Katja Riemann Movies

Sixty years after the fall of the Third Reich, German filmmaker Dani Levy takes the bold step of playing the most notorious man of the 20th century for laughs in this offbeat historical comedy. In December 1944, the war in Europe is in its final stages; Germany has been decimated by Allied attacks, and the Third Reich is fated to collapse in just a few months. With the Nazi empire in tatters, Adolf Hitler (Helge Schneider) is understandably depressed, and while he's scheduled to give a major address to the nation on New Year's Day, he can barely summon up the enthusiasm to get out of bed. Joseph Goebbels (Sylvester Groth), Hitler's propaganda czar, realizes the Führer needs some help to get out of his funk, and thinks some coaching from a trained actor would help him put on a brave face for his big speech. Goebbels approaches Adolf Grünbaum (Ulrich Mühe), one of Germany's most respected thespians, and asks him if he'd be willing to help Hitler prepare for his address; since Grünbaum is Jewish and currently residing in a concentration camp, he jumps at the chance, provided his wife and children are also released and the camp is shut down before the next round of executions. While Goebbels and his men have no intention of honoring Grünbaum's latter request, they are willing to free his loved ones, and soon Grünbaum is spending his days with the emotionally immature dictator as he tries to help him get back on his feet. Meanwhile, Goebbels and SS leader Heinrich Himmler (Ulrich Noethen) suspect that Hitler may be too far gone for help and start hatching a backup plan, in which they'll kill the Führer in a phony accident and seize control of the Reich. No stranger to controversy, writer and directory Levy's previous project was Go for Zucker, a comedy which poked fun at the division of Berlin during the Cold War and one man's opportunistic embrace of Orthodox Judaism. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Deadly secrets begin to seethe when the irresistable allure of a mysterious woman in red draws a weak-willed architect into a fateful one-night stand in director Margarethe von Trotta's entry into the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

German filmmaker Margarethe von Trotta directs the war drama Rosenstrasse, based on the plight of "mixed marriages" between Jewish men and non-Jewish women during the Holocaust. In contemporary New York, Jewish matriarch Ruth (Jutta Lampe) practices Orthodox mourning traditions for her late husband, to the dismay of her daughter Hannah (Maria Schrader). At the wake, Ruth's cousin Rachel (Carola Regnier) tells Hannah some family secrets that send curious Hannah over to Berlin. She searches out 90-year-old Lena Fischer (Doris Schade), who cared for Ruth during WWII. Flashbacks recall the events of 1943,when Jewish husbands were rounded up and kept in a house on a street called Rosenstrasse. Lena (played by Katja Riemann as a young woman) joins a group of other wives for a week-long protest, where she meets an abandoned seven-year-old named Ruth (played by Svea Lohde as a girl). Rosenstrasse was shown in competition at the 2003 Venice International Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

In this offbeat thriller, Halley Fischer (Katja Riemann) is a schoolteacher at an elementary school in Winnipeg where children have been disappearing under mysterious circumstances. Francis (Zachary Bennett) is a single father and classical pianist who supplements his income playing in cocktail lounges. Francis and Halley meet when his daughter is enrolled in her class, and Halley finds herself strongly attracted to the musician, even after learning of his unusual sexual tastes. But the more Halley finds out about Francis, the more she begins to wonder about both him and his highly domineering mother (Elizabeth Shepherd). Meanwhile, a cop (Graham Greene) starts hanging around the neighborhood, looking for clues regarding the missing children. Desire marked the first role in English for noted German actress Katja Riemann. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Joseph Vilsmaier (Stalingrad and Brother of Sleep) directed this fact-based German musical drama about a popular barbershop sextet in Nazi Germany of the '30s. In 1927, musician Harry Frommermann (Ulrich Noethen), attracted to music-shop assistant Erna (Meret Becker), joins ambitious vocalist Robert Biberti (Ben Becker) in forming a vocal group with arranger Erwin (Kai Wiesinger) and Bulgarian cafe-singer Ari (Max Tidof). As their fame increases, the authorities, who object to the Jews in the group, pressure them to perform National Socialist material. Traveling to New York, they eventually must decide whether to remain in the U.S. or return to Germany. The musical numbers use digitally remastered recordings by the real-life group, and computer graphics were employed to re-create a 1934 concert aboard an aircraft carrier in New York harbor. Barry Manilow's stage musical Harmony is based on this same music group. Shown at the 1998 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Katja von Garnier (Making Up!) made her feature directorial debut with this German musical comedy-drama about the Bandits, a quartet of female prisoners who rely on music to escape their surroundings. Then they escape for real. During a policeman's ball, they make a getaway and head north to get a hidden cash stash and ship out to South America. Along the way, they take an American hostage and give impromptu concerts. The group skyrockets to fame and cult celebrity status due to the continual airing of their tunes on the radio while they flee the police. Shown at the 1997 Toronto and German film festivals. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

In this feature-length episode of the popular, long-running detective series, Jennifer and Jonathan fly to Germany so she can save a leukemia patient's life with her bone marrow donation, but once there, a case of mistaken identity endangers her life. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this unusual German comedy, an arrogant and ultra macho misogynist, Fred, is killed by his wife and finds himself at the gates of hell begging for mercy. He is given one more chance on the condition that he return to earth and teach three disillusioned women that love exists. He has three days. Guided by his late mother, who has been reincarnated as a plucked turkey, Fred is slowly introduced to his assignments. He is next assisted by the terminally shy and frowzy Rita, who is considered to be hopeless in the love department. When Fred explains the situation, Rita agrees to help and soon blossoms into a lovely young woman. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This lively German comedy follows the exploits of the cynical Monika, a never-married woman who just turned 30 and earns her living giving advice to the lovelorn on a local radio station. Though acerbic and glib with her replies on the air, Monika is a total washout in the outside world of l'amour. Her mother makes her feel worse, and her gay brother helps her put an add in the lonely hearts column of the local paper. Through her ad, she meets Erik, a tone-deaf dentist who likes to sing "That's Amore." He says he's single, but soon Monika discovers that he is married to a friend of hers, Sabine. A romantic triangle is born; mayhem and frank, funny discussions of sex ensue. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This very short student film (55 minutes) was an unexpected commercial success in Germany. The story concerns the man-troubles of two women who are friends with each other. Maischa (Nina Kronjaeger) is man-hungry and knows it. She can't resist a good-looking man and generally gets the ones she sets her sights on. It's just that once she's got 'em, she's not all that happy about it. Her latest conquest is Rene (Gedeon Burkhard), a real looker who is also a thorough-going jerk. On the other hand, her friend Frenzy (Katja Riemann) spends most of her time slaving over her syndicated cartoon strip. She doesn't have much time or interest in dating. However, she has somehow managed to land what seems like the perfect man, a fellow who neither has a self-esteem problem nor goes around puffed up with arrogance, who is amusing and beguiling. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi