Markus John Movies
A battle for gay rights is fought on a small-time football field in this comedy drama from Germany. Ecki (Maximilian Brückner) is a talented soccer goalie who plays with a semi-pro team in a small German town, but he finds himself on the outs with his teammates when he fails to block a kick that costs the team the league championship. Ecki's relationship with the team goes from bad to worse when they discover he's gay, and they give him his walking papers. Furious, Ecki challenges his former team to a special match in which they'll face off against an all-gay team he'll assemble for the occasion. The homophobic team agrees to the match, but Ecki soon discovers finding ten capable gay footballers is no easy task, and making them into a competitive team is even harder. Making matters a bit easier for Ecki is his sister Susanne (Lisa Maria Potthoff), who introduces him to one of her co-workers, Sven (David Rott), a good-looking male nurse who can play soccer...and happens to find Ecki attractive. Männer Wie Wir (aka Guys and Balls) was written for the screen by Benedikt Gollhardt; it was his first theatrical film after establishing himself in television. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Maximilian Brückner, Lisa Maria Potthoff, (more)
- 2003
German film school graduate Tom Schreiber makes his directorial debut with the dark drama Narren (Fools), produced by Wim Wenders' production company Road Movies. Shot with digital video, the story involves thane intense loner named Roman (Christoph Bach) who moves to Cologne to work as a draftsman and be near his dying grandmother (Hannelore Lubeck). Meanwhile, literally outside his window, the hedonistic Cologne Carnival starts up and he is unable to relax enough to indulge it its possibilities. He goes to a party and ends up witnessing a crime, but he's reluctant to participate in the concluding violence that erupts when he catches up with the perpetrator. Later, he meets a woman named Stella (Victoria Deutschmann) and ends up going back to her place -- with disturbing results. Fools was screened at the 2003 Taormina Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- Starring:
- Christoph Bach, Victoria Deutschmann, (more)
- 2002
- Add Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail (Maggio Musicale Fiorentino) to QueueAdd Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail (Maggio Musicale Fiorentino) to top of Queue
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's classic singspiel Abduction from the Seraglio is performed at Florence's Teatro Della Pergola in this release from TDK Mediactive. Vocalists include Markus John, Eva Mei, and Patrizia Ciofi, and music is provided by the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Orchestra and Chorus under conductor Zubin Mehta and chorus master Jose Luis Basso. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
- Starring:
- Markus John, Eva Mei, (more)
