblböck:
(available in Germany and Austria only).
he would suffer. The film would be unbearable for non-fans of Küblböck. The performances of the actors would be some of the worst in the history of German cinema. Ulli Lommel and Peter Schamoni would have damaged their reputation. Even in school projects better films would be produced.
Another critic from the website filmzentrale.de described Daniel Küblböck as a hero of the recent German trash culture. He wrote that the film is staged like an Off-Off-Broadway
play. Everything in this film had the touch of the half-finished, temporary and uncertain and therefore it would be loveable. Küblböck would cultivate the lowbrow
through to the camp
, he'd present the beautiful sentimentality and the great kitsch
.
As of August 2011, Daniel – Der Zauberer is number one on the list of the "Bottom 100 Movies" of all time, as voted by the users of the Internet Movie Database
.
Experimental film
Experimental film or experimental cinema is a type of cinema. Experimental film is an artistic practice relieving both of visual arts and cinema. Its origins can be found in European avant-garde movements of the twenties. Experimental cinema has built its history through the texts of theoreticians...
about the pop singer Daniel Küblböck
Daniel Küblböck
Daniel Küblböck is a German pop-singer and actor who achieved short-lived celebrity in 2003, in the media-circus that surrounded the first season of Deutschland sucht den Superstar , the German version of Pop Idol, in which he came third...
, starring as himself.
Plot
The successful singer Daniel Küblböck is "loved by millions, hated by many" (as the subtitle says). The teenagers Rike and Tom decide to kill Daniel. They are morally but not directly supported by Baltazar. Whereas Daniel gets support from his dead grandfather Johnny who mostly carries a baritone hornBaritone horn
The baritone horn is a member of the brass instrument family. The baritone horn has a predominantly cylindrical bore as do the trumpet and trombone. A baritone horn uses a large mouthpiece much like those of a trombone or euphonium, although it is a bit smaller. Some baritone mouthpieces will sink...
and a wand
Wand
A wand is a thin, straight, hand-held stick of wood, stone, ivory, or metal. Generally, in modern language, wands are ceremonial and/or have associations with magic but there have been other uses, all stemming from the original meaning as a synonym of rod and virge, both of which had a similar...
on his person, has sometimes just one arm and wears a cap under his top hat.
The first attempt on Daniel's life fails, because the teenagers are discovered and scared away by Daniel's vocal coach. Daniel shall take part in a screen test
Screen test
A screen test is a method of determining the suitability of an actor or actress for performing on film and/or in a particular role. The performer is generally given a scene, or selected lines and actions, and instructed to perform in front of a camera to see if they are suitable...
for Hollywood
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
. Meanwhile Johnny and Baltazar talk with each other. Suddenly Baltazar changes Johnny into a cockroach
Cockroach
Cockroaches are insects of the order Blattaria or Blattodea, of which about 30 species out of 4,500 total are associated with human habitations...
. He assumes human shape again as he says the words: "I’m a celebrity, get me out of here!"
Later the girl Petra visits Daniel. She is a fan of Daniel and wrote him a letter before. Petra works at the café of her grandfather (Grandpa Winter) in Daniel's hometown Eggenfelden
Eggenfelden
Eggenfelden is a town in the Rottal-Inn district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Rott, 55 km south of Straubing and 55 km southwest of Passau.-Notable people:*The ski mountaineer Konrad Lex is born in Eggenfelden....
. Grandpa Winter can't stand Daniel's music and the guests of his café agree with him. Daniel samples some torte
Torte
A torte is a rich, usually multilayered, cake that is filled with buttercreams, mousses, jams or fruits. Ordinarily, the cooled torte is glazed and garnished . A torte is made with little to no flour, but instead with ground nuts or breadcrumbs, as well as sugar, eggs, and flavorings.- Origin...
s with his finger, buys them and gives Petra two cost-free tickets for his last concert of this year that takes place in Passau
Passau
Passau is a town in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the Dreiflüssestadt or "City of Three Rivers," because the Danube is joined at Passau by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north....
.
Rike and Tom plan to shoot Daniel on the stage at this concert. But instead Rike just kidnaps Daniel and brings him to her house. Soon after that Tom arrives. Beforehand Baltazar encouraged Tom to kill Daniel once more. Tom and Rike want to film Daniel's execution, in order to become superstars themselves. When Daniel is alone in the room, his grandfather appears and emboldens Daniel to take the hardest test. Afterwards Rike and Tom don't bring off Daniel's murder. Instead of it they talk about their unhappy childhoods. Tom confesses that Daniel's latest hit song isn't bad in his opinion. Rike goes away and Tom makes a deal with Daniel. He releases Daniel and in return Daniel doesn't report the kidnap. Finally, Daniel returns to his concert. Grandpa Winter who is a concert attendee becomes convinced of Daniel and after it, he's a fan of him who behaves like a teenager.
Johnny appears again in the evening. As Daniel asked for his Christmas gift, Johnny says to him that he forgot Rike and Tom and that he shall give them his new guitar. At first, Daniel disagrees with him, but then he does it anyway, whereupon the three of them become best friends.
After all, Daniel finds a wand under the Christmas tree, with the note: "By the One-Armed". Daniel's grandma tells that her husband had just one arm. He was a musician at the Oktoberfest
Oktoberfest
Oktoberfest, or Wiesn, is a 16–18 day beer festival held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, running from late September to the first weekend in October. It is one of the most famous events in Germany and is the world's largest fair, with more than 5 million people attending every year. The...
. She shows a picture of him and Daniel says that he appeared several times to him. His grandma says that Daniel is only allowed to use the wand in order to help people.
Johnny and Baltazar meet again. Baltazar says to him that Johnny won the fight, but the war isn't over yet and the new wizard doesn't know how to use the wand rightly.
Cast
- Daniel KüblböckDaniel KüblböckDaniel Küblböck is a German pop-singer and actor who achieved short-lived celebrity in 2003, in the media-circus that surrounded the first season of Deutschland sucht den Superstar , the German version of Pop Idol, in which he came third...
as himself - Ulli LommelUlli LommelUlli Lommel , is a German actor and director, noted for his many horror films, and for his career as an actor on Rainer Werner Fassbinder's films.-Career:...
as Johannes "Johnny" Küblböck (Daniel's grandpa) - Peter Schamoni as Grandpa Winter
- Rudolf W. Brem as Baltazar
- Günther Küblböck as himself (Daniel's father)
- Marina Lommel as Petra
- Manolito Lommel as Daniel at age six
- Katja Rupé as Grandma Küblböck
- Adele Eden as Rike
- Oliver Möller as Tom
- Roger Fritz as film producer from Hollywood
- Günther Ziegler as vocal coach
Style
Director Ulli Lommel stated that he wanted to make a film that shows young people how to deal with frustration and hate without getting into the eternal cycle of hate and counterhate. In his opinion the understanding between the old and the young people and the mutual trust play an important role in it and so he decided to shoot the film with an intergenerational cast. The cast features experienced actors like Lommel, Schamoni, Brem and Rupé; young actors like Eden and Möller; and also lay actors like Küblböck. All scenes were filmed spontaneously.The film includes many references to Küblböck's real life: For example, when Daniel has a nightmare in the film, a scene from his appearance in the reality TV show
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
"Ich bin ein Star – Holt mich hier raus!
Ich bin ein Star – Holt mich hier raus!
Ich bin ein Star – Holt mich hier raus! is a German television series based on the British reality television show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!...
" is displayed, in which he had to lie in a coffin full of cockroaches. Headlines about Daniel Küblböck in the tabloid newspaper Bild are also shown (one refers to Küblböck's car accident with a truck).
Ulli Lommel tried to find an explanation for the controversy about Daniel Küblböck in Germany:
The film contains four songs by Daniel Küblböck:
- "Teenage Tears" (peaked at #16 on the German singles chart)
- "My Life Is Magic"
- "Man in the Moon"
- "The Skin I'm In"
Distribution
Daniel – Der Zauberer was released in Germany on 12 August 2004, and was watched by 13,834 viewers in total. Most cinemas removed the film from their programme after the first week, because of the low number of attendees. On 30 September 2005 the film was released on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
(available in Germany and Austria only).
Reception
The website filmstarts.de referred to the film as Küblböck's insane ego trip that would show from what a maniac hubrisHubris
Hubris , also hybris, means extreme haughtiness, pride or arrogance. Hubris often indicates a loss of contact with reality and an overestimation of one's own competence or capabilities, especially when the person exhibiting it is in a position of power....
he would suffer. The film would be unbearable for non-fans of Küblböck. The performances of the actors would be some of the worst in the history of German cinema. Ulli Lommel and Peter Schamoni would have damaged their reputation. Even in school projects better films would be produced.
Another critic from the website filmzentrale.de described Daniel Küblböck as a hero of the recent German trash culture. He wrote that the film is staged like an Off-Off-Broadway
Off-Off-Broadway
Off-Off-Broadway theatrical productions in New York City are those in theatres that are smaller than Broadway and Off-Broadway theatres. Off-Off-Broadway theaters are often defined as theaters that have fewer than 100 seats, though the term can be used for any show in the New York City area that...
play. Everything in this film had the touch of the half-finished, temporary and uncertain and therefore it would be loveable. Küblböck would cultivate the lowbrow
Low culture
Low culture is a term for some forms of popular culture. Its opposite is high culture. It has been said by culture theorists that both high culture and low culture are subcultures....
through to the camp
Camp (style)
Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...
, he'd present the beautiful sentimentality and the great kitsch
Kitsch
Kitsch is a form of art that is considered an inferior, tasteless copy of an extant style of art or a worthless imitation of art of recognized value. The concept is associated with the deliberate use of elements that may be thought of as cultural icons while making cheap mass-produced objects that...
.
As of August 2011, Daniel – Der Zauberer is number one on the list of the "Bottom 100 Movies" of all time, as voted by the users of the Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
.