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Kino Lorber has acquired North American rights to Fatih Akin’s coming-of-age drama Amrum which debuted in Cannes Premiere.

‘Amrum’ review

Akin and frequent collaborator Hark Bohm, whose credits include In The Fade and Goodbye Berlin, co-wrote the screenplay based on Bohm’s personal experiences growing up on Amrum Island.

Laura Tonke, Diane Kruger, and newcomer child actor Jasper Ole Billerbeck star in the story set in the final days of the Second World War in spring 1945 as a 12-year-old helps his mother feed the family. Aspeace approaches, the enemy is far closer than the youngster imagined.

Amrum marks Akin...

Kino Lorber has acquired North American distribution rights to Fatih Akin’s coming-of-age drama “Amrum,” which made its world premiere as an Official Selection of this month’s Cannes Film Festival. The film will be released theatrically by Kino Lorber followed by a digital, educational and home video release. Beta Cinema is handling global sales.

Directed by Akin and co-written by Akin and frequent collaborator Hark Bohm, Amrum is based on Bohm’s own personal experiences growing up on Amrum Island. Starring Laura Tonke, Diane Kruger, and first-time child actor Jasper Ole Billerbeck, the film marks Akin’s first collaboration with Kruger since “In the Fade,” which won her Cannes’ best actress prize in 2017.

The film is set on Amrum Island in spring 1945. In the final days of the war, 12-year-old Nanning (Billerbeck) braves the treacherous sea to hunt seals, goes fishing at night, and works the nearby farm to...

In Amrum, Fatih Akin stages a sentimental conversation between himself and his mentor, the German director Hark Bohm. This project, which premiered at Cannes outside the main competition, was born of a collaboration between the two filmmakers: Bohm wrote the screenplay, which is based on memories of his youth in the waning days of World War II, and Akin directed (as well as helped edit the script). Indeed, one of the film’s intertitles calls Amrum a “Hark Bohm film by Fatih Akin.”

That’s a useful note, because it announces Amrum as atypical of the Turkish-German filmmaker’s usual offerings. It doesn’t have the thriller textures of In the Fade or the grittiness of Head-On. With its focus on the experiences of a young boy, Amrum most closely aligns with Akin’s 2016 coming-of-age drama Goodbye Berlin.

But even that film, with its surreal elements, had a touch more edge.

The 2025 Cannes Film Festival has wrapped following days of star-studded premieres, red carpets and dealmaking on the French Riviera.

This year’s lineup included major Hollywood premieres including Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme starring Benicio del Toro and Michael Cera, Richard Linklater’s Paris-shot Breathless homage Nouvelle Vague, Jochim Trier’s Sentimental Value and Titane Palme d’Or winner Julia Ducournau’s Alpha to name a few.

They were joined by new films from stalwart auteurs including horrormeister Ari Aster’s buzzy A24 feature Eddington, Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident and Kelly Reichardt’s The Mastermind. Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson debuted in Un Certain Regard with her first directorial effort, Eleanor the Great.

Related: Standing Ovations At Cannes: How We Clock Those Claps, Which Movie Holds The Record and Why The Industry Loves To Hate The Ritual

Croisette regulars Kirill Serebrennikov, Raoul Peck and...

An official selection of the Cannes Film Festival in the Cannes Premieres section, Fatih Akin’s poignant coming-of-age tale of a 12-year-old boy on a remote German island in the waning days of World War II and the defeat of his homeland’s Nazi Party and Hitler, is a side of the war rarely seen in movies. Although the German competition entry in the main competition, Sound of Falling, has gotten all the attention and the hype for the country at this year’s festival (it was just picked up by Mubi today), I would say this modest film is far more impressive and moving and should be taken seriously by the Germans when it comes time for a submission into the Oscar International Film race.

Among others, Akin made the terrific arthouse hit In the Fade in 2017 and that is where I really took notice of his filmmaking acumen.

Kirsten Niehuus, the CEO of the influential film fund for the Berlin-Brandenburg region, Medienboard, welcomed guests to its traditional cocktail reception at the Cannes Film Festival for the last time on Saturday. But it’s unlikely international film folk have seen the last of Niehuus, who has a reputation for backing high-quality international films. Niehuus, who steps down at the end of June, is understood to be a frontrunner for another high-profile role within the Germany film business.

Niehuus is well-placed to become the new president of the German Federal Film Board, known as the Ffa, when Bernd Neumann steps down later this year. The Ffa is a powerful body within the German film landscape. It distributed 20 million euros ($22.5 million) to 50 projects for production and script funding last year, including cash for Cannes films like Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value” and Christian Petzold’s “Miroirs No. 3,” likely box-office hits...

German films and co-productions in Cannes this year are sure to entice festgoers and buyers alike with an eclectic selection heavy on historical drama and animation fare.

Highly anticipated works by Fatih Akin, Mascha Schilinski and Christian Petzold are premiering at the festival along with German co-productions from Wes Anderson, Sergei Loznitsa and Kirill Serebrennikov that explore postwar Germany, lives intertwined through time, loss and grief, international espionage, Stalin’s Great Purge and a war criminal’s escape from justice.

Unspooling in Cannes Premiere, Akin’s “Amrum” is a family drama set in 1945 on the titular North Sea German island and based on the autobiographical novel of screenwriter Hark Bohm, who also penned the script. It centers on 12-year-old Nanning (Jasper Billerbeck), who does everything he can to help his mother feed the family during the last days of the war, only to face all new challenges when peace finally arrives.

The film opens on a vast horizon where grey sea and pale sky merge, a visual motif recalling the austere tableaux of Indian parallel cinema’s salt flats in Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali. Here, 12-year-old Nanning stands barefoot on the North Frisian shore, wind tugging at his uniform, a silent witness to history’s collapse. Time is April 1945, and the island’s rhythm—be it the drip of melting snow or the distant drone of Raf fighters—anchors us in those final wartime days.

At its heart lies a simple yet profound journey: a boy’s search for white bread, butter and honey to revive his grieving mother. This quest echoes the mythic errands of Bollywood’s golden-era heroes, whose offerings often serve as portals into wider cultural reckonings. The director’s choice to frame each errand as a discrete episode recalls the chaptered narratives of Amol Palekar’s films,...

Fatih Akin’s poetic and elegantly spare “Amrum” asks us to take interest in a 12-year-old member of the Hitler youth as he cares for his mother in the last days of World War II, and while we’re at it, maybe even to sympathize with him. That won’t be easy for some. But as the story progresses in its patient, perceptive rhythm on the majestically windswept German island of Amrum, it becomes clear that the film isn’t looking for sympathy for the devil — which would be an oversimplification of the purpose at the heart of Akin’s graceful and profound drama.

Co-written by octogenarian German filmmaker Hark Bohm, who was originally supposed to direct the project based on his own childhood memories, the project was ultimately passed to Akin. Under his direction, “Amrum” wants us to engage with the possibility that at such a young age, the...

It’s hard to imagine a less promising setup for a movie about a young boy’s act of kindness toward his mother than the one that’s supplied in Fatih Akin’s “Amrum,” which premiered on Thursday night at the Cannes Film Festival. The film takes place in 1945, with 12-year-old Nanning outside the house he shares with his mother, brother and aunt on the German island of Amrum when he hears the radio deliver the news that Adolph Hitler “has fallen.” Inside the house, Nanning’s very pregnant mother, Hille, lets out a piercing scream and then a gasp, as her water breaks on the kitchen floor and she gives birth to a baby.

Once the baby is born, Hille refuses to eat, suffering from a likely combination of post-partum depression and grief over the death of her Fuhrer. She insists that she only wants white bread with butter and honey,...

Beta Cinema has closed multiple international deals for Fatih Akin’s Amrum ahead of its world premiere in Cannes on Thursday, selling the German period drama to France (Dulac Distribution), Spain (A Contracorriente), Japan (Bitters End), Benelux (Cherry Pickers), Czech Republic and Slovakia (Cinemart), Former Yugoslavia and Bulgaria (McF) and Brasil (Imovision).

Diane Kruger co-stars in the feature, which Akin co-wrote with German director and screenwriter Hark Bohm, based on Bohm’s own childhood memories of growing up in the final weeks of World War 2 on the secluded North Sea island of Amrum. Life is hard on the island, but for 12-year-old Nanning (newcomer Jasper Billerbeck) it feels like paradise on earth. When the war ends, however, darker secrets about his family come to the surface. Laura Tonke, Lisa Hagmeister, Kian Köppke, and Matthias Schweighöfer co-star.

Warner Bros. Pictures Germany will release Amrum in Germany-speaking territories on Oct. 9.

Akin’s...

The teaser for Fatih Akin’s “Amrum” has debuted ahead of the film’s world premiere in the Cannes Premiere section of the Cannes Film Festival. Beta Cinema is handling world sales, with Warner Bros. distributing the film in Germany and Dulac Distribution in France.

The film is set on Amrum Island, off the coast of Germany, in spring 1945. In the final days of the war, 12-year-old Nanning braves the treacherous sea to hunt seals, goes fishing at night, and works on the nearby farm to help his mother feed the family. Despite the hardship, life on the beautiful, windswept island almost feels like paradise. But when peace finally comes, it reveals a deeper threat: the enemy is far closer than he imagined.

The film is based on the childhood of German actor, writer and director Hark Bohm, who wrote the original screenplay, which was then re-written and directed by Akin.

Picture Tree Intl. has acquired international sales rights for “Prank,” a family adventure-comedy directed by Benjamin Heisenberg (“The Robber”), who co-wrote the script with Peer Klehmet (“The Famous Five”).

Pti will present the film as a market premiere at the European Film Market in Berlin ahead of its German release this spring.

“Prank” follows 12-year-old Lucas Roosen and his Chinese exchange student Xi Zhou (Max Zheng), whose seemingly innocent April Fool’s prank spirals out of control. What begins as a harmless joke evolves into a chaotic adventure, drawing in a cast of misfit characters, including gangsters and bumbling police officers.

Leading the cast is Noèl Gabriel Kipp as Lucas, a mischievous yet endearing protagonist. Joining him is Max Zheng as Xi Zhou. The ensemble also includes Laura Tonke, Cedric Eich, Jana McKinnon, and Lukas Miko.

“ ‘Prank’ is a lively and heartwarming screwball comedy, showcasing Benjamin Heisenberg’s knack for combining humor and depth,...

The world premiere of David Dietl’s Long Story Short will open the 28th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (Poff) on November 8.

It is one of 15 new German films as part of a focus programme on Germany at this year’s festival.

Long Story Short is a comedy drama about the parties, tragedies, love and friendship experienced by a close group of friends. German stars Laura Tonke and Ronald Zehrfeld are among the cast. With a script by Elena Senft, it is adapted from May el-Toukhy’s 2015 Danish feature of the same name.

Dietl’s film is produced by Quirin Berg,...

The world premiere of David Dietl’s Long Story Short will open the 28th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (Poff) on November 8.

It is one of 15 new German films as part of a focus programme on Germany at this year’s festival.

Long Story Short is a comedy-drama about the parties, tragedies, love and friendship experienced by a close group of friends. German stars Laura Tonke and Ronald Zehrfeld are among the cast. With a script by Elena Senft, it is adapted from May el-Toukhy’s 2015 Danish feature of the same name.

Dietl’s film is produced by Quirin Berg,...

Glenn Kendrick Ackermann will kick off worldwide sales in Cannes through his V International Media on the supernatural drama Can You Hear Me starring Peter Facinelli from The Twilight Saga.

Charlotte Radford, who starred alongside Daryl Hannah in The American Connection, also stars and wrote the screenplay.

The cast includes James Cosmo from Game Of Thrones, John Standing from The Crown, Matt Barber of Downton Abbey, and Jane Thorne from Night Train To Lisbon.

Simon Hunter, who helmed Mutant Chronicles, directs the story about the whirlwind romance and marriage between Annabel and Samuel, an American soldier who is severely wounded in the first World War.

Glenn Kendrick Ackermann will kick off worldwide sales in Cannes through his V International Media on the supernatural drama Can You Hear Me starring Peter Facinelli from The Twilight Saga.

Charlotte Radford, who starred alongside Daryl Hannah in The American Connection, also stars and wrote the screenplay.

The cast includes James Cosmo from Game Of Thrones, John Standing from The Crown, Matt Barber of Downton Abbey, and Jane Thorne from Night Train To Lisbon.

Simon Hunter, who helmed Mutant Chronicles, directs the story about the whirlwind romance and marriage between Annabel and Samuel, an American soldier who is severely wounded in the first World War.

Diane Kruger is re-teaming with her In the Fade director Fatih Akin on the new German period drama Amrum, which began principal photography in Hamburg today.

The film follows a family living in a small village on Amrum Island in rural northern Germany in early 1945, in the final days of World War II. The story is based on the childhood memories of Akin’s In the Fade co-screenwriter, German author and director Hark Bohm. Bohm had initially planned to direct the film himself before handing the reins over to Akin, who co-wrote the Amrum screenplay.

The movie is a coming-of-age story of Nanning, a 12-year-old boy (played by Jasper Billerbeck) and his best friend Hermann (Kian Köppke). Laura Tonke (When Will It Be Again Like It Never Was Before) plays Nanning’s mother, Hille Hagener. Kruger plays Tessa Bendixen, a farmer’s wife. Matthias Schweighöfer (Oppenheimer), Detlev Buck (Same Same...

Fatih Akin’s WWII coming-of-age tale Amrum has begun shooting in Hamburg with newcomer Jasper Billerbeck joining German stars Laura Tonke and Diane Kruger in the cast.

The feature, which was first announced in 2022, is set on Germany’s North Sea island of Amrum in the spring of 1945, in the final days of World War Two.

It revolves around a 12-year-old boy called Nanning who goes seal hunting, fishing at night and toils in the fields to help his mother feed the family. When peace is declared, completely new conflicts arise, and Nanning must learn to find his own way.

The screenplay is based on the childhood memories of German director and screenwriter Hark Bohm, a long-standing friend of Akin.

The pair previously collaborated on the screenplay of Turkish-German director Akin’s award-winning 2017 feature In The Fade.

“What began as a Hark Bohm film now becomes my twelfth feature film...

Production is underway today in Hamburg on Fatih Akin’s Second World War drama Amrum, with Jasper Billerbeck, Laura Tonke and Diane Kruger leading the cast.

Beta Cinema has boarded the film and will launch international sales in Cannes next month. The film is produced by Akin’s own company bombero international with Warner Bros Film Productions Germany, in co-production with Rialto Film.

Warner Bros Pictures will release the film in Germany in September 2025.

Written by Akin and his In The Fade co-writer Hark Bohm, Amrum is set on the eponymous German island in spring 1945, as a 12-year-old boy helps...

Beta Cinema is launching international sales in Cannes for director Fatih Akin’s upcoming film “Amrum,” which starts shooting in Hamburg Monday. The film stars Jasper Billerbeck, Laura Tonke and Diane Kruger.

“Amrum” will be released in German theaters in September 2025, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.

It is set on the island of Amrum in spring 1945. Seal hunting, fishing at night, toiling in the fields – nothing is too dangerous or too arduous for 12-year-old Nanning to help his mother feed the family in the final days of World War II. With the longed-for peace, however, completely new conflicts arise, and Nanning must learn to find his own way.

The story is based on the childhood memories of German director and screenwriter Hark Bohm. Akin said: “What began as a Hark Bohm film now becomes my 12th feature film and an extraordinary mission: ‘Amrum’ is the journey of young Nanning, who...

Exclusive: Picture Tree International (Pti) has boarded sales on German Iranian director Alireza Golafshan’s comedy Everything’s Fifty Fifty about a divorced couple who embark on a family vacation, ahead of the AFM.

Laura Tonke (Jupiter) and Moritz Bleitreu play a divorced couple who head to Italy for a family holiday with their young son and the former’s new boyfriend, played by David Kross.

Planned with the best of intentions, the trip exposes cracks in their parenting, forcing them to reappraise their approach and work out how to function as a family again.

The movie follows Golafshan’s Ibiza-set hen party caper Jga and reunites him with producers Justyna Muesch, Quirin Berg and Max Wiedemann at Leonine-company Wiedemann & Berg, best known for The Lives Of Others, Never Look Away and Who am I.

They are lead producing in...

German cinema looks set for a major boom this year with a strong lineup of diverse works that span historical dramas, coming-of-age tales, high-octane nostalgia, animation and sci-fi fun.

The Berlin Film Festival is bowing a muscular selection of local titles, among them “Afire,” by Berlinale mainstay Christian Petzold (“Undine”), screening in competition. The films centers on a group of young people staying at a holiday house near the Baltic Sea during a hot, dry summer, exploring volatile emotions that start to sizzle when a wildfire spreads through the surrounding forest.

Likewise vying for the Golden Bear is Margarethe von Trotta’s biopic “Ingeborg Bachmann: Journey Into the Desert,” starring Vicky Krieps (“Corsage”) as the radical Austrian author. The film examines her relationship with Swiss writer Max Frisch and her 1964 journey of self-discovery through the Egyptian desert.

“Someday We’ll Tell Each Other Everything,” by Emily Atef (“More Than Ever”) and...

U2 documentary ‘Kiss The Future’ added to Berlinale Special; further Generation titles revealed.

The Berlinale has completed the Panorama section for its 2023 edition with a raft of world premieres including UK thriller Femme, starring George MacKay and Candyman star Nathan Stewart-Jarrett.

The festival, which is set to run from February 16-26, has also revealed fresh titles selected for its Generation competition and the addition of U2 documentary Kiss The Future as a Berlinale Special screening.

The Panorama strand will comprise 35 films from 30 countries, including 28 world premieres and 11 debuts. Having previously announced several titles, the festival revealed that animated feature The...

The Berlin Film Festival has unveiled the final titles for its Generation sidebar of youth and children’s films, adding the animated feature Greyhound of a Girl, which features the voices of Irish actors Brendan Gleeson and Sharon Horgan; the Ukrainian documentary We Will Not Fade Away on teenagers living in the war-torn Donbas region; and the highly-anticipated German drama Will It Be Again Like It Never Was Before from director Sonja Heiss to its lineup.

Directed by Enzo d’Alò, Greyhound of a Girl is an adaptation of Roddy Doyle’s children’s book about a 12-year-old girl and her beloved, joke-cracking grandmother who is nearing the end of her life. In addition to Gleeson and Horgan, the film’s voice talents include Mia O’Connor, Charlene McKenna, and Rosaleen Linehan. When Will It Be Again Like It Never Was Before, based on the autobiographical bestseller by actor and writer Joachim Meyerhoff...

Beta Cinema will sell international rights to “When Will It Be Again Like It Never Was Before,” the latest production from German powerhouse Komplizen Film, best known for Oscar nominees “Toni Erdmann” and “Spencer,” and directed by Sonja Heiss. As announced today, the moving dramedy will celebrate its world premiere at the Berlinale, opening the Generation 14plus section. Warner Bros. will release the film in Germany on Feb. 23.

The film is based on the bestselling autobiographical novel by Joachim Meyerhoff, which sold more than two million copies in Germany alone, and has been published in more than 10 further territories, including France, Spain, Italy, Brazil, Finland and the Netherlands. It tells a tale of tender romance and longing for departure and arrival.

Growing up in the grounds of one of Germany’s largest psychiatric hospitals is somehow … different. For Joachim, the hospital director’s youngest son, the patients are like family.

The 2017 Sundance Film Festival is coming to a close with tonight’s awards ceremony. While we’ll have our personal favorites coming early this week, the jury and audience have responded with theirs, topped by Macon Blair‘s I don’t feel at home in this world anymore., which will arrive on Netflix in late February, and the documentary Dina. Check out the full list of winners below see our complete coverage here.

The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary was presented by Larry Wilmore to:

Dina / U.S.A. (Directors: Dan Sickles, Antonio Santini) — An eccentric suburban woman and a Walmart door-greeter navigate their evolving relationship in this unconventional love story.

The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented by Peter Dinklage to:

I don’t feel at home in this world anymore. / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Macon Blair) — When a depressed woman is burglarized, she...

Playwright, author, screenwriter, and director Helene Hegemann has said (through her publisher) that, “There’s no such thing as originality anyway, just authenticity.” The words were spoken after her debut novel Axolotl Roadkill earned critical praise, a spot as a finalist for a major book award, and multiple, potentially damning plagiarism claims. Hegemann was seventeen when it published and admitted to the cribbing as soon as it was brought to light. She blamed her generation’s penchant for mixing and sampling, for taking what’s bouncing around the æther and making it her own with newfound honesty and meaning. Say what you will, the book sold and kept selling. This German phenom hit upon the zeitgeist with her tale of drug-addled excess and mental instability — in subject matter and process.

Considering she had a play staged at fifteen and a short film released to acclaim, it was only a matter...

Axelotl Overkill Review Axelotl Overkill (2017), Film Review from the 33rd Annual Sundance Film Festival, a movie directed by Helene Hegemann, starring Jasna Fritzi Bauer, Arly Jover, Laura Tonke, Mavie Hörbiger, Hans Löw, and Bernhard Schütz. How is it that a film can be simultaneously provocative yet entirely boring? First-time director Helene Hegemann has mastered the art in this deliberately vague […]...

Every week, a bevy of new releases (independent or otherwise), open in theaters. That’s why we created the Weekly Film Guide, filled with basic plot, personnel and cinema information for all of this week’s fresh offerings.

For August, we’ve also put together a list for the entire month. We’ve included this week’s list below, complete with information on screening locations for films in limited release.

See More: Here Are All the Upcoming Movies in Theaters for August 2016

Here are the films opening theatrically in the U.S. the week of Friday, August 19. All synopses provided by distributor unless listed otherwise.

Wide

Ben-Hur

Director: Timur Bekmambetov

Cast: Jack Huston, Morgan Freeman, Nazanin Boniadi, Rodrigo Santoro, Toby Kebbell

Synopsis: The epic story of Judah Ben-Hur (Jack Huston), a prince falsely accused of treason by his adopted brother Messala (Toby Kebbell), an officer in the Roman army. Stripped of his title,...

Nazi hunter thriller wins best film at the annual ‘Lolas’.

Lars Kraume’s Nazi hunter thriller, The People Vs. Fritz Bauer, won six Lola statuettes at this year’s German Film Awards after being tipped as the evening’s hot ticket with nine nominations.

The co-production between Berlin’s zero one film and Cologne-based Terz Film picked up the evening’s top award - the Lola in Gold for Best Film - as well as the statuettes for Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Ronald Zehrfeld), Best Production Design (Cora Pratz), and Best Costume Design (Esther Walz).

Accepting the Gold statuette from the hands of Germany’s State Minister for Culture and Media Monika Grütters, producer Thomas Kufus dedicated the award to the memory of Fritz Bauer.

Kurth knocks out Klaußner

While many thought that it was foregone conclusion that Burghart Klaußner would take the Lola home for his portrayal of the state prosecutor Fritz Bauer, nobody...

Christopher Roth's "Baader" is the worse sort of terrorist chic. Turning back the clock more than a quarter of a century, the movie traces the exploits of one of the West's first glamour terrorists. West Germany's Baader-Meinhof gang set fires, robbed banks, stole BMWs and killed people from 1967-72. Murderers that they were, there is something now almost quaint in their nonsensical actions, confused ideology, stylish dress and arrogant blunders.

But Roth makes blunders of his own. The film lacks any point of view, letting the story unfold in a pseudo-documentary style that offers neither explanations nor context. Further, the film makes no attempt to reach an audience beyond national borders. Names, dates and references will be unfamiliar to most non-Germans. So despite the world's dramatically increased interest in the subject matter, "Baader"'s insularity dooms it to limited distribution.

Roth indulges in more than a little sensationalism without giving his subject any rigorous examination. Yet even with a "neutral" approach, the movie can't help making this treacherous gang appear foolish. Whether dropping acid during kaffeeklatsches or sunbathing nude in a Jordanian terrorist camp, the Baader-Meinhof crew comes off more as feebleminded anarchists than the tough revolutionaries they aspire to be.

Yet many Germans of that era, especially students and left-wingers, admired them. The movie never delves into what inspired this admiration. Instead Roth keeps you in the cocoon of the gang and their pursuers, led by a fictional police official named Kurt Krone (Vadim Glowna).

The latter is the movie's most remarkable character. A middle-aged leftist, Krone believes in many of the things group co-leader Andreas Baader does. Only he sees means to achieve such political goals without violence. The ambivalent policeman tracks his quarry, gets inside Baader's mind and in one implausible episode shares a late-night smoke with his foe on a deserted country road.

Frank Giering does little to interpret Baader, preferring to cloak this nearly mythological figure in a cloud of tobacco smoke, sunglasses and the street strut of a car thief, which was indeed his criminal career before discovering radical politics. Laura Tonke plays his lover Gudrun as a young woman who believes that she has hooked up with the coolest dude in the West.

But it's mind-boggling how Roth ignores Ulrike Meinhof (Birge Schade), the journalist who turned in her typewriter for a gun. This is, after all, the Baader-Meinhof gang. She is the group's theoretician; Baader is simply its organizational thug. How can you ignore her?

While sticking close to known facts for most of his movie, Roth unaccountably goes for a "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" finale in which Baader goes out with guns blazing instead of his murder or suicide -- to this day most people are not sure which -- in prison.

The picture sparked condemnation from many sides at the festival for its deliberate invention and glorification of Baader. The jury's decision to honor "Baader" with an award for "particular innovation" was greeted with a chorus of boos and whistles.

In truth, Roth adds nothing to what is already known about the gang. Certainly, better films have been made about terrorism in the 1970s by such German filmmakers as R.W. Fassbinder and Volker Schlondorff.

Production values are so-so. The colors have a drab, washed-out look, possibly to emulate German films of that era. Rock numbers, including a bit of techno rock, do give an edgy suspense to the overlong and often repetitive drama.

BAADER

72 Film

Producers: Stephan Fruth, Mark Glaser, Christopher Roth

Director: Christopher Roth

Screenwriters: Christopher Roth, Moritz von Uslar

Directors of photography: Jutta Pohlmann, Bella Halben

Production designers: Attila Saygel, Oliver Kronke, Tobiaas Nolte

Costume designer: Nicole Fischnaller

Editor: Barbara Gies

Color/stereo

Cast:

Andreas Baader: Frank Giering

Gudrun Ensslin: Laura Tonke

Kurt Krone: Vadim Glowna

Ulrike Meinhof: Birge Schade

Karin: Jana Pallaske

Kurt Wagner: Michael Sideris

Running time -- 129 minutes

No MPAA rating...