''Eight Miles High'' (original title: ''Das wilde Leben'', lit. ''The Wild Life'') is a 2007 German biographical motion picture, set in the 1960s and depicting the "wild life" of Uschi Obermaier, a West German

sex symbol A sex symbol or icon is a person or character widely considered sexually attractive and often synonymous with sexuality. Pam Cook, "The trouble with sex: Diana Dors and the Blonde bombshell phenomenon", In: Bruce Babinigton (ed.), ''British St ...

and icon of the era.

Plot

Obermaier enjoyed sexual freedom at the legendary Kommune 1 in Berlin after being with the

krautrock Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock that developed in Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It originated among artists who blended elements of psychedelic rock, avant-garde composition, and electron ...

band Bröselpilze. In the Kommune, she becomes friendly with Rainer Langhans. The young woman from Munich gains employment as a model, and becomes a

and youth icon. Now a cover girl in

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

magazine, she meets rock stars such as

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

and

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who is an original member, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones. His songwriting partnership wi ...

, while Italian film producer, Carlo Ponti, offers her a ten-year contract, but she declines: her freedom is more important than a contract. During her intensive relationship with Keith Richards, she begins to recognize the dark side of the shiny glamour world she lives in: the isolation of the stars, and the groupie-populated milieux of anonymous hotel rooms — this is not her idea of life. She finds new freedom in a relationship with the adventurer Dieter Bockhorn (David Scheller). They fall in love and go on a six-year road trip around the world. Later, Bockhorn dies in a motorcycle accident in Mexico.

Cast

* Natalia Avelon as Uschi Obermaier *

Matthias Schweighöfer Matthias Schweighöfer (; born 11 March 1981) is a German actor and filmmaker known for his work in several German and American film productions. He is best known for his role as Lieutenant Franz Herber in the 2008 film ''Valkyrie''. In 2021, Sch ...

as Rainer Langhans * Victor Norén (singer of the Swedish band Sugarplum Fairy) as

*Alexander Scheer as

* David Scheller as Dieter Bockhorn. * Urs Rechn as "the knocker" Norbert Grupe

Production crew

*Directed by Achim Bornhak. *Written by Achim Bornhak and Olaf Kraemer. *Based on a work by C. P. Hant, Dagmar Benke and Olaf Kraemer

Filming locations

*Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, and Bavaria in Germany *Goa, Jaipur, and Rajasthan in India

Soundtrack

Ville Valo Ville Hermanni Valo (; born 22 November 1976) is a Finnish singer, songwriter and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the gothic rock band HIM (Finnish band), HIM. Born and raised in Helsinki to a Hungarian mother and Finnish fa ...

and Natalia Avelon recorded a cover version of the

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer, actress, film producer and author. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato) and is known for her 1965 signature hit " These Boots Are Made for Walki ...

/ Lee Hazlewood song '' Summer Wine'' for the soundtrack. A music video was also shot, featuring Valo and Avelon with the real Uschi Obermaier.

References

External links

Official Movie Website
* 2007 films 2007 biographical drama films 2000s feminist films 2000s German-language films Cultural depictions of models Cultural depictions of German people Cultural depictions of the Rolling Stones Films about groupies Films directed by Achim Bornhak Films set in the 1960s Films set in India Films set in West Germany German biographical drama films German rock music films Hippie films Musical films based on actual events Warner Bros. films 2000s German films {{bio-film-stub