Knockin' on Heaven's Door (1997)

Director: Thomas Jahn

Writers: Thomas Jahn and Til Schweiger

Stars: Til Schweiger, Jan Josef Liefers, Thierry Van Werveke, Moritz Bleibtreu, Huub Stapel, Leonard Lansink

Two terminal cancer patients (Til Schweiger and Jan Josef Liefers) in a stolen car with stolen money embark on a crime spree while on their way to see the ocean before they die.  

Let’s see, “Pulp Fiction” came out in 1994 and this German film was released three years later…sounds about right. 

Tarantino is merely the most obvious reference in this movie, which is no doubt meant as an homage to the kind of nerdy, pop culture-conscious American crime aesthetic that he inspired, but instead merely invites unfavorable comparison with a number of superior films. 

For writer / director Thomas Jahn, “cool” always seems to trump “logical” or “plausible,” but cool for the sake of cool is never cool, so his movie is not very cool. 

Thomas Jahn

Nevertheless, it was the highest grossing film in Germany the year it was released.