Political activist and good boy Stefan (Stefan Laarmann) and heroin junkie Jockel (Michael Stock) live in a wildly painted trailer on the outskirts of Berlin. They have a third lover Micha (Andreas Stadler) who both vie for the attention of. A subplot involves Micha's young son Sascha (Nils-Leevke Schmidt) and his fascination with the creepy, exhibitionistic jester Firlefanz (Wolfram Haack), whose grotesque puppets enact a gay fairy tale paralleling the relationship of Stefan and Jockel. Central to the disintegration of these characters is the bloated drug dealer Ingolf (Harry Baer), who "pulls their strings" with heroin instead of puppet wires. Stefan tries desperately to get Jockel off the drug. Jockel finds the playful Micha more accommodating of his needs. Together, the trio roam the drag bars, drug dens, and dirty streets of the city until they can escape to the countryside. The last 5 minutes of the film show Firlefanz commiting suicide by hanging himself. The ending tries to be shattering, but instead it looks phony and it never answers the questions posed by the puppets: "What does it mean?"
This tragic modern-day fairy tale follows the lives of several junkies, queers, street performers and anarchists living in squalor in a trash-strewn post-unification Berlin. With pulsating music, raunchy S & M sex, and a "fuck life" attitude, the story's main characters are two gay lovers who are about to break up. "Prinz in Hölleland" is all atmosphere, and there's lots of that. There's also plenty of exploitative nudity, gay sex, some graphic scenes of violence, and drug use. Its posturing tends to trivialize evil, and it all but glamorizes self-destruction while obscuring its social roots. Alexander Hacke composed the music. Wolfram Haack, Stefan Laarmann, and Michael Stock wrote the screenplay. This is the only feature film made by director and co-writer Michael Stock, who also co-stars. The English title is "Prince in Hell". In German with English subtitles.
