Jetzt Oder Nie: Zeit Ist Geld (2001)

This comedy from Germany follows the misadventures of three senior citizens with an unusual plan to finance one last spree. Carla (Christel Okras), Beta (Christel Peters), and Lilli (Elisabeth Scherer) are three elderly women who have known each other since childhood and remain the best of friends. While their golden years have not been especially kind to them -- Lilly feels cramped living with her family, Beta shares a house with her ungrateful son who demands she pay part of the rent, and Carla is stuck in an old-age home -- the three women have been saving their money and plan to take a cruise around the world together. They've nearly reached their goal when they decide that hiding the money at home isn't safe, so they go to a bank to deposit their eight thousand marks in their bank accounts. While the three women wait in line to see the teller, a team of robbers stage a heist at the bank, taking their savings along with the funds from the bank vault. The bank's manager informs the women that since the money had not been officially deposited before it was stolen, it's not covered under the bank's insurance; outraged, and aware that they might not live long enough to save another eight thousand, the ladies decide to stage a robbery of their own to recover their savings and get revenge against the bankers. Jetzt Oder Nie: Zeit Ist Geldz received its North American premiere at the 2001 Palm Springs Film Festival; the film was shown under its English title, Now or Never. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi