Suzanne von Borsody Movies
- 2000
Director Joseph Vilsmaier's long-awaited biopic of screen legend Marlene Dietrich opens with the star's last public outing, her 1975 appearance at Carnegie Hall. Subsequently backtracking to 1929 Berlin, the film follows Dietrich's rise to fame and international adulation, turning a particularly attentive eye toward her relationship with director Josef von Sternberg (Hans-Werner Meyer) and her years in Hollywood. Screened at the 2000 Cannes Festival, Marlene stars Katja Flint in the title role and takes meticulous care in re-creating pre-WWII Berlin. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ben Becker, Monika Bleibtreu, (more)
- 1998
One of Germany's most important female directors, Doris Dörrie chose the subject of the universal quest for happiness for the film Bin ich Schön?. Set in Spain and Germany, the film interlaces individual stories of broken hearts and broken dreams with aspirations of new beginnings. On a hot afternoon in Spain, Linda is standing beside the road wearing a thin summer dress and carrying a handbag. A car stops and Werner, a robust-looking German, picks her up. She shows him a note which says, "I am deaf-mute and in need of your help." Werner is touched. As they move off together, Linda throws her handbag out of the window. In a near-by motel, Klaus is on the phone to Munich trying to convince his reluctant girlfriend Franziska to come down to Spain. Linda and Werner have checked into the next room where Werner is asking Linda to hit him with his belt. Plots and subplots intertwine until the film reaches a climax during a religious procession. In an ironic way, the film celebrates life with a message that life is here today and then it's gone. No beginning, no end and enjoy it while you can. Bin ich schön? was screened as part of the New German Films at the 49th International Berlin Film Festival, 1999. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi
- Starring:
- Senta Berger, Gottfried John, (more)
Tom Tykwer directed this German thriller in which Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu) handled a smuggling job, delivered the loot, collected the payment, left the bag on the subway, and now has 20 minutes to gather 100,000 deutsche marks or confront the wrath of his boss, local criminal Ronnie (Heino Ferch). Desperate, Manni phones his girlfriend Lola (Franka Potente) who immediately runs downstairs and through Berlin streets to the bank run by her father (Herbert Knaup). However, she's rejected and leaves minus money. When she goes to meet Manni, he's holding up a supermarket, and she's shot by the cops. In a destiny device familiar to readers of Ken Grimwood's acclaimed novel Replay, the story begins anew with different outcomes. In one version, Lola robs the bank and takes her father hostage; in another, there's casino cash to be won. All Lola-Manni scenes were in 35mm, while scenes without them were shot in video. Other cinematic techniques on display here include whip pans, jump cuts, slow and fast motion, split-screen, intercut color and black and white, segment titles, and animation. Shown at 1998 film fests (Venice, Montreal, Toronto). ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu, (more)
- 1992
- R
Peter Keller has come back to his native village in Switzerland from Berlin to investigate a murder. It seems that an old army buddy of his is the accused. As he pokes around, it becomes clear that his having roots there cuts no ice with the locals: they all seem to have something to hide and resent his presence on the scene. Among the tensions seething beneath the placid surface of the place is the resentment a religious commune has provoked locally, and schemes which are designed to take their land away from them. This drama about a particularly tenacious and methodical investigation is based on a novel by mystery writer Sam Juan. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bruno Ganz, Barbara Auer, (more)
- 1991
Social constraints on East Germans were so strong that, right up until the reunification, they tended to result in a certain naivete in those who grew accustomed to them. In this story, a fifteen-year-old former East German lass living in West Germany is trying to survive without much help. She falls in with a petty criminal named Darius, who comes from an Eastern European country. He is harsh with her and wants her help to pull off one of his illegal games. She puts up with him for a while and helps him with the one scheme, but eventually she wises up and has the police haul him off to jail. The film ends by showing Elfie taking another street-kid under her wing. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Laura Tonke, Miroslaw Baka, (more)
- 1988
Willi (Dominique Horwitz) has a very wealthy father who owns a bank. He has been given a great deal in his life. What he doesn't have is any respect from his family. In a last-ditch effort to get treated intelligently, he decides to rob his father's bank, but when a safety alarm is tripped and the police are well on their way, it looks like he has failed again. However, two of the customers in the bank suggest that he should take them as his hostage. From there on, it begins to look as though Willi has done something right, while his "hostages" mastermind the heist and subsequent escape in return for half the loot. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dominique Horwitz, Suzanne von Borsody, (more)
