Schultze Gets the Blues

Schultze (played by Horst Krause)[1] is a large, recently retired salt-miner living in Teutschenthal (near Halle, Saxony-Anhalt in Germany). Along with his also laid-off friends Jürgen and Manfred, he finds himself restless with so much spare time.

For years, he has played traditional polka music on his accordion, but a series of upheavals in his life inspires an interest in American Zydeco and Cajun music. Despite his initial fear of travelling to the United States, he accepts his music club's wish to represent it at a German folk music festival in New Braunfels, Texas.

However, instead of appearing there, he chooses to travel in a motor boat around the countryside despite speaking little English, immersing himself in the music and culture of the Bayou. Finally, among his newly-found friends, he becomes very sick and presumably dies. Back in Teutschenthal, a funeral is held for Schultze, which turns into a decent and mildly happy celebration of his life: "Herr, lehre uns bedenken, dass wir alle einmal sterben müssen, auf das wir im Leben klug werden" – "Lord, teach us to understand we all have to die sometime, that we become wiser in our lives" (Psalm 90,12).

The 2003 Stockholm International Film Festival awarded Best Picture to "Schultze Gets the Blues", and Best Actor to Horst Krause.[2]

The 2004 German Film Awards nominated Horst Krause for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role. Natascha Tagwerk, the film's production designer and art director, was nominated for Best Production Design, and won the award.[3]

Roger Ebert rated the movie with 3.5 out of 4 stars[4] and awarded it with his "Special Jury Award" when listing his Best Movies of 2005.[5]

• Official website
• Schultze Gets the Blues at IMDb
• review of the film