Vaya con Dios ­ A film by Zoltan Spirandelli awarded four Bavarian Film Prizes

Zoltan Spirandelli’s Vaya con Dios is a shimmer of light on the German film scene ­ a Film Cantabile, immersed in song, pervaded with the lilting chords of Gregorian Chant. It’s one of those unusual films that works its magic from the moment you take your seat. You laugh heartily when the monks line up to sing their prayers, but it tugs at the heart too. Bravo! The film experience is pure pleasure because the »cultural shock« of different life-styles is so finely and tastefully sketched, the actors so modestly and appropriately presented.
       Four monks ­ in photo (courtesy Senator Film), left to right: Arbo (Daniel Brühl), Abbot Stephan (Traugott Buhre), Tassilo ((Mathias Brenner), and Benno (Michael Gwisdek) ­ the last members of the »Cantorianer Order«, raise their wonderful voices in prayer to God, finely tuned in love and harmony. They live in a cloister right out of the Middle Ages ­ wonderfully photographed in all its splendor by cameraman Dieter Deventer. The monks sing their prayers according to the rules of the Order ­ a capella ­ and the radiance glowing in their faces says everything. But their song is interrupted abruptly ­ the woman property owner arrives on the scene with some bad news. Since the monks haven’t paid their »rent« for some time now, out they must go. The abbot, played by Traugott Buhre with reserved dignity, expires on the spot. So out into the world they go ­ the young monk Arbo, the new leader Benno, and the cook Tassilo ­ and they take with them the priceless Order Book. Their destination is Italy, to another cloister of Order brothers. A road movie, it’s conceived along the lines of a religious pilgrimage with song ­ God’s minstrel trio are on their way. They leave behind that idyllic cloister ­ the majestic Cistercian Cloister Chorin, an ancient abbey ruin in Brandenburg near Berlin ­ to venture out into the 21st century.
       The trio are destined to experience some comical, seductive, and dangerous moments. Arbo, of course, is awakened by the kiss of the lovely, bewitching Chiara (Chiara Schoras). Tassilo, who enjoys eating, pays a visit to the table of his mother and doesn’t have to hunger any more. And Benno, the »thinker« in the group, falls into the hands of base Jesuits, who want to get their hands on the valuable Order Book. A comedy with a touch of crime about the power of music ­ hallelujah! The high point is reached when the monks attend a high mass in a crowded church. In unison, they lift their voices in prayerful praise: »Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten« (Who only put himself in the hands of God). As for the rest, each should have the pleasure of experiencing itself on the screen.

       Vaya con Dios is Zoltan Spirandelli’s first feature film. A multi-talent who has studied music and opera direction, he made an hilarious award winning short film, Der Hahn ist tot (The Rooster Is Dead) (1988), in which a music-master on screen never fails to get the entire movie audience to sing along with the repeated »Der Hahn ist tot« refrain. As for where the inspiration for Vaya con Dios came from, it happened when Spirandelli found an old recording of contrapuntal choral music by Josquin Des Prés (1440 - 1521), precursor of Palestrina and the Italian Choral School, with the motet »Tu solus« (You Alone) on it. »I began to reflect on how I could wed the beauty of this music to a film theme. Then the story of three monks, who live only for music, just came all by itself.«

Dorothea Moritz

Vaya con Dios. Germany, 2001. d.i.e.film, a.pictures film & tv.produktion. Prod Dieter Ulrich Aselmann. Scr/Dir Zoltan Spirandelli. Cam Dieter Deventer. Ed Magdolna Rokob. Set Harald Turzer. Mus Detlef Friedrich Petersen. Cast Michael Gwisdek (Benno), Daniel Brühl (Arbo), Matthias Brenner (Tassilo), Chiara Schoras (Chiara), Traugott Buhre (Abbot Stephan). 106 mins, color, 35mm, Cinemascope, Dolby Digital EX.