German cinema looks set for a major boost this year from some of the country’s most commercially successful and critically acclaimed directors tackling such eclectic subject matter as U.S. torture in Guantánamo, the impact of bipolar disorder on family, and a folkloric love story about the Grim Reaper.
The pandemic postponed a number of scheduled 2020 productions, which will likely make 2021 a busy year as production companies make up lost time.
Andreas Dresen, Til Schweiger, Michael Bully Herbig, Hans-Christian Schmid, Sönke Wortmann and the late Joseph Vilsmaier all have high-profile projects in the works or set to hit theaters (when they reopen) this year.
Dresen explores the injustice of America’s war on terror in the tentatively titled “Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush.” Dresen, who enjoyed a major hit with the award-winning 2018 biopic “Gundermann,” reteamed with writer Laila Stieler on the fact-based pic about Rabiye Kurnaz (Meltem Kaptan), a Turkish housewife in Bremen,...
The pandemic postponed a number of scheduled 2020 productions, which will likely make 2021 a busy year as production companies make up lost time.
Andreas Dresen, Til Schweiger, Michael Bully Herbig, Hans-Christian Schmid, Sönke Wortmann and the late Joseph Vilsmaier all have high-profile projects in the works or set to hit theaters (when they reopen) this year.
Dresen explores the injustice of America’s war on terror in the tentatively titled “Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush.” Dresen, who enjoyed a major hit with the award-winning 2018 biopic “Gundermann,” reteamed with writer Laila Stieler on the fact-based pic about Rabiye Kurnaz (Meltem Kaptan), a Turkish housewife in Bremen,...
- 3/2/2021
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
This was the original release weekend for ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ before its Covid-induced delay.
France, Wednesday, September 30
French comedy My Cousin by Jan Kounen was the biggest release of the week in France on just under 700 prints for Pathé. Vincent Lindon stars as the uptight chief of a family business empire on a mission to get his wayward cousin, who owns half its shares, to sign off on a mega-deal.
Cannes 2020 label feature animation Josep was the second widest launch on 200 prints for Sophie Dulac Distribution. This was followed by Israeli-French drama The End Of Love by Keren Ben Rafael...
France, Wednesday, September 30
French comedy My Cousin by Jan Kounen was the biggest release of the week in France on just under 700 prints for Pathé. Vincent Lindon stars as the uptight chief of a family business empire on a mission to get his wayward cousin, who owns half its shares, to sign off on a mega-deal.
Cannes 2020 label feature animation Josep was the second widest launch on 200 prints for Sophie Dulac Distribution. This was followed by Israeli-French drama The End Of Love by Keren Ben Rafael...
- 10/2/2020
- by Ben Dalton¬Martin Blaney¬Gabriele Niola¬Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
“System Crasher,” Nora Fingscheidt’s social drama about a troubled young girl, swept the 70th German Film Awards on Friday, winning a total of eight Lolas, including best film, director, actress and actor.
Forced to revamp this year’s ceremony due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the German Film Academy did away with its traditional gala event and instead produced a stripped-down show tailor-made for television that proved uniquely spontaneous, innovative and entertaining.
Hosted by actor Edin Hasanovic (“Skylines”), the show, broadcast live from Berlin and airing on Ard’s Das Erste, featured guest entertainers, actors and presenters in the studio as well as filmmakers, award winners and musicians taking part via video feed from their homes, including a musical performance by Gregory Porter from Los Angeles.
In addition to best film and director awards, “System Crasher” won Fingscheidt the screenplay Lola, best actress for Helena Zengel, supporting actress for...
Forced to revamp this year’s ceremony due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the German Film Academy did away with its traditional gala event and instead produced a stripped-down show tailor-made for television that proved uniquely spontaneous, innovative and entertaining.
Hosted by actor Edin Hasanovic (“Skylines”), the show, broadcast live from Berlin and airing on Ard’s Das Erste, featured guest entertainers, actors and presenters in the studio as well as filmmakers, award winners and musicians taking part via video feed from their homes, including a musical performance by Gregory Porter from Los Angeles.
In addition to best film and director awards, “System Crasher” won Fingscheidt the screenplay Lola, best actress for Helena Zengel, supporting actress for...
- 4/25/2020
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Movies about 20th-century Germany tend to focus on, well, you know. 30 years after East and West reunified, however, “Balloon” serves as a reminder of what the country went through once World War II gave way to the Cold War — and why it still matters.
Unfortunately, Michael Bully Herbig’s film — telling a story previously dramatized in the 1980s Disney movie “Night Crossing” — plays out with such unconvincing drama that you might be left wondering whether its based-on-a-true-story subject matter would have been better served by a documentary.
It begins on Youth Dedication Day, when eighth-graders in the East are loosed upon the world after pledging their allegiance to socialism, and quickly reveals the title’s significance as a handful of floating blue balloons alert a family of would-be defectors that the time has come. Herbig treats it as a given that anyone living in the Soviet-controlled East would risk their lives to escape,...
Unfortunately, Michael Bully Herbig’s film — telling a story previously dramatized in the 1980s Disney movie “Night Crossing” — plays out with such unconvincing drama that you might be left wondering whether its based-on-a-true-story subject matter would have been better served by a documentary.
It begins on Youth Dedication Day, when eighth-graders in the East are loosed upon the world after pledging their allegiance to socialism, and quickly reveals the title’s significance as a handful of floating blue balloons alert a family of would-be defectors that the time has come. Herbig treats it as a given that anyone living in the Soviet-controlled East would risk their lives to escape,...
- 2/19/2020
- by Michael Nordine
- The Wrap
Joseph Vilsmaier, a German director and cinematographer behind the acclaimed 1993 World War II drama “Stalingrad,” died on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. He was 81.
His agent confirmed to the AP that Vilsmaier died “peacefully” at his home in Bavaria on Tuesday.
Vilsmaier’s film “Stalingrad” about a group of German soldiers fighting in the battle of Stalingrad in Soviet Russia won three Bavarian Film Awards in 1993, including one for Best Production and one for Vilsmaier’s cinematography.
Vilsmaier spent nine years working in a music conservatory as a runner and technician before moving up in the ranks and eventually landing a job as a camera operator for German television.
His first film, 1989’s “Autumn Milk,” starred his wife Dana Vávrová and was a box office success in the country. That film’s success...
His agent confirmed to the AP that Vilsmaier died “peacefully” at his home in Bavaria on Tuesday.
Vilsmaier’s film “Stalingrad” about a group of German soldiers fighting in the battle of Stalingrad in Soviet Russia won three Bavarian Film Awards in 1993, including one for Best Production and one for Vilsmaier’s cinematography.
Vilsmaier spent nine years working in a music conservatory as a runner and technician before moving up in the ranks and eventually landing a job as a camera operator for German television.
His first film, 1989’s “Autumn Milk,” starred his wife Dana Vávrová and was a box office success in the country. That film’s success...
- 2/12/2020
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Joseph Vilsmaier, the German director of Stalingrad, The Harmonists and Marlene Dietrich biopic Marlene, has died. He was 81.
Vilsmaier's agent on Wednesday confirmed media reports that the director "died peacefully at his home" in Bavaria on Tuesday.
Born in Munich in 1939, Vilsmaier studied music and worked as a technician before gaining a foothold in the film business in the early 1960s, starting as a runner. He worked his way up, initially as a cameraman for German television, lensing episodes of popular crime series Tatort and the cult 1980s trucker drama Auf Achse, before directing his first feature, Autumn Milk, in 1989 when ...
Vilsmaier's agent on Wednesday confirmed media reports that the director "died peacefully at his home" in Bavaria on Tuesday.
Born in Munich in 1939, Vilsmaier studied music and worked as a technician before gaining a foothold in the film business in the early 1960s, starting as a runner. He worked his way up, initially as a cameraman for German television, lensing episodes of popular crime series Tatort and the cult 1980s trucker drama Auf Achse, before directing his first feature, Autumn Milk, in 1989 when ...
- 2/12/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Joseph Vilsmaier, the German director of Stalingrad, The Harmonists and Marlene Dietrich biopic Marlene, has died. He was 81.
Vilsmaier's agent on Wednesday confirmed media reports that the director "died peacefully at his home" in Bavaria on Tuesday.
Born in Munich in 1939, Vilsmaier studied music and worked as a technician before gaining a foothold in the film business in the early 1960s, starting as a runner. He worked his way up, initially as a cameraman for German television, lensing episodes of popular crime series Tatort and the cult 1980s trucker drama Auf Achse, before directing his first feature, Autumn Milk, in 1989 when ...
Vilsmaier's agent on Wednesday confirmed media reports that the director "died peacefully at his home" in Bavaria on Tuesday.
Born in Munich in 1939, Vilsmaier studied music and worked as a technician before gaining a foothold in the film business in the early 1960s, starting as a runner. He worked his way up, initially as a cameraman for German television, lensing episodes of popular crime series Tatort and the cult 1980s trucker drama Auf Achse, before directing his first feature, Autumn Milk, in 1989 when ...
- 2/12/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
The sight of a soldier carrying his own severed arm is one of the many horrific images of “Saving Private Ryan,” which 20 years ago earned instant acclaim for its unflinching depiction of the brutality of D-Day. But it’s far from the only film to show the horrors of war. Here are some of the most brutal war movies ever made.
Fury (2014): This David Ayer WWII film starts with bits of brain being cleaned from the inside of a M4 Sherman tank, and continues to get uglier from there as a tank unit led by Staff Sgt. Don “Wardaddy” Collier (Brad Pitt) begins its final charge into Nazi Germany in 1945.
Full Metal Jacket (1987): While Stanley Kubrick’s Vietnam film is more known for its first half at boot camp, the second half shows a grisly battle as Private Joker (Matthew Modine) watches as his crew is slain by a hidden sniper.
Fury (2014): This David Ayer WWII film starts with bits of brain being cleaned from the inside of a M4 Sherman tank, and continues to get uglier from there as a tank unit led by Staff Sgt. Don “Wardaddy” Collier (Brad Pitt) begins its final charge into Nazi Germany in 1945.
Full Metal Jacket (1987): While Stanley Kubrick’s Vietnam film is more known for its first half at boot camp, the second half shows a grisly battle as Private Joker (Matthew Modine) watches as his crew is slain by a hidden sniper.
- 7/24/2018
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Jan. 8, 2013
Price: DVD $24.99, Blu-ray $29.99
Studio: Hen’s Tooth
The 1993 German war drama film Stalingrad directed by Joseph Vilsmaier follows a platoon of World War II German Army soldiers transferred to Russia, where they ultimately find themselves plunged into the infamous Battle of Stalingrad.
In the spring of 1942, German troops advanced deep into the Soviet Union en route to Stalingrad. Hitler seriously misjudged the tenacity of the Red Army and was convinced that the city could be conquered before winter. Ordinary foot soldiers, inadequately clothed and without sufficient food, struggled just to stay alive. Abandoned by their leaders, Nazi troops froze and starved to death in a conflict that left over one million dead. Stalingrad graphically depicts this turning point in WWII in which the average German soldier was as much a victim of Nazi evil as the Soviet people.
One of the most respected movies ever produced about the Stalingrad battle,...
Price: DVD $24.99, Blu-ray $29.99
Studio: Hen’s Tooth
The 1993 German war drama film Stalingrad directed by Joseph Vilsmaier follows a platoon of World War II German Army soldiers transferred to Russia, where they ultimately find themselves plunged into the infamous Battle of Stalingrad.
In the spring of 1942, German troops advanced deep into the Soviet Union en route to Stalingrad. Hitler seriously misjudged the tenacity of the Red Army and was convinced that the city could be conquered before winter. Ordinary foot soldiers, inadequately clothed and without sufficient food, struggled just to stay alive. Abandoned by their leaders, Nazi troops froze and starved to death in a conflict that left over one million dead. Stalingrad graphically depicts this turning point in WWII in which the average German soldier was as much a victim of Nazi evil as the Soviet people.
One of the most respected movies ever produced about the Stalingrad battle,...
- 11/5/2012
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
• Movie tells of 70s ascent of treacherous Pakistan peak
• Portrayal of sibling's death false, say team members
A film retelling mountaineer Reinhold Messner's legendary ascent of Nanga Parbat, in which his younger brother was killed, has reignited a bitter mountaineering row and prompted fellow climbers to attack as "false" the version of events being portrayed on the screen.
A group of climbers who accompanied Messner, now 65, and his brother Günther on the 1970 expedition have criticised the makers of Nanga Parbat for telling only one side of the story – and have threatened legal action.
The film, by the director Josef Vilsmaier, is being advertised under the slogan "two brothers, one mountain, their fate" and promises to reconstruct the events when Günther disappeared after apparently following Reinhold down Nanga Parbat in Pakistan, the ninth highest mountain in the world and one of the most treacherous to climb. From the start the film,...
• Portrayal of sibling's death false, say team members
A film retelling mountaineer Reinhold Messner's legendary ascent of Nanga Parbat, in which his younger brother was killed, has reignited a bitter mountaineering row and prompted fellow climbers to attack as "false" the version of events being portrayed on the screen.
A group of climbers who accompanied Messner, now 65, and his brother Günther on the 1970 expedition have criticised the makers of Nanga Parbat for telling only one side of the story – and have threatened legal action.
The film, by the director Josef Vilsmaier, is being advertised under the slogan "two brothers, one mountain, their fate" and promises to reconstruct the events when Günther disappeared after apparently following Reinhold down Nanga Parbat in Pakistan, the ninth highest mountain in the world and one of the most treacherous to climb. From the start the film,...
- 1/20/2010
- by Kate Connolly
- The Guardian - Film News
Cologne, Germany -- Senator Entertainment, the German industry's comeback kid, has secured a new lease on life via a credit line from L.A.-based private equity group Winchester Capital International.
Senator did not disclose the size of the loan but said Winchester's cash injection will allow the German distributor/producer to bankroll its acquisition and marketing pipeline through 2010.
Winchester's parent company, Winchester Capital Management, is a major player in the indie film financing world and has backed recent features including George Clooney-starrer "The Men Who Stare at Goats," and "The Private Life of Pippa Lee," featuring Robin Wright Penn, Alan Arkin and Winona Ryder.
Senator came close to collapse last year but has pulled through after radically restructuring and outsourcing many of its key operations, including its production of German-language films, which is now handled by deutschfilm, a joint venture between Senator and former company executives Anatol Nitschke and Christoph Muller.
Senator did not disclose the size of the loan but said Winchester's cash injection will allow the German distributor/producer to bankroll its acquisition and marketing pipeline through 2010.
Winchester's parent company, Winchester Capital Management, is a major player in the indie film financing world and has backed recent features including George Clooney-starrer "The Men Who Stare at Goats," and "The Private Life of Pippa Lee," featuring Robin Wright Penn, Alan Arkin and Winona Ryder.
Senator came close to collapse last year but has pulled through after radically restructuring and outsourcing many of its key operations, including its production of German-language films, which is now handled by deutschfilm, a joint venture between Senator and former company executives Anatol Nitschke and Christoph Muller.
- 12/7/2009
- by By Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Cologne, Germany -- Joseph Vilsmaier, the German director credited by many with reinvigorating the Heimatfilm genre, will receive a lifetime achievement award at the Bavarian Film Prize gala Jan. 15.
Vilsmaier was one of the most successful German filmmakers of the 1990s -- his period dramas "Autumn Milk," "Brother of Sleep" and "Comedian Harmonists" were local boxoffice hits.
The 70-year-old filmmaker returned to form with his last feature, the comedy "Brandner Kaspar" which featured local comedy star Michael Herbig as death incarnate. Vilsmaier's latest, the real-life mountain climbing drama "Nanga Parbat," bows Jan. 14 in Germany. It follows the story of brothers Reinhold and Gunther Messner who, in 1970, set off to scale the Nanga Parbat, the infamous "Killer Mountain" of the Himalayas.
Vilsmaier was one of the most successful German filmmakers of the 1990s -- his period dramas "Autumn Milk," "Brother of Sleep" and "Comedian Harmonists" were local boxoffice hits.
The 70-year-old filmmaker returned to form with his last feature, the comedy "Brandner Kaspar" which featured local comedy star Michael Herbig as death incarnate. Vilsmaier's latest, the real-life mountain climbing drama "Nanga Parbat," bows Jan. 14 in Germany. It follows the story of brothers Reinhold and Gunther Messner who, in 1970, set off to scale the Nanga Parbat, the infamous "Killer Mountain" of the Himalayas.
- 12/3/2009
- by By Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Cologne, Germany -- German indie producer-distributor Senator Entertainment squeezed back into black ink in the first half of 2009, earning net profits of €900,000 ($1.3 million) on revenue of €15.9 million ($22.7 million).
It's a ray of sunshine for the Berlin-based group, which pushed through a radical restructuring plan last year to avoid collapse. The shake-up saw Senator hand its U.S. operation Senator Entertainment Inc. back to founder Marco Weber; spin off production, acquisition and marketing duties to new joint venture deutschfilm and sign co-acquisition/distribution deals with Universum Films and France's Wild Bunch to provide much-needed cash flow.
"We're on the right track, but we're not out of the woods yet," said Senator CEO Helge Sasse, noting the company was still drawing down on its assets in order to keep the lights on.
Senator has had a huge hit in Germany with Stephen Daldry's "The Reader," which earned more than $20 million at the local boxoffice,...
It's a ray of sunshine for the Berlin-based group, which pushed through a radical restructuring plan last year to avoid collapse. The shake-up saw Senator hand its U.S. operation Senator Entertainment Inc. back to founder Marco Weber; spin off production, acquisition and marketing duties to new joint venture deutschfilm and sign co-acquisition/distribution deals with Universum Films and France's Wild Bunch to provide much-needed cash flow.
"We're on the right track, but we're not out of the woods yet," said Senator CEO Helge Sasse, noting the company was still drawing down on its assets in order to keep the lights on.
Senator has had a huge hit in Germany with Stephen Daldry's "The Reader," which earned more than $20 million at the local boxoffice,...
- 8/31/2009
- by By Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Cologne, Germany -- Uli Edel's 1970s terrorist drama "The Baader Meinhof Complex" and Florian Gallenberger's biopic "John Rabe" were the big winners at the Bavarian Film Awards, sharing the top prize for best film.
Produced by Bernd Eichinger, "Baader Meinhof" has already picked up a Golden Globe and a BAFTA film award nomination and is on Oscar's shortlist for best foreign-language film.
"John Rabe," the true story of the German businessman who saved hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians during the Rape of Nanking in 1937, will have its premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in February.
"John Rabe" stars Ulrich Tukur, who won the best actor prize at the Bavarian Film Awards on Sunday night.
Best actress went to Ursula Werner for her role as an elderly woman struggling between loyalty to her husband and the passion of a new lover in Andreas Dresen's "Cloud 9.
Produced by Bernd Eichinger, "Baader Meinhof" has already picked up a Golden Globe and a BAFTA film award nomination and is on Oscar's shortlist for best foreign-language film.
"John Rabe," the true story of the German businessman who saved hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians during the Rape of Nanking in 1937, will have its premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in February.
"John Rabe" stars Ulrich Tukur, who won the best actor prize at the Bavarian Film Awards on Sunday night.
Best actress went to Ursula Werner for her role as an elderly woman struggling between loyalty to her husband and the passion of a new lover in Andreas Dresen's "Cloud 9.
- 1/19/2009
- by By Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Cologne, Germany -- Joseph Vilsmaier’s “Ship of No Return -- The Final Voyage of the Gustloff” has won the Diva award as most successful German TV movie of 2008.
The two-part miniseries tells the true story of the worst naval disaster in history: when the Mv Wilhelm Gustloff, carrying German soldiers and civilian refugees, was sunk by a Russian submarine in January 1945. More than 9,000 people died, several times the number that went down on the Titanic.
Vilsmaier’s two-parter was a ratings hit for public broadcaster Zdf, drawing an audience of 8.5 million and a 23.5% share on its original broadcast last February. Zdf Enterprises is handling international sales for the title.
The two-part miniseries tells the true story of the worst naval disaster in history: when the Mv Wilhelm Gustloff, carrying German soldiers and civilian refugees, was sunk by a Russian submarine in January 1945. More than 9,000 people died, several times the number that went down on the Titanic.
Vilsmaier’s two-parter was a ratings hit for public broadcaster Zdf, drawing an audience of 8.5 million and a 23.5% share on its original broadcast last February. Zdf Enterprises is handling international sales for the title.
- 1/6/2009
- by By Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Germany's Cine-International calls it quits
COLOGNE, Germany -- Veteran German sales group Cine-International Filmvertreib said Tuesday that it is shuttering operations.
The news follows months of rumors that the Munich-based outfit, founded in 1969 by company president Lilli Tyc-Holm, was in trouble. Cine-International did not attend the MIPTV market in April and, for the first time since its founding, missed the Cannes Film Market in May.
Cine-International has almost 300 titles in its library, ranging from Joseph Vilsmaier's "Autumn Milk" to Mirk Borscht's skinhead drama "Combat Sixteen".
Tyc-Holm also was the sales agent for the films of Werner Herzog for almost 30 years.
In a letter to "film buyers, colleagues and friends," Cine-International head of sales Susanne Groh said talks were under way to sell the company's assets, including the label Cine-International to "either a European investment company or a German sales and distribution company."...
The news follows months of rumors that the Munich-based outfit, founded in 1969 by company president Lilli Tyc-Holm, was in trouble. Cine-International did not attend the MIPTV market in April and, for the first time since its founding, missed the Cannes Film Market in May.
Cine-International has almost 300 titles in its library, ranging from Joseph Vilsmaier's "Autumn Milk" to Mirk Borscht's skinhead drama "Combat Sixteen".
Tyc-Holm also was the sales agent for the films of Werner Herzog for almost 30 years.
In a letter to "film buyers, colleagues and friends," Cine-International head of sales Susanne Groh said talks were under way to sell the company's assets, including the label Cine-International to "either a European investment company or a German sales and distribution company."...
- 7/4/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
'Perfume' highlights EFM's German showcase
COLOGNE, Germany -- Oscar-nominated Stasi drama The Lives Of Others, fragrant blockbuster Perfume: The Story of a Murderer and controversial comedy "Mein Fuehrer: The Truly Truest Truth About Adolf Hitler" are among the titles selected for the Berlinale's European Film Market's German Cinema showcase.
The lineup, which provides a cross-section of the most successful and critically acclaimed German-language films of the past year -- along with a few new titles -- includes Marcus H. Rosenmueller's sleeper hit Grave Decisions; Chris Kraus' award-winning 4 Minutes; Matthias Luthardt's Pingpong, which won the screenwriting award in Cannes; and Ralf Westhoff's speed-dating comedy Shoppen, which was snapped up for German release by X Verleih following its debut at the Hof Film days.
The 17 titles picked for this year's showcase will be screened at the CinemaxX 1 cinema Feb. 9-17.
A full list of German Cinema titles follows.
A Friend Of Mine Sebastian Schipper (sales: Telepool)
Emma's Bliss Sven Taddicken (sales: The Match Factory)
4 Minutes Chris Kraus (sales: Beta Cinema)
Grave Decisions Marcus H. Rosenmueller (sales: Beta Cinema)
Mein Fuhrer Dani Levy (sales: Beta Cinema)
Neandertal Ingo Haeb, Jan-Christoph Glaser (sales: Rommel Film)
Offset Didi Danquart (sales: Bavaria Film International)
"Perfume: The Story of a Murderer" Tom Tykwer (sales: Summit Film Sales)
Pingpong Matthias Luthardt (sales: Media Luna Entertainment)
Shoppen Ralf Westhoff (sales: Drife Prods.)
Summer '04 Stefan Krohmer (sales: Bavaria Film International)
The Cloud Gregor Schnitzler (sales: Bavaria Film International)
The Last Train Joseph Vilsmaier, Dana Vavrova (sales: Telepool)
The Lives Of Others Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (sales: Beta Cinema)
Warchild Christian Wagner (sales: Christian Wagner Film)
While You Are Here Stefan Westerwelle (sales: Kunsthochschule fuer Medien KHM)...
The lineup, which provides a cross-section of the most successful and critically acclaimed German-language films of the past year -- along with a few new titles -- includes Marcus H. Rosenmueller's sleeper hit Grave Decisions; Chris Kraus' award-winning 4 Minutes; Matthias Luthardt's Pingpong, which won the screenwriting award in Cannes; and Ralf Westhoff's speed-dating comedy Shoppen, which was snapped up for German release by X Verleih following its debut at the Hof Film days.
The 17 titles picked for this year's showcase will be screened at the CinemaxX 1 cinema Feb. 9-17.
A full list of German Cinema titles follows.
A Friend Of Mine Sebastian Schipper (sales: Telepool)
Emma's Bliss Sven Taddicken (sales: The Match Factory)
4 Minutes Chris Kraus (sales: Beta Cinema)
Grave Decisions Marcus H. Rosenmueller (sales: Beta Cinema)
Mein Fuhrer Dani Levy (sales: Beta Cinema)
Neandertal Ingo Haeb, Jan-Christoph Glaser (sales: Rommel Film)
Offset Didi Danquart (sales: Bavaria Film International)
"Perfume: The Story of a Murderer" Tom Tykwer (sales: Summit Film Sales)
Pingpong Matthias Luthardt (sales: Media Luna Entertainment)
Shoppen Ralf Westhoff (sales: Drife Prods.)
Summer '04 Stefan Krohmer (sales: Bavaria Film International)
The Cloud Gregor Schnitzler (sales: Bavaria Film International)
The Last Train Joseph Vilsmaier, Dana Vavrova (sales: Telepool)
The Lives Of Others Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (sales: Beta Cinema)
Warchild Christian Wagner (sales: Christian Wagner Film)
While You Are Here Stefan Westerwelle (sales: Kunsthochschule fuer Medien KHM)...
- 1/26/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Concorde set for von Trotta, Vilsmaier pics
COLOGNE, Germany -- Concorde Film will produce the next projects from veteran German directors Margarethe von Trotta and Joseph Vilsmaier, Concorde managing director Markus Zimmer said. Von Trotta will helm Ich bin der Andere (I Am the Other), a 3.5 million ($4.1 million) production that Concorde will fully finance and release in Germany. Concorde will also produce Vilsmaier's upcoming feature Bergkristall (Mountain Crystal), which will be his first film produced by Concorde.
- 11/17/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Montreal film reviews
SCHEHERAZADE
Five people on a yacht in the waters off Zurich drink, smoke and make merry until disturbing, mood-shifting secrets are revealed in this intriguing Swiss production, the second feature by director Riccardo Signorell ("Eden"). Not a moment too long at 81 minutes and coming to an abrupt but satisfying end, "Scheherazade" centers on a successful businessman and his relationships with an artistic-minded son and beautiful teenage daughter (Zoe Mikulecszy), whose birthday is ostensibly the occasion for the gathering.
Arriving to help celebrate and talk to the rich man about succeeding him as head of the firm is a slick executive and his London gallery-owning girlfriend (Antonia Beamish).
It's the latter who won't look the other way, like the others are expected to do, when it's revealed that the birthday girl has an incestuous relationship with the father. The son, who has known about it for some time, is clearly on the verge of a breakdown over the actions and attitudes of the unapologetic parent.
The sun goes down, and the close quarters force matters to a sad, unexpected conclusion. The three men are played by Siegried Terpoorteh, Philipp Stengele and Jurgen Brugger. Cinematographer Felix von Muralt and Signorell find ways to keep the talky picture interesting visually, while the performances are uniformly believable.
ENGEL & JOE
A competition entry from Germany inspired by an article in Stern by Kai Hermann ("Christiane F"), director Vanessa Jopp's second film after "Forget America" is a frenetic journey into the lives of street kids, who hang out most of the time in front of a cathedral in Cologne. Joe (Jana Pallaske) is a fairly grounded teen who runs away from home with her dog and takes up with Engel (Robert Stadlober), a punk with a romantic streak.
After experiencing the highs and lows of life on the streets for a while, including the accidental death of a drug addict, Joe's getting pregnant causes them to think seriously about the future. With overt biblical references, the story has them planning to someday escape the city for the mountains with their baby, Moses.
But Engel's unfitness for work and penchant for hard drugs almost drive Joe into the safe haven of another, more sensible young man.
Pallaske and Stadlober deliver intense performances, but Jopp's direction is mostly over-the-top in trying to capture the volcanic emotional state of the characters.
Seemingly every exchange of dialogue has 100 cuts, and the hand-held camerawork flings the viewer around as much as a movie can, but it makes for an experience to which filmgoers older than the characters might it find hard to relate.
LEO AND CLAIRE
German director Joseph Vilsmaier ("Brother of Sleep", "Marlene") weighs in with this competition entry based on a true story about a married, well-known Jewish businessman in Nuremberg who has a fling -- but not a serious affair -- with a pretty young photographer who is not a Jew.
During the mid-1930s, this becomes a recipe for calamity as the jealous, prejudiced neighbors never forget what they think they've witnessed in the courtyard of apartments where the lead resides. Vilsmaier is the credited cinematographer and co-wrote with Klaus Richter the well-crafted screenplay based on a book by Christiane Kohl.
Played by Michael Degen, Leo is married to Claire (Suzanne von Borsody), while the sexy ingenue is Irene (Franziska Petri).
Nicely paced, lushly produced and climaxing with the horrible 1941 sham trial that accuses Leo and Irene of criminal wrongdoing, Vilsmaier's film is not very shocking given the many previous features and documentaries about the era. But it still has an emotional punch that will leave few viewers unmoved.
David Hunter...
Five people on a yacht in the waters off Zurich drink, smoke and make merry until disturbing, mood-shifting secrets are revealed in this intriguing Swiss production, the second feature by director Riccardo Signorell ("Eden"). Not a moment too long at 81 minutes and coming to an abrupt but satisfying end, "Scheherazade" centers on a successful businessman and his relationships with an artistic-minded son and beautiful teenage daughter (Zoe Mikulecszy), whose birthday is ostensibly the occasion for the gathering.
Arriving to help celebrate and talk to the rich man about succeeding him as head of the firm is a slick executive and his London gallery-owning girlfriend (Antonia Beamish).
It's the latter who won't look the other way, like the others are expected to do, when it's revealed that the birthday girl has an incestuous relationship with the father. The son, who has known about it for some time, is clearly on the verge of a breakdown over the actions and attitudes of the unapologetic parent.
The sun goes down, and the close quarters force matters to a sad, unexpected conclusion. The three men are played by Siegried Terpoorteh, Philipp Stengele and Jurgen Brugger. Cinematographer Felix von Muralt and Signorell find ways to keep the talky picture interesting visually, while the performances are uniformly believable.
ENGEL & JOE
A competition entry from Germany inspired by an article in Stern by Kai Hermann ("Christiane F"), director Vanessa Jopp's second film after "Forget America" is a frenetic journey into the lives of street kids, who hang out most of the time in front of a cathedral in Cologne. Joe (Jana Pallaske) is a fairly grounded teen who runs away from home with her dog and takes up with Engel (Robert Stadlober), a punk with a romantic streak.
After experiencing the highs and lows of life on the streets for a while, including the accidental death of a drug addict, Joe's getting pregnant causes them to think seriously about the future. With overt biblical references, the story has them planning to someday escape the city for the mountains with their baby, Moses.
But Engel's unfitness for work and penchant for hard drugs almost drive Joe into the safe haven of another, more sensible young man.
Pallaske and Stadlober deliver intense performances, but Jopp's direction is mostly over-the-top in trying to capture the volcanic emotional state of the characters.
Seemingly every exchange of dialogue has 100 cuts, and the hand-held camerawork flings the viewer around as much as a movie can, but it makes for an experience to which filmgoers older than the characters might it find hard to relate.
LEO AND CLAIRE
German director Joseph Vilsmaier ("Brother of Sleep", "Marlene") weighs in with this competition entry based on a true story about a married, well-known Jewish businessman in Nuremberg who has a fling -- but not a serious affair -- with a pretty young photographer who is not a Jew.
During the mid-1930s, this becomes a recipe for calamity as the jealous, prejudiced neighbors never forget what they think they've witnessed in the courtyard of apartments where the lead resides. Vilsmaier is the credited cinematographer and co-wrote with Klaus Richter the well-crafted screenplay based on a book by Christiane Kohl.
Played by Michael Degen, Leo is married to Claire (Suzanne von Borsody), while the sexy ingenue is Irene (Franziska Petri).
Nicely paced, lushly produced and climaxing with the horrible 1941 sham trial that accuses Leo and Irene of criminal wrongdoing, Vilsmaier's film is not very shocking given the many previous features and documentaries about the era. But it still has an emotional punch that will leave few viewers unmoved.
David Hunter...
- 8/31/2001
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Film review: 'The Harmonists'
This German import details the fascinating story of the Comedian Harmonists, the six-member vocal group (three of whom were Jewish) whose enormous popularity in Germany before World War II didn't prevent their dissolution by the Nazis as part of the party's goal to ban "degenerate art."
A moving, informative account of the Harmonists' rise and fall, the film is part of a renewed wave of interest in the legendary group, whose story is also the subject of two stage productions. Miramax should see good results from the film on the art house circuit.
Told in traditional biopic style, "The Harmonists" illustrates how the group was formed by 20-year-old drama student Harry Frommermann (Ulrich Noethen) in 1927. Inspired by the success of an American a capella group, Frommermann placed an ad in the papers and found four other singers and a pianist to join him.
The Harmonists, who applied their intricate vocal harmonies to everything from German folk songs to American jazz standards, were an instant success in Germany and quickly achieved great popularity internationally as well. All was fine until the rise to power of the Nazis, who would allow them to continue only if they jettisoned the Jewish members. Their final performance in Germany was in 1934, and though the various members attempted to regroup over the years, the magic was never regained.
Klaus Richter's screenplay begins in amusing fashion, detailing the evolution of the group's musical style and the difficulties that resulted from the merging of such disparate personalities. Rich in incident, it wisely avoids melodrama even when it depicts their travails with the Nazis. The only area in which the film falters is in its apparently fictional depiction of the members' personal lives, including a melodramatic romantic triangle that develops between two of the singers and a beautiful young Jewish student (Meret Becker).
Director Joseph Vilsmaier otherwise handles the complicated subject matter in excellent fashion, providing a vivid sense of the period and the cultural milieu in which the Harmonists thrived. Particularly entertaining is the segment detailing the group's trip to America, where they achieved great success in New York (depicted through a combination of location shooting and period footage). One of the more moving moments comes when the group argues over whether they should stay in America or return to Germany; sadly, they made the wrong decision.
"The Harmonists", unlike the Broadway treatment, skillfully delineates the character of each of the singers in the group. Particular credit must go to the performers, who handle their own singing. Besides providing evocative portrayals, they replicate the sound of the original Harmonists with elegant precision.
THE HARMONISTS
Miramax Films
Director/executive producer: Joseph Vilsmaier
Screenwriter: Klaus Richter
Producers: Hanno Huth, Reinhard Kloos, Danny Krausz
Director of photography: Joseph Vilsmaier
Editor: Peter R. Adam
Original score: Harald Kloser
Production designer: Rolf Zehetbauer
Color/stereo
Cast:
Robert Biberti: Ben Becker
Roman Cycowski: Heino Ferch
Harry Frommermann: Ulrich Noethen
Erich A. Collin: Heinrich Schafmeister
Ari Leschnikoff: Max Tidof
Erwin Bootz: Kai Wiesinger
Erna Eggstein: Meret Becker
Running time -- 114 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
A moving, informative account of the Harmonists' rise and fall, the film is part of a renewed wave of interest in the legendary group, whose story is also the subject of two stage productions. Miramax should see good results from the film on the art house circuit.
Told in traditional biopic style, "The Harmonists" illustrates how the group was formed by 20-year-old drama student Harry Frommermann (Ulrich Noethen) in 1927. Inspired by the success of an American a capella group, Frommermann placed an ad in the papers and found four other singers and a pianist to join him.
The Harmonists, who applied their intricate vocal harmonies to everything from German folk songs to American jazz standards, were an instant success in Germany and quickly achieved great popularity internationally as well. All was fine until the rise to power of the Nazis, who would allow them to continue only if they jettisoned the Jewish members. Their final performance in Germany was in 1934, and though the various members attempted to regroup over the years, the magic was never regained.
Klaus Richter's screenplay begins in amusing fashion, detailing the evolution of the group's musical style and the difficulties that resulted from the merging of such disparate personalities. Rich in incident, it wisely avoids melodrama even when it depicts their travails with the Nazis. The only area in which the film falters is in its apparently fictional depiction of the members' personal lives, including a melodramatic romantic triangle that develops between two of the singers and a beautiful young Jewish student (Meret Becker).
Director Joseph Vilsmaier otherwise handles the complicated subject matter in excellent fashion, providing a vivid sense of the period and the cultural milieu in which the Harmonists thrived. Particularly entertaining is the segment detailing the group's trip to America, where they achieved great success in New York (depicted through a combination of location shooting and period footage). One of the more moving moments comes when the group argues over whether they should stay in America or return to Germany; sadly, they made the wrong decision.
"The Harmonists", unlike the Broadway treatment, skillfully delineates the character of each of the singers in the group. Particular credit must go to the performers, who handle their own singing. Besides providing evocative portrayals, they replicate the sound of the original Harmonists with elegant precision.
THE HARMONISTS
Miramax Films
Director/executive producer: Joseph Vilsmaier
Screenwriter: Klaus Richter
Producers: Hanno Huth, Reinhard Kloos, Danny Krausz
Director of photography: Joseph Vilsmaier
Editor: Peter R. Adam
Original score: Harald Kloser
Production designer: Rolf Zehetbauer
Color/stereo
Cast:
Robert Biberti: Ben Becker
Roman Cycowski: Heino Ferch
Harry Frommermann: Ulrich Noethen
Erich A. Collin: Heinrich Schafmeister
Ari Leschnikoff: Max Tidof
Erwin Bootz: Kai Wiesinger
Erna Eggstein: Meret Becker
Running time -- 114 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 3/10/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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