Schulz in the Box - DVD

Film: The musician, presenter and entertainer Olli Schulz has been on stage for almost two decades now and entertains his audience in many different ways. Shortly before his fortieth birthday, however, he asks himself whether he leads exactly the life that makes him really happy. Or would he be much happier in a different job or in a different environment? Would a completely different way of life perhaps fill him up more? Wouldn't it be nice if he could just take a peek into other people's lives to see if maybe he hasn't found his true destiny after all? Olli doesn't have to express this idea twice to his buddy Joko Winterscheidt. He unceremoniously puts his former sidekick from Circus Halligalli in a box and exposes him to a completely unfamiliar terrain: a shared flat of the Fuck the Forrest movement - a group of activists who organize nude protests and make porn films to save the rainforest. But this visit is just the beginning of an interesting, exciting and extremely entertaining TV experiment that will take Olli Schulz to Tokyo, to Moscow, to prison, to the gangster rapper Haftbefehl in Offenbach, to Antonia aus Tirol and to Nepal. Whether there is the life, for which Olli Schulz would exchange his previous?

Schulz in the Box is a successful TV experiment in every respect. The seven-part series is entertaining, surprising, original and interesting. Much of this is surely due to the choice of habitats and ways of life into which Olli Schulz must immerse himself for 48 hours at a time. For what is unknown territory for Schulz is likely to be a strange and sometimes alien world for most viewers as well. The episode Im Knast (In Jail), which was rightly highly praised, is outstanding in this respect, as it makes clear in a very depressing way, far removed from all clichés, what it means to be locked up. But also the rental family in Tokyo or the difficulties to make parentless street kids in Nepal laugh are good examples of snapshots that make this series so special.

Another important reason why the concept works is Olli Schulz himself. His very open-minded nature paired with his relentless honesty make his short trips into the lives of others refreshingly different from the usual one-size-fits-all. Schulz always shows respect to his counterpart and does not judge hastily about foreign views. He tries to adapt, but also says honestly when he thinks something is stupid or he feels extremely uncomfortable. What he experiences on his travels in the box is sometimes extremely amusing, sometimes astonishing, then again slightly disturbing and also very sad. The purchased cuddling in Tokyo, for example, which is a harrowing sign of loneliness in a metropolis of millions, is probably one of the most depressing moments of the series, along with some scenes from the prison episode.

Schulz in the Box is real quality television that mixes entertainment with ambition in a very original way and skilfully avoids drifting into flat humour or exposing the people portrayed here. Not only for fans of Olli Schulz, but for all lovers of unusual TV formats absolutely worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The image of the DVD is very clean and has a decent overall sharpness, as well as a coherent color scheme. The stereo sound is rather unspectacular overall, but allows the voices and music to sound well intelligible and powerful from the speakers. For a TV docu-series like this, that's perfectly satisfactory. Good!

Extras: As a bonus, the second DVD features two short cut scenes from the episode Gangster Rap, as well as just under 15 minutes from the planned but never aired episode In the Woods. Worth seeing!

Conclusion: Schulz in the Box is a most interesting TV concept, which lives not only from the fact that extreme contrasts - be it cultural or ideal - meet here. Also, the very open-minded, but also refreshingly honest way of Olli Schulz to deal with the unfamiliar for him situations, makes all 7 episodes of the series absolutely worth watching. The DVD presents the TV experiment in good picture and sound quality. As a worth seeing extra there are some scenes from a planned, but not broadcasted episode. Absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp