In Doris Dörrie's ENLIGHTENMENT GUARANTEED, two brothers, Uwe (Uwe Ochsenknecht) and Gustav (Gustav-Peter Wöhler), set off from Munich for Japan. Gustav has been planning the trip for some time--he is going to a retreat in a Buddhist monastery. But Uwe is undertaking the trip on a whim at the... [More]

In Doris Dörrie's ENLIGHTENMENT GUARANTEED, two brothers, Uwe (Uwe Ochsenknecht) and Gustav (Gustav-Peter Wöhler), set off from Munich for Japan. Gustav has been planning the trip for some time--he is going to a retreat in a Buddhist monastery. But Uwe is undertaking the trip on a whim at the spur of the moment. Unexpectedly, Uwe's wife and children walked out on him, so he is going on the trip because he needs to be with his brother. On their first night in Tokyo, the brothers go out for dinner but then suffer a cascading series of disasters as they manage to lose their way, their money, their bank cards, and then, in the organized chaos of a massive Tokyo interchange, each other. Gustav is desperate and, hilariously, finds himself singing for money in the subway. Magically, it works. Gustav and Uwe's picaresque adventures include meeting a fairy godmother, Anica (Anica Dobra), and working as waiters in a German restaurant in Tokyo before they finally arrive at the monastery. There, among the Buddhist monks, each in his own way and in his own time finds himself. ENLIGHTENMENT GUARANTEED, entertainingly filled with unforced humor, was shot spontaneously with a digital video camera. Director Doris Dörrie is a master at telling stories of ordinary people caught in odd situations, and in this film she sees the humor while honoring their humanity. [Less]