Die Angst des Tormanns beim Elfmeter (1972)

Director:

Wim Wenders

Writers:

Peter Handke (novel)
Peter Handke (screenplay)

Release Date:

13 January 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sport

Plot:

A goalkeeper Josef Bloch is ejected during a game for foul play. He leaves the field and goes to spend the night with a cinema cashier. He then proceeds to strangle her the morning after. |

Plot Keywords:

Football | Murder | Based On Novel

Cast

Arthur Brauss	...	Joseph Bloch
Kai Fischer	...	Hertha Gabler
Erika Pluhar	...	Gloria
Libgart Schwarz	...	Maid
Marie Bardischewski	...	Kellnerin (as Maria Bardischewski)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sybille Danzer	...	Hairdresser
Rosl Dorena	...	Woman in bus
Bert Fortell	...	Customs official
Edda Köchl	...	Girl in Vienna
Mario Kranz	...	School janitor
Ernst Meister	...	Tax inspector
Monika Poeschl	...	Hairdresser
Michael Toost	...	Salesman
Rüdiger Vogler	...	Idiot
Wim Wenders	...	Man Walking through Vienna Bus Station

Also Known As:

The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick (USA)
The Goalkeeper's Fear of the Penalty (UK)
The Goalkeeper's Fear of the Penalty Kick (UK)

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

West Germany | Austria

Language:

German

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Vienna, Austria

Company:

Filmverlag der Autoren

Movie Connections:

References Red Line 7000 (1965)

In a class by itself

"The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick" is a unique experience. Alternately strange, boring, and fascinating, it's the story of a professional German football goalie who simply walks off the playing field one day and proceeds to roam the city idly, stopping to pick up newspapers (to check the scores), watch movies, loiter around, and commit the random murder of a ticket-girl at the cinema he frequents. This is the first half of the film. The second half of the film is a journey to the country to attempt to reconcile things with an old girlfriend. He does not commit another murder. His homicide is never explained. He just does it and moves on, and it is in this respect Wenders' film is in a class by itself. Did the guy hate women? Did he have a s***ty childhood? Who cares? With its unwillingness to rationalize or justify the main characters' actions, this film completely sets itself apart from the dull psycho-serial killer genre and offers a new way to depict a man gone mad. It's a great film, though not for the attention-span challenged, and has a chillingly effective minimalist score. The ending is sublime.