Florian Panzner Movies

At the absolute height of World War II, German generals hatch a daring plan to assassinate Adolf Hitler and effectively render the German war machine impotent. Directed by Bryan Singer, Valkyrie stars Tom Cruise as Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, the real-life mastermind behind the elaborate plot known as Project Valkyrie: a plan to assassinate Hitler and overthrow his government from the inside. Stauffenberg has been a loyal soldier and an asset to the Reich for his entire military career, but after losing an eye, a hand, and three fingers in an Allied bombing, he reaches a breaking point. The destructive madness that his country is unleashing on the world has become too terrible for the colonel to stand silent. He joins the resistance movement -- a treasonous act, punishable by death -- and risks his life and the life of his family for the chance to change history. Comprised of high-ranking officials working in secret, the German Resistance has access to the inner workings of the government and military, putting them in the perfect position to dispatch the dictator and then use his own official contingency plan to seize power -- before the army, the S.S., and loyal party members can put someone just as diabolical in the Führer's place. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A handsome but disaffected college graduate unable to deal with the pressures of the ultra-competitive job market in director Christoph Hochhaüsler's dark coming of age comedy. Armin (Constantin von Jascheroff) certainly has the brains to get a good-paying job, but the pressure from his parents to find gainful employment seems to be pushing him strait over the edge. After witnessing a tragic car accident and phoning in a false confession to the local newspaper, Armin finds his darkest impulses slowly taking control as he scrawls obscene graffiti on the bathroom wall, fantasizes about violent crimes, and has forced-sex with a vicious, leather-clad motorcycle gang. The trouble is, Armin can't distinguish where his fantasy world ends and where his reality begins anymore, and the danger that lurks beneath his innocent surface is about to get the best of him. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Writer/director Christian Petzold's drama Wolfsburg details how one decision can destroy a life. One day while on a drive, Philipp (Benno Fürmann) becomes involved in a fight with his fiancée, Katja (Antje Westermann). While he is distracted, he runs into a boy. Instead of stopping, he continues home. Although the couple momentarily salvages their rocky relationship, the boy dies. Laura (Nina Hoss), the victim's mother, attempts to track down the man responsible for her son's death. Eventually she and Philipp meet, but they are unaware of their link. They begin a relationship that lasts until the truth is revealed. Wolfsburg was screened at the Berlin Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

The true story of Hasso Herschel inspired this epic Cold War drama from Germany. Harry Melchoir (Heino Ferch) was a respected German athlete when the Berlin Wall forcibly divided the nation in 1961. Unwilling to cooperate with the East German authorities, Melchoir escaped to West Berlin, along with his friends Matthis (Sebastian Koch), Vic (Mehmet Kurtulus), and Fred (Felix Eitner). When he fled to West Germany, Melchoir was forced to leave his family behind, and he fears for the fate of his sister Lotte (Alexandra Maria Lara). Eager to free Lotte from East German rule, Melchoir strikes upon the idea of building a tunnel under the wall that will allow her to leave the country undetected; Melchoir recruits Matthis, Vic, and Fred to help him, along with a resourceful woman named Fritzi (Nicolette Krebitz). It isn't long before Melchoir and his compatriots discover that many others want to help their friends and family escape the East German regime, and the simple tunnel turns into a massive building and engineering project that's both ambitious and fraught with danger for all parties concerned. Der Tunnel was produced as a two-part miniseries for German television; an edited feature-length version was prepared for possible theatrical release outside Europe. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi