For those who envision their retirement as interminably long days filled with absolutely nothing—not even cursing Democrats for derailing Social Security reform while you scrounge for cat food—then you'd best watch this as preparation.
Schultze is a German salt miner who is forced into early retirement, left with nothing but two drinking buddies, also newly retired from the mine, some garden gnomes that need dusting and his accordion. An opportunity to travel to Texas for a polka festival comes up but Schultze refuses to go, despite being the local music club's favorite musician. Then one night while fiddling with his radio, he comes across some zydeco music. He becomes obsessed with the one song, playing it over and over. But he still won't go to Texas. Well, he will eventually, but first we have to watch he and his pals drink more, ride their bicycles and sit around.
Don't think Run, Lola, Run. Rather, think Shuffle, Schultze, Shuffle.
If you have never seen a single European film before, Schultze will be eye-opening. But if you've seen even one, don't bother. Writer-director Michael Schorr uses all the stereotypical hallmarks in his debut feature: tableau shots and studied compositions, big jump cuts and muted direction. It was electrifying back in 1960 with Breathless. Today, it's simply unoriginal and boring. And unlike About Schmidt, to which Schorr draws comparisons, there is no serious character development, just an appreciation for blues and jambalaya, which goes without explanation.
Once in Texas, Schutlze skips his chance to perform his zydeco, wanders away from the festival and steals a boat. But any hopes of this film turning into a picaresque look at Southern culture are quickly dashed. There is no symbolism to be found here, no allegories, nothing but meaningless meandering. Doubtless, the visions of Texas presented here were of interest to German and other European viewers ("Look, liebshin, a black woman cooking!"), but it's all lost in translation.
Similar in many ways to Leningrad Cowboys Go America, a brilliant, funny film about a Finnish rock group's trip to the United States, Schultze is meant to be a deadpan comedy. But with its dull cast of characters and even duller situations, it comes across as simply dead.