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Monday, July 21, 2008

Take a Walk on the Wild Side

She never wanted fame. She wanted freedom.

Have you ever dreamed of being completely free? Traveling the world, living without rules, and hooking up with anyone you wanted (including celebrities)? 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 at all for German model Uschi Obermaier, who 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 the It Girl of Munich's club scene. There, she meets Rainer Langhans, leader of the controversial politically-motivated commune in Berlin, "Kommune 1," and embraces free love but 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 not 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 all look so beautiful that ultimately you'll find yourself wishing it was still 1968.

Look for "Eight Miles High" in theaters starting Friday.

- Alex Catarinella



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Similar Topics:film, germany, music


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