Willkommen Mr. Chance

Das Leben ist ein Zustand des Geistes. Daran, dass Peter Sellers ein ausgezeichneter Schauspieler war, habe ich nie gezweifelt. Jetzt, als ich endlich Willkommen Mr. Chance gesehen habe, möchte ich ihn noch mehr loben. Das ist aber schwer. Seine exakte Schauspielleistung ist großartig. Jedes Wort, jeder Blick, jedes unschuldige Lächeln, jeder Atemzug – all das ist faszinierend. Man kann es nicht mit Worten beschreiben. Ich habe schon sehr sehr lange keinen so sensationellen Film gesehen, den ich mir nach dem Abspann gleich noch einmal anschauen wollte (bzw. noch vor dem Abspann, weil er wegen der verdorbenen Szene wirklich dumm ist). (30.05.2014)

Whoever watches "I was there" expecting a similar style of humor to what Sellers became famous for in the Pink Panther comedy series will be disappointed. This is a completely different style and actually a different league. Along with the film Dr. Strangelove, it is Peter Sellers' most significant acting role, which confirms his position among the acting elite. A very good script and economical acting, which manages with minor changes in voice tone, dominate this unobtrusive but very intelligent satire about how things work in high politics. Whoever watches this film will understand the true meaning of the word sarcasm. Overall impression: 90%. (20.12.2007)

Films with mentally handicapped people usually irritate me, but Mr Gardener is mentally handicapped in such a… cute way. A character brilliantly portrayed by Peter Sellers and a superb film. The many funny misunderstandings reminded me when analyses of artworks find something where the creator didn’t put anything. From now on, whenever I read one such analysis, I will remember this film with a smile. Yeah, and I’m not sure whether I understood the last scene correctly, if so, it’s brilliant and brilliantly bold. (07.07.2011)

Traditionally precise Ashby. Anyone who enjoys the development of political satire and very biting allusions to the powerful social elite of the memorable 1970s should not miss this unassuming film, a direct predecessor of Forrest Gump. Not only does it offer another amazing performance by the great Peter Sellers, but above all it is at least as timeless in its ideas as the equally old Alien is from a visual perspective. Firstly, there is a clear reference to the overwhelming and false influence of television, which since time immemorial has been adapting everything to its own needs – when Chance emerges from his house for the first time in his old age, equipped only to watch "the box" every day, he feels like he is in an alien world full of strange, fast-talking creatures (and it’s surely no coincidence that a modified version of “Also Sprach Zarathustra”, an anthem for an unknown and vast universe, is playing). And then there is the crushing charge on the heads of the political and media bigwigs who take deadly seriously the dreamy words of a mentally retarded and emotionally cold gardener who gets the opportunity to speak only by sheer chance. And I ate it all up from Ashby’s hand, because once again he managed to wrap the story in such a novel, funny and incredibly ironic form that I felt like I was in a beautiful, relaxed fairy tale free of any external influence. Nobody makes stuff like this anymore. 90% (10.02.2014)

The embodiment of assertiveness hand in hand with a well-aimed and darn funny satire that mainly the Greens (or all political parties, for that matter) could learn a lot from. The way that Ashby handles scenes that would have come across just embarrassing with anybody else (and not only the scenes with sexual undertones) is certainly admirable, but this is in no way a surprising or unique performance from him. I wanted to praise Sellers’ performance to the heavens with that already rather worn expression “performance of a lifetime", but then I remembered all his roles up until then, and it would be unfair to them. But then I remember how minimalistic and animated his performance of the role was, a role that 99.999 percent of the current stock of actors would have over-acted (hi there, Sean Penn) or turned into some lamentable creature (hi there, um, again Sean Penn, closely followed by Tom Hanks) - sorry, I simply had to get that below-the-belt comment in somehow. And this IS Sellers’ performance of a lifetime. P.S.: And, by the way, I like both Sean Penn and Tom Hanks. (14.05.2009)