Have you ever dreamed of being completely free? Traveling the world, living without rules, and hooking up with anyone you wanted? Sure, it sounds like the premise for a new MTV reality show. But according to Achim Bornhak's new film "Eight Miles High," this lifestyle wasn't a fantasy for German model Uschi Obermaier, whom he portrays as the epitome of the "born to be wild" brand of freedom.

As the biopic opens, Obermaier rebels against her conservative parents by posing nude and running away to become an It Girl of Munich's club scene. There, she meets Rainer Langhans, the leader of a controversial politically-motivated commune in Berlin, "Kommune 1." While she embraces free love, this wild child lacks interest in following her new boyfriend's leftist ideals; girls just want to have fun, and Obermaier does just that modeling, touring the country as a Rolling Stones groupie, and traveling the world in a luxury tour bus with her Red Light District bar owner lover. With her free bird lifestyle unlike any other female of her time, Obermaier became an icon and the embodiment of 1968 Germany.

Of course, there can't be all happy endings in a life without guidelines. Natalia Avelon is successful at portraying Obermaier because she doesn't glamorize her one bit—instead, we see how others viewed her, in many cases as not political or smart enough to be the face of a movement. But that's never what this It Girl wanted. For Obermaier, the good life was all about sex, drugs and rock n' roll, and "Eight Miles High" makes it look like such a fun romp that ultimately you'll find yourself wishing it was still 1968.

Look for "Eight Miles High" at the Music Box Theatre starting tomorrow.

- Alex Catarinella

Similar Topics:film, germany, music

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