Swiss-German filmmaker Dani Levy’s highly successful 2004 comedy GO FOR ZUCKER (ALLES AUF ZUCKER, 2004) was supposedly the first German-Jewish comedy made in Germany since before World War II. Originally made for TV, the film became such a hit with German audiences that it was transferred to the theaters, selling over one million tickets and winning numerous awards, including Best Feature at the 2005 German Film Awards, and the German Film Critic Club’s Ernst Lubitsch Award. Plus, it was sold worldwide, including in Israel and the U.S. where First Run Features released it in 2006.
Subsequently, Levy co-wrote and directed MY FUEHRER: THE TRULY TRUEST TRUTH ABOUT ADOLF HITLER (MEIN FUEHRER, 2007), a subversive comedy about a depressed Adolf Hitler towards the end of WW II who is rescued and returned to life by none other than a Jewish world famous actor named Adolf Gruenbaum!
Now in 2010 comes Levy’s latest comedy LIFE IS WAY TOO LONG (DAS LEBEN IST ZU LANG) about the trials and tribulations of German-Jewish film director, Alfi Seliger. The filmmaker’s 
alter ego desperately seeks to produce his latest project, MO-HA-HA-MED, a satire about the controversial Danish Muhammad cartoons in 2005, as well as unsuccessfully attempts to balance family and work.
Remember Woody Allen’s 1977 classic ANNIE HALL, starring Diane Keaton as Annie Hall and Woody Allen as Alvy Singer? Just like Allen’s Alvy, Levy’s Alfi is a neurotic, self-absorbed hypochondriac with a lot of baggage, including an overbearing mother. However, unlike Alvy, the perpetual NY single, Alfi in Berlin has a family: two teenagers who think their father embarrassing, and a wife who is looking for love in every other place except home.
When all seems lost and done— Alfi discovers his wife is having an affair, his film project is yet again rejected and his health is fading—he tries to end it all…. again, unsuccessfully. To top it all off, as Alfi awakens from a coma, he has added one more neurosis to his collection: he is now convinced that his entire life is controlled by the filmmaker Dani Levy. This final twist adds an intriguing dimension to the plot and concludes with topsy-turvy facts, fiction, fantasy and disillusions. The culmination is an unexpected happy ending with a celebration of Alfi’s work at a major Italian film festival.
LIFE IS TOO LONG boasts a star-studded ensemble featuring Markus Hering (last seen in Andreas Dresen’s 2009 WHISKY WITH VODKA (WHISKY MIT WODKA) in the lead as the chaotic yet charming Alfi Seliger. Some of Germany’s other top acting talents are showcased, including Fassbinder veteran Gottfried John as the world-famed actor Georg Maria Stahl, and L.A. transplants Udo Kier as Alfie’s shrink and Elke Sommer as his mother.
Stay for the entire roll of credits. The animations by Saskia Rueter of United Design based on David Nydegger’s art work (see above) are well worth viewing!
For more information on the film, please visit: www.daslebenistzulang.x-verleih.de