Manta, Manta (1991)

So much average

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

In the "Fun Stuff" section writes: "Factual errors: When Berti drives a race against a VW Golf, both drivers pull the handbrake and press the pedal to burn some rubber. This is not possible, because the Opel Manta is a rear wheel driven model, and the handbrake also brakes the rear wheels." This "so called" error is not an error actually. I own one of these cars and i modified the handbrake system so that it controls the front brakes. Works perfect for burnout. And I did the modification BEFORE I saw the film. So the German might have done the same thing in 1991.And if anyone knows where i can find a genuine DVD with English subtitles please let me know.

If you're looking for a complex movie with difficult plots about you'd like to have deep going psychological discussions with graduated people you might wanna skip this one. Buf if you are in for a good laugh (and understand German since I believe there are no translations available) and want to have a insight look in the life of car tuning lovers of the early '90s this is great stuff. If you are into 'pimp my car' this is also worth watching - you'll see a lot of street-racing cars 'pimped' in the way it was fashion in the late '80s and early '90s in Europe. The theme is quite simple: a - not so clever - guy called Berti with a Opel Manta (a low budget European sports-coupe from the '80s which was very popular to 'pimp') gets competition in a street race from a guy with a fast Mercedes, and another slick guy with a Ferrari tries to get his hands on Bertis girlfriend. It looks like he's going to loose everything - but of course the good guy wins and there's a happy end.So the whole thing is quite predictable but it's packed in a humorous way with a blink-eye to the way people of the Manta-driving social class were living in that decade (like the shot from the street where Berti is living, and everybody's washing his car on Saturday morning and goes to the soccer game on Saturday afternoon). To catch those blinks you'd might have to have an understanding of the European culture and the way of living. Personally I the returning element of the DJ who's telling Manta jokes on the radio, like: Was geht 'n Manta fahrer durch den Kopf wenn er mit 180 gegen ein Mauert brettert ? Der Heckspoiler ! (What's on a Manta drivers head when he collapses with 180 km against a wall ? The rear spoiler !) So grab a few six packs of beer and invite some car loving guys to watch this one....

This movie is extremely amusing, and might be more amusing to the dutch than to the germans. Part of the fun is the recognition of stereotypes: these guys really exists in Holland, Germany and probably Belgium, although they are often ruder and less sympathetic than the ones in the movie.

This film is probably only worth watching if you're from Western Europe. If you're not from there you miss the main point of the movie, portraying and maybe even exaggerating stereotypes.The car the movie's title refers to, the infamous Opel Manta, is a car that has achieved cult status in Germany and is according to the general opinion mostly driven by 'socially unadjusted' people. Then again, if you look at the movie in a deeper perspective it might have a little more to it. You could see it as a movie about people with ambitions, (the mechanic that goes to university), setting your priorities straight (the main character that decides not to enter the race when he hears his girlfriend is pregnant) or about character (the 'loser' type that wins the final race).