Heinz Hoenig Movies

A man uncovers a mystery involving someone a lot like himself in this suspense thriller from Spain. Hans (Alex Brendemuehl) is a German émigré who has come to Spain in search of honest work and a new life. Hans is given a job by Tanca (Heinz Hoenig), a fellow German who is looking for a caretaker for his estate, and Hans goes out of his way to make friendships with the locals. Hans learns that Tanca previously employed a caretaker named Hans who disappeared under mysterious circumstances, and aged Miquelet (Rafel Ramis) seems convinced Hans's namesake will be returning soon. Curious Hans wants to know more about his predecessor, and discovers he was having a clandestine affair with Catalina (Marga Grimalt), who tended bar at a local saloon. However, so far as Hans can tell a broken relationship is not what drove the handyman away, and he begins to suspect something sinister is afoot, though no one will speak specifically about what became of Hans, especially not Tanca. Yo (aka Me) was the first feature film from director Rafa Cortes. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

One of the world's most beloved fairy tales gets a slightly twisted update in the off-the-wall comedy from Germany. An enchanted forest is home to seven dwarves who, contrary to popular belief, are not noticeably shorter than the average guy and whose special skills are not all that special. The dwarves are, however, all guys who have been burned in their relationships with women, so when they happen upon beautiful Schneewittchen (Cosma Shiva Hagen) in the woods, they're interested but hardly optimistic. However, it turns out she's looking for refuge, and they're more than happy to help. Schneewittchen is on the run from the Evil Queen (Nina Hagen), who with the help of her henchman Spliss (Hans-Werner Olm) is trying to eliminate her more virtuous rival once and for all. When the Evil Queen manages to poison Schneewittchen and seal her inside a large plastic container suitable for leftovers, its up to the dwarves to rescue her and find the man who can bring her back to life. Nina Hagen, the noted German punk rocker who plays the Evil Queen, is the mother of Cosma Shiva Hagen, who appears as Schneewittchen; Nina's mother Eva Maria Hagen also makes a cameo appearance. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Harry has grown up amongst the dregs of society and so it is little wonder that he, like Willi, the estranged father he idolizes, ends up in prison; his young girlfriend Marlies is also incarcerated. Following convictions for car theft, the two are fatefully sent to the same coed penitentiary where Willi and his girlfriend reside. With a little wangling, Harry manages to become his father's new cellmate. Marlies is placed with Willi's girl. The four communicate via toilet pipes as do other inmates. Thus the stage is set for a series of funny and earthy conversations that illuminate and educate both generations of crooks. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This realistic German drama offers a sobering look at the aimless Generation Xers wandering the streets of Berlin taking drugs and getting involved in crime. The story centers on Mario who is deeply upset when his best friend dies joy-riding in a stolen car. To make things worse, his girlfriend Sarah dumps him for the new kid on the block, Robert, a handsome and slightly more together entry in their gang. Mario becomes insanely jealous and ends up getting a gun from a helpful Russian drug dealer. Though it is a given that Mario will use this gun on Robert, the suspense comes from not knowing when, where, or how he will get his revenge. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Friedrich (Uwe Bohm) manages to escape from East Germany to the West in the 1950s. On his arrival, he is greeted with the words Herzlich Willkommen, or "cordial, heartfelt welcome." However, once he finds employment, what he experiences is anything but a cordial welcome at his new job, where he is a teacher/counselor for "wayward children" located in a former castle. The institution is headed by a former Nazi who runs it with the help of the more criminal, bullying boys. Despite these obstacles, Friedrich manages to establish a rapport with a boy who wants to go "straight," and also begins to have an affair with an attractive female teacher at the school. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Most American filmmakers would be praised to the skies for setting their films in exotic locales like Bavaria, Munich, Dusseldorf and the North Rhine. For the makers of the German thriller Die Katze, however, it was simply a matter of shooting in one's own backyard, more or less. Adapted from a suspense novel by Uwe Erichsen, the film stars Gotz George and Gudrun Landgrebe. As indicated by the title, the crime committed during the film is pulled off with catlike grace...and the perpetrators seem to have nine lives each. Originally released in Germany at 110 minutes, the crowd-pleasing Die Katze was expanded to 118 minutes for its general European distribution. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A televised music show could be the opportunity that a female mechanic needs to break into the music world. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

In a twisted psychological tale about a demented woman, Danni (played by Brigitte Karner) picked up by Stefan (Robert Hunger-Buehler), an introvert who works at a recording studio, an increasingly disturbed relationship leads to necrophilia. Both the subject matter and the 106-minute length to tell a brief story might turn off some viewers. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This run-of-the-mill sex comedy is about a gym instructor whose prowess in the gym is better than in the bedroom. His maladroit efforts to please the woman he loves provide the comic fodder that propels this first-time feature-length effort by director Peter Hajek. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

The story of director Suzanne Osten's mother Gerd (Malin Ek) is told in this film set against the backdrop of a neutral Sweden in World War II, and the comings and goings of creative talents as they develop their own visions and capacities. Osten's mother had always wanted to produce a film, and although the inspiration was there after a 1939 meeting with Jean-Louis Barrault in Paris, even advice from notables such as Berthold Brecht (though insensitively given) and love affairs that offered some spiritual encouragement, could not stem the gradual and inexorable erosion of her mental stability. By 1944, Gerd was ill enough to be diagnosed as insane. As Gerd destabilizes, her mental afflictions are called forth in avant-garde, surreal visions that move in and out of the reality that carries the woman forward each day. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Das Boot is one of the most gripping and authentic war movies ever made. Based on an autobiographical novel by German World War II photographer Lothar-Guenther Buchheim, the film follows the lives of a fearless U-Boat captain (Jurgen Prochnow) and his inexperienced crew as they patrol the Atlantic and Mediterranean in search of Allied vessels, taking turns as hunter and prey. There's very little plot, so the movie's power comes from both its riveting, epic battle scenes and its details of the boring hours spent waiting for orders or signs of the enemy. With the exception of one staunch Hitler Youth lieutenant, none of the crew is particularly loyal to the Nazis, and some are openly hostile toward their Fuhrer; this allows viewer sympathy with the men as they perform their laborious, monotonous duties in cramped, filthy quarters, or await death as depth charges explode all around the sub. Prochnow is excellent as the nerves-of-steel commander, and many of the supporting actors -- all German -- are solid as well, although the characterizations border on war movie clichés (the young crewman who has left behind his pregnant girlfriend, the Chief Engineer whose wife is seriously ill). The real star, however, is cinematographer Jost Vacano, who makes the sub's grimy, claustrophobic interior come to vivid life, as his camera follows the crew through hatches, up ladders, into bunks, and under pipes, creating a palpable sense of claustrophobia while injecting it with movement. Originally edited by writer/director Wolfgang Petersen as both a two-and-a-half hour theatrical release and a six-hour German miniseries, Das Boot was re-released in a restored version in 1997 with nearly one hour of added footage which made it even more suspenseful than before. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi

Jimmi (Thomas Kufahl) is an 18-year-old street hustler from West Berlin with no social skills and a bad attitude towards everyone and everything. Although he wants employment and self respect, his illiteracy and temper reduce him to selling himself for homosexual sex. He is taken in by a progressive alternative student commune, where attempts are made to hone his obvious deficiencies. This somber made-for-television film follows the desperate young man through his experiences that eventually lead to thoughts of suicide. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi