You really have to be in a very particular state of mind to appreciate the utter katastraüm that is this film.You can read all over the internet that RW Fassbinder used to direct up to 4 films a year EXCLUDING acting assignments for other directors and it shows perfectly in Kamikaze how little time he had to prepare for an acting job.I think Fassbinder and the gang only wanted to have a good laugh with 90 minutes worth of jokes that only they would understand.Remember that this is NOT a Fassbinder film. Like, if you're going through a "Fassbinder Marathon" (if that would ever be a thing), you wouldn't include Kamikaze. It's a punk film - well, it's only a film - in which he acted (if you want to call that acting).If you're a film fan and/or Fassbinder fan or if you're simply interested in West German indie pop culture, Kamikaze is perfect for you, because it's an orgy of everything and nothing.If you're studying cinema, this is perfect as well because it breaks every technical rule in the history of everything in the space of less than an hour and tells you exactly what you mustn't do if you want to be a merely competent film technician.But, seriously, there's only one advice I can give you: don't watch it sober.

Kamikaze 1989 is an ambivalent film that manages to be both anti-corporate and anti-statist at the same time. It was perfect for 1982 when I was an anarcho-rightist skateboard punk. Today, it couldn't be appreciated by 1 in 100,000. This is the last of the great pre-Microsoft/ pre-End-of-USSR films that sought to reflect the hunger of the dawning information age. A bad phosphorescent TV look to the film makes it look fresh in our day. Fassbinder is Lt. Jansen and his investigations are predominately self-defeating - and that could be the point.Disguised as a predator, Lt.Jansen is an amoral and voyeuristic, yet totally flaccid being. Tired and sluggish this detective only incriminates himself - but the Inquisitor he faces - is us.I liked this odd movie - it is neither all low nor all high-brow art. It will probably put many to sleep - the violence is gratuitous and minimal, the main character is a walking dead man (interesting fact is that Fassbinder after dying in real life was BURIED in the costume of Lt.Jansen) - it has a charm that remains intact despite its pedigree as art-house junk.

I'm sorry to say that, but i can hardly say it's a good film... The cinematography is dull, the photography is so cheapo that you could think you're in a "Derrick" episode. The scenario losses some parts during the timeline... Even the music (composed by the professional Edgar Froese) is - uhm... Outdated? No 80s revival will save this film from the brink of extinction. The only advantage for its producers is that you CAN'T forget it after a vision. Uhmm... Not for the good, i'm afraid..

First of all, this is an incredible bad film. Before I saw it, I to believed that anything Fassbinder touched would turn out to be pure works of genius. You are reading the comments of a very disillusioned man. Kamikaze -89 is ugly, stupid and impossible to take seriously. It shoots at a million different directions, but fails to hit anything but its own feet. After 100 minutes in the company of Kamikaze -89, my brain started hurting.That said, it's not a complete waste of time. Seeing a pi***ed, drunk out of his mind, Fassbinder strousing around in leopard outfit, like a wounded walrus, DOES have its perverse charm. In fact, seeing Fassbinder and some of his regulars degrade themselves in this totally psychotronic film is the only thing that makes it somewhat worthwhile.The story takes place in the near future... 1989 to be specific. Everybody wears the ugliest new wave outfits on this side of Culture Club and Germany has become the most advanced and powerful country in the world. All social and political problems have been solved and everybody is happy. Or so it seems. The state of Germany have but one enemy, a person or organization called Krystopompas (!), who believes that the people of Germany has become pacified and dehumanized by the regime. He starts giving bomb threats, and the state of Germany puts their best man on the case, police lieutenant Jansen (Fassbinder in a leopard suite). Then a lot of nonsense takes place. People start pointing fingers at Jansen, yelling "Krystopompas!" for no apparent reason. Jansen goes to a strip-joint where everybody is laughing hysterically for no apparent reason. Lots of other nonsense follows. And then the film takes some awful 1984-inspired turns and mysterious conspiracies like "The blue panther", "unexpected deaths" and "the 31st Floor" become visible. Needless to say, Fassbinder somehow cracks the case and then he screws a picture of an astronaut. The end.A must-see!