not horrible nor great

Just perfect...

There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

"Vaya con Dios" is a German movie from 2002 (so it has its 15th anniversary this year) that runs for 105 minutes approximately and was written and directed by Zoltan Spirandelli. This is probably his most known work as of this day and a lot of that also has to do with the fact that the lead actor here is Daniel Brühl, maybe Germany's biggest star in Hollywood right now (if who don't count Austrian 2-time Oscar winner Chrostoph Waltz). He was still in his early/mid 20s back then, but it was an amazing year for Brühl career-wise, perhaps even his best. However, this does not mean we have a great film here admittedly. But this should be no surprise looking at Spirandelli's other work to be honest. it may sound interesting and the execution may not always be disappointing, but as a whole I don't think the premise was elaborated on in a way where I would say this is actually a quality movie. The focus is on a trio of monks on their way to Italy where they are trying to find a new monastery that they can pay for financially. This is mostly comedy with occasional romance as well. First cast here is Michael Gwisdek and in my opinion he does nothing to justify this fact. The film is clearly much more about Brühl's character, but then again I am not a great Gwisdek fan at all and always found him very overrated. the story has a decent moment here and there, but I still felt that there are a handful of lengths and this film may have worked better without lots of the unimportant stuff with a runtime of 80 minutes perhaps. Brühl does what he can, but eventually the only thing remarkable/memorable about him is probably his haircut. Visually, with sets and costumes, the film is okay. This is probably also the strongest area, but not because it is any kind of great, but because the rest is entirely forgettable. This is nowhere near the level of the new Scorsese film about two monks ("Silence"). That's the one you want to check out. This one here is the one you want to skip.

Because the monks cannot support their monastery (in the north of Germany - filmed on the location of the beautiful monastery Chorin) anymore, they are forced out and have to join the only other monastery of their (fictional) order in Italy (with which they have a century old conflict, but that's not the story. The remaining monks, i.e. three, hit the road with hardly more that their robes. They all get tempted and distracted from their path, but finally all ends well. These temptations yield wonderful discourses on religion, a love story, and good view on life in general.What makes the film so wonderful is the music. This order has specialized in choir singing. If you now think "Oh, I don't like choirs. That's not my film.", you still should give it a try. The music completes this wonderful film, is an integral part of the story, and is really moving. You will love it, regards of your usual musical preferences.But may be you should see the film with a good sound system.

The obviously very low-budget production describes the adventures of three monks of an imaginary, extremely musical order, who, after having to close down their small monastery in the north of Germany for lack of funds and people, are picking their way south towards the only other branch of the order left. On the way they have to cope with the modern world quite strange to them, as well as with their own back stories and desires (thus the tagline 'and lead us into temptation'). They get mixed up in church politics and make the acquaintance of a charming and crafty young journalist, a romantic yet disturbing meeting both for her an for the youngest monk. Somehow they manage to sing many a beautiful medieval or renaissance hymn on the way, and in the end it is the mysticism of their music that carries them through. The cast does an excellent job in portraying the quaint protagonists, the locations have been chosen lovingly and fit right into the story, and the whole cinematography is very solid work. If you have the chance to see this rather obscure gem, go ahead and have a treat.

The quality of this film is mainly based on three columns: The good performance of the actors, a simple, but entertaining story and the brilliant film music.It is the music maybe, that raises this movie into the rink of high quality films. Even if you dislike gregorian choral singing(like me), you will love them after having watched this movie. The scenes where the monks chorus are outstanding and overwhelming.Conclusion: Do not only watch, but listen to this movie.