{ "id": "ep4rjpm7kf", "slug": "maybe-maybe-not", "title": "Maybe... Maybe Not", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-1990-to-1994", "label": "Comedies of 1990 to 1994", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-1990-to-1994" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-1990-to-1994.slapstick-black-and-family-comedies.alpha-k-to-w", "label": "Titles K to W", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-1990-to-1994.slapstick-black-and-family-comedies.alpha-k-to-w" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Western Europe · 1946 to 2000: Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "path": [ { "id": "geo.weu", "label": "Western Europe", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946", "label": "Western Europe · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Maybe... Maybe Not (Der bewegte Mann) is Sönke Wortmann's 1994 German comedy adapted from Ralf König comics, starring Til Schweiger, Katja Riemann, and Joachim Król; it sold about 6.5 million tickets in Germany.", "snippet": "Maybe... Maybe Not (Der bewegte Mann) is Sönke Wortmann's 1994 German comedy adapted from Ralf König comics, starring Til Schweiger, Katja Riemann, and Joachim Król; it sold about 6.5 million tickets in Germany.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-1990-to-1994.slapstick-black-and-family-comedies.alpha-k-to-w", "markdown": "# Maybe... Maybe Not\n\n**Maybe... Maybe Not** (German: *Der bewegte Mann*) is a 1994 German comedy directed by Sönke Wortmann, in which a serially unfaithful heterosexual man, Axel Feldheim, is thrown out by his girlfriend Doro and moves in with the gay Norbert, whose feelings for him and a compromising scene with the pregnant Doro drive the plot's confusions.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/der-bewegte-mann_ea43d4a699f75006e03053d50b37753d) The film was adapted from two comic books by Ralf König, *Der bewegte Mann* (1987) and *Pretty Baby* (1988), and became the most successful German film of the 1990s, selling more than 6.5 million tickets in Germany.[2](https://uplopen.com/books/475/files/7f5266db-b0b2-4af1-98a3-8da76cd1eec6.pdf) • [3](https://repository.falmouth.ac.uk/2466/3/Revised_NC%2012.1%262_2_art_Eicken.pdf)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Original title | *Der bewegte Mann* (literally \"The Moved Man\")[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/der-bewegte-mann_ea43d4a699f75006e03053d50b37753d) |\n| Director and screenwriter | Sönke Wortmann, from Ralf König's comics *Der bewegte Mann* and *Pretty Baby*[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109255/fullcredits/) |\n| Release | German theatrical release 6 October 1994; 94 minutes; FSK rating 12 and up[5](https://www.filmportal.de/film/der-bewegte-mann_77f80e3e081149febc99e01777afe5bb) |\n| Principal cast | Til Schweiger (Axel), Katja Riemann (Doro), Joachim Król (Norbert), Rufus Beck (Waltraut), Armin Rohde (Metzger), Martina Gedeck (Jutta)[6](https://www.hofer-filmtage.com/en/none/films/maybe-maybe-not) |\n| German attendance | About 6.5 million cinema admissions, the most successful German film of the 1990s[3](https://repository.falmouth.ac.uk/2466/3/Revised_NC%2012.1%262_2_art_Eicken.pdf) |\n| Awards | German Film Awards 1995 for Outstanding Feature Film, Direction (Wortmann), and Actor (Joachim Król); Goldene Leinwand with star for 6 million visitors[7](https://filozofia.uni-miskolc.hu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/BrockmannStephen2010-ACriticalHistoryOfGermanFilm.pdf) • [8](https://hdf-kino.de/goldene-leinwand/der-bewegte-mann/) |\n| US reception | R-rated release, 1h 33m; 50% Tomatometer from 10 reviews, 63% audience score; US gross $405.0K[9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/maybe_maybe_not) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nAxel Feldheim, a self-assured ladies' man, is caught by his girlfriend Doro sleeping with another woman and is thrown out of their shared apartment in the middle of the night.[9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/maybe_maybe_not) Through the flamboyant Walter, also called Waltraut (Rufus Beck), he ends up at a drag-ball, gets drunk, and finally stays with Walter's shy gay friend Norbert (Joachim Król).[10](https://www.filmstarts.de/kritiken/13104.html) Norbert falls for his straight roommate, and when Doro, who has learned she is pregnant, comes to the apartment to reconcile with Axel, she finds Norbert naked in the bedroom wardrobe and concludes that Axel is having an affair with a man.[9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/maybe_maybe_not) • [1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/der-bewegte-mann_ea43d4a699f75006e03053d50b37753d) After further entanglements Axel and the pregnant Doro do marry, but the turbulence continues: Axel uses Doro's first absence to be unfaithful again, and for this he needs Norbert's help.[5](https://www.filmportal.de/film/der-bewegte-mann_77f80e3e081149febc99e01777afe5bb)\n\n## Production\n\nThe film was produced by Bernd Eichinger for Neue Constantin Film Produktion GmbH and Olga-Film GmbH in cooperation with [Westdeutscher Rundfunk](https://www.edgepedia.org/westdeutscher-rundfunk), with Wortmann writing the screenplay.[5](https://www.filmportal.de/film/der-bewegte-mann_77f80e3e081149febc99e01777afe5bb) Shooting ran from 6 April 1994 into May 1994 in Cologne, including locations in Ehrenfeld and the Gloria theater on Apostelnstraße.[5](https://www.filmportal.de/film/der-bewegte-mann_77f80e3e081149febc99e01777afe5bb) • [11](https://www.koeln-im-film.de/datenbank/filme-a-z/detail/6088) Gernot Roll was the director of photography and Torsten Breuer composed the music.[6](https://www.hofer-filmtage.com/en/none/films/maybe-maybe-not) • [12](https://public.kika-dresden.de/film595_der-bewegte-mann.html)\n\nWortmann, born in Marl in 1959 and trained at the Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film, had already scored hits with *Allein unter Frauen* (1991) and *Kleine Haie* (1992); *Der bewegte Mann* was his fourth feature.[6](https://www.hofer-filmtage.com/en/none/films/maybe-maybe-not) • [13](https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/464290/1/771865.pdf) Joachim Król later recalled that Wortmann offered him the role of Norbert after asking whether he knew Ralf König's comics; Król knew König personally from the early 1980s Dortmund alternative scene.[6](https://www.hofer-filmtage.com/en/none/films/maybe-maybe-not)\n\n## Reception and box office\n\nThe film premiered in German cinemas on 6 October 1994 and reached 3.17 million visitors after nine weeks; after 35 weeks it earned the Goldene Leinwand with a star, awarded for 6 million visitors.[5](https://www.filmportal.de/film/der-bewegte-mann_77f80e3e081149febc99e01777afe5bb) • [8](https://hdf-kino.de/goldene-leinwand/der-bewegte-mann/) At the time of release it was the biggest-grossing homegrown film at the German box office and the third-highest-grossing film in Germany that year overall, after *Forrest Gump* and *The Lion King*.[14](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109255) Stephen Brockmann, a scholar of German film, describes it as one of the most commercially successful movies of the 1990s, seen by well over six million viewers in Germany and competitive there even with American blockbusters such as *Speed* (1994), which drew a little over three million German viewers.[7](https://filozofia.uni-miskolc.hu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/BrockmannStephen2010-ACriticalHistoryOfGermanFilm.pdf) One academic account does not credit it with the highest theatrical audience ever achieved by a German film up to that point, yet placed it first among domestic productions and in the annual top ten in both 1994 and 1995.[13](https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/464290/1/771865.pdf) • [18](https://www.filmstarts.de/nachrichten/18486266.html?page=28)\n\nAt the 1995 German Film Awards (Deutscher Filmpreis) the film won Filmband in Gold for Best Film, Best Direction, and acting achievements, and it also received a Bambi and the Gilde-Filmpreis.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/der-bewegte-mann_ea43d4a699f75006e03053d50b37753d) In the United States the film, rated R, grossed $405.0K and holds a 50% Tomatometer score from 10 reviews with a 63% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.[9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/maybe_maybe_not) Roger Ebert of the *Chicago Sun-Times* gave it 3 of 4 stars, calling it \"very funny in places, and unexpectedly affecting in other places\".[9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/maybe_maybe_not)\n\n## Place in German cinema\n\n*Der bewegte Mann* is regarded as a defining work of the New German Comedy wave of the 1990s: one study states that, attracting more than 6.5 million viewers, it \"epitomizes the New German Comedy trend like no other film\".[3](https://repository.falmouth.ac.uk/2466/3/Revised_NC%2012.1%262_2_art_Eicken.pdf) It was also a breakthrough for [Til Schweiger](https://www.edgepedia.org/til-schweiger), who became one of the most prominent German stars of the decade.[15](https://www.doctormacro.com/Movie%20Books/PDF%20Files/Historical%20Dictionary%20of%20German%20Cinema%20%28Robert%20C.%20Reimer%2C%20Carol%20J.%20Reimer%29.pdf)\n\nThe film's treatment of its gay source material has drawn scholarly comment. It was based on the best-selling comics of Ralf König, but critics note that the adaptation shifted the perspective toward heteronormativity: in the film the comic's gay viewpoint applies mainly to the gay characters, and a scene in which Norbert emerges naked from the wardrobe becomes a farce device rather than a meaningful coming-out.[2](https://uplopen.com/books/475/files/7f5266db-b0b2-4af1-98a3-8da76cd1eec6.pdf) • [16](https://www.filmreporter.de/kino/1083-Der-bewegte-Mann) German reviews praised the situational comedy and Joachim Król's performance, described by Ralf König as a mixture of [Woody Allen](https://www.edgepedia.org/woody-allen) and [Charlie Brown](https://www.edgepedia.org/charlie-brown), while noting that the clichés of the gay scene and the gender images sometimes felt stale.[11](https://www.koeln-im-film.de/datenbank/filme-a-z/detail/6088) • [17](https://www.spielfilm.de/filme/2986509/der-bewegte-mann) The film was re-released in German cinemas on 4 June 2024.[5](https://www.filmportal.de/film/der-bewegte-mann_77f80e3e081149febc99e01777afe5bb)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Der bewegte Mann, filmportal.de (English page), German Films Service & Marketing](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/der-bewegte-mann_ea43d4a699f75006e03053d50b37753d)\n2. [German Cinema in the Age of Neoliberalism (chapter on Der bewegte Mann), UWP](https://uplopen.com/books/475/files/7f5266db-b0b2-4af1-98a3-8da76cd1eec6.pdf)\n3. [Verena von Eicken, Masculinity in Crisis? What a Man (2011) and the German relationship comedy, Falmouth repository](https://repository.falmouth.ac.uk/2466/3/Revised_NC%2012.1%262_2_art_Eicken.pdf)\n4. [Maybe... Maybe Not (1994) full cast and crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109255/fullcredits/)\n5. [Der bewegte Mann, filmportal.de (German page)](https://www.filmportal.de/film/der-bewegte-mann_77f80e3e081149febc99e01777afe5bb)\n6. [Maybe... Maybe Not, Hof International Film Festival](https://www.hofer-filmtage.com/en/none/films/maybe-maybe-not)\n7. [Stephen Brockmann, A Critical History of German Film (2010)](https://filozofia.uni-miskolc.hu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/BrockmannStephen2010-ACriticalHistoryOfGermanFilm.pdf)\n8. [Der bewegte Mann, Goldene Leinwand, HDF Kino e.V.](https://hdf-kino.de/goldene-leinwand/der-bewegte-mann/)\n9. [Maybe... Maybe Not, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/maybe_maybe_not)\n10. [Der bewegte Mann, FILMSTARTS.de](https://www.filmstarts.de/kritiken/13104.html)\n11. [Der bewegte Mann, Köln im Film database](https://www.koeln-im-film.de/datenbank/filme-a-z/detail/6088)\n12. [Der Bewegte Mann, Kinokalender Dresden](https://public.kika-dresden.de/film595_der-bewegte-mann.html)\n13. [Chapter on Sönke Wortmann, University of Southampton eprints](https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/464290/1/771865.pdf)\n14. [Maybe... Maybe Not (1994), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109255)\n15. [Historical Dictionary of German Cinema (Reimer & Reimer), entry on Til Schweiger](https://www.doctormacro.com/Movie%20Books/PDF%20Files/Historical%20Dictionary%20of%20German%20Cinema%20%28Robert%20C.%20Reimer%2C%20Carol%20J.%20Reimer%29.pdf)\n16. [Der bewegte Mann (1994), FILMREPORTER.de](https://www.filmreporter.de/kino/1083-Der-bewegte-Mann)\n17. [Der bewegte Mann (1994), spielfilm.de](https://www.spielfilm.de/filme/2986509/der-bewegte-mann)\n18. [Die erfolgreichsten deutschen Filme aller Zeiten](https://www.filmstarts.de/nachrichten/18486266.html?page=28)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 1990 to 1994 › Titles K to W*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/maybe-maybe-not", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/maybe-maybe-not.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Maybe... Maybe Not\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/maybe-maybe-not. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Maybe... Maybe Not](https://www.edgepedia.org/maybe-maybe-not)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/maybe-maybe-not](https://www.edgepedia.org/maybe-maybe-not). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Maybe... Maybe Not\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/maybe-maybe-not. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Maybe... Maybe Not is Sönke Wortmann's 1994 German comedy adapted from Ralf König comics, starring Til Schweiger, Katja Riemann, and Joachim Król; it sold about 6.5 million tickets in Germany." }