''Flaming Hearts'' () is a 1978 West German

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by Walter Bockmayer and Rolf Bührmann. It was entered into the

28th Berlin International Film Festival The 28th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 22 February to 5 March 1978. Director Wolf Donner successfully managed to shift the festival's date from June to February, a change which has remained ever since. This was the firs ...

. Michael Rother produced the music for the film which was released the previous year as his debut solo album '' Flammende Herzen''.

Plot

Peter Huber (Peter Kern), the proprietor of a Bavarian corner newsstand, is overjoyed to win a free trip to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in a magazine contest. Filled with romantic ideas from the movies, his actual encounter with the gritty realities of the

Big Apple "The Big Apple" is a nickname for New York City. It was first popularized in the 1920s by John J. Fitz Gerald, a sportswriter for the '' New York Morning Telegraph''. Its popularity since the 1970s is due in part to a promotional campaign by t ...

are sobering. Nonetheless, he is in for the adventure of his life. First, he meets Karola Faber (Barbara Valentin), the German wife of a U.S. G.I., who has found life in the States not all it's cracked up to be: she has left her husband and makes her living through

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

. Peter and Karola visit the local German émigré community's

Oktoberfest Oktoberfest (; ) is the world's largest , featuring a beer festival and a travelling carnival, and is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, from mid- or late-September to the first Sunday in October. The annual event attracts more than seven milli ...

, and win the festival's King and Queen crown. Their prize is a cow, which accompanies them on their further journeys in New York City.

Cast

* Peter Kern – Peter Huber *

Barbara Valentin Barbara Valentin (born Ursula Ledersteger; 15 December 1940 – 22 February 2002) was an Austrian actress. She worked in film, often with Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Biography Valentin was born in 1940 as Ursula Ledersteger in Vienna, Austria (th ...

– Karola Faber * Enzi Fuchs – Anna Schlätel * Katja Rupé – Magda Weberscheid * Anneliese Geisler – Frau Geisler * Peter Geisler – Herr Geisler * Rolf Bührmann – Conferencier * Armin Meier – Fahrer * Ila von Hasperg – Verkäuferin *

Evelyn Künneke Evelyn Künneke (15 December 1921 – 28 April 2001) was a German singer and stage, television and film actress. She was the daughter of the composer Eduard Künneke. Selected filmography * '' Goodbye, Franziska'' (1941) * '' Carnival of Love' ...

– Sängerin im Lokal

References

External links

* 1978 films 1978 comedy-drama films West German films 1970s German-language films German drama films Films directed by Walter Bockmayer Films set in New York City Foreign films set in the United States 1970s German films {{1970s-Germany-film-stub