Edgar Selge Movies

A man has to make the body of his late girlfriend disappear, which he finds is not especially easy in this black comedy from Germany. Paul (Boris Aljinovic) is a straight-laced architect who lands a lucrative design contract and treats himself to a night on the town with his friend Max (Jurgen Tarrach), a pathologist, and his business partner Rike (Claudia Michelsen). During the course of the evening, however, someone doses Paul's drink with a heavy-duty hallucinogen, and the severely stoned Paul arrives at his flat entirely unaware that his girlfriend is dead on the floor of his living room, her neck having been broken during a sexual escapade gone wrong with her boss. The next morning, Paul, who has no memories of the previous night's activities, discovers the dead woman in his apartment; realizing he has no way to explain his innocence to the police, he calls on Max, who warily agrees to help him get rid of the body. But when a neighbor sees Paul and Max trying to drag a corpse out of the flat, they decide that some subterfuge is in order; thus, they try to reduce the bulk of the body in a variety of ways, using an array of household appliances (including a blender and a food processor), with a suitably disgusted Rike eventually called in to help. 3 Chinesen Mit Dem Kontrabass was the debut feature from writer and director Klaus Kraemer. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A buddy movie in the tradition of Wayne's World and Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Doppelpack introduces viewers to erstwhile pals Hoffi (Markus Kneufken) and Lehmi (Eckhard Preuss, who also co-wrote the movie) waking up in Dortmund Zoo after an all-night booze orgy. Following a hearty breakfast, the extroverted Hoffi and laconic Lehmi find a crate of beer and take to roaming the streets in a vague mission to find a birthday present for Hoffi's sister. Along the way, Lehmi becomes enamored of a barmaid (Margret Voelker), and Hoffi falls for a picture of a comely girl (Jeanne Tremsal) he finds in a photo booth. Later in the day they find the latter working in a retail store and Hoffi begins pursuing her; the three subsequently go to a club, where Lehmi becomes reacquainted with his barmaid. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi

Based on true story, Requiem Fuer Eine Romantische Frau was inspired by the relationship between poet Clemens Bretano (Sylvester Groth) and Auguste Bussmann (Janina Sachau), a 17-year-old girl whose father was a successful banker. Clemens becomes infatuated with Auguste, and she soon falls for him as well. While Auguste eagerly embraces a bohemian lifestyle, Clemens is unhappy with her lack of refinement and even tires of her abundant sexual appetite. Auguste's eccentricity soon descends into instability, and she attempts suicide several times as she slips deeper into madness. A historical drama that explores manners and mores as much as actions, Requiem Fuer Eine Romantische Frau was the second feature for director Dagmar Knoepfel, whose previous film as 1994's Brigitta. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Using two parallel stories, this drama explores the reconstruction of Germany after the Second World war. To what extend did the lessons of the war sink in? In the story, an idealistic cameraman and his more worldly friend, a movie director, have hidden their old equipment until it is safe to use it again. Finally, the war is over, and movies are being made again. The director is willing to make popular entertainments, but his friend the cameraman has a yen to make something more socially relevant, commenting on the evils of the Hitler regime. Curiously, though they come to a parting of the ways, it comes over a woman they have both falling in love with, rather than these weighty issues. In the parallel story, a former soldier in the Reich's armies has been discharged and has returned to his home town and his old job as projectionist at the local movie theater. He and the others experience some difficulty with the occupying forces, especially with the dark-skinned Moroccans, but as soon as they can, they settle down into their old lives - including their prewar prejudices. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Director Wolf-Eckart Bühler follows up his earlier, lengthy interview with Sterling Hayden in this three-part chronicle of the traumas in the actor's life. Based on Hayden's autobiography Wanderer, Bühler has three different actors deliver segments of the book in a detached way -- focusing on the problems created by sudden national media attention, the nature of intense pressure from high-ranking authorities, and the gradual formation of a betrayal of both ethics and friends. (Hayden was brought before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1951 and named Hollywood colleagues as fellow leftists -- much to his lifelong regret). The literary readings, even when interesting in their own right, do not lend themselves to dramatic cinema, limiting this film to viewers with an avid interest in politics. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi