Tom Schilling Movies

Director Uli Edel teams with screenwriter Bernd Eichinger to explore a dark period in German history with this drama detailing the rise and fall of the Red Army Faction, a left-wing terrorist organization that became increasingly active following World War II. Also known as the Baader-Meinhof Group, the Red Army Faction was formed by the radicalized children of the Nazi generation with the intended goal of battling Western imperialism and the West German establishment. Adapted from author Stefan Aust's definitive account of the group that resorted to killing innocent civilians in the name of democracy and justice, The Baader Meinhof Complex stars Moritz Bleibtreu as Andreas Baader and Martina Gedeck as Ulrike Meinhof. Bruno Ganz co-stars as Horst Herold, the head of the German police force faced with the task of bringing the Red Army Faction to justice. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

German-born filmmaker Detlef Bothe writes and directs this low-key drama concerning a young couple who head out to the south of France for a short holiday, only to discover how family secrets can emerge to make things difficult at the most inopportune times. Julie and Marcel are two college students seeking to get away from their studies and spend a few quiet days in the country. As luck would have it, Julie's mother Susan lives in a cozy little home just a few hours away. En route to their destination, soothing silence rapidly gives way to constant bickering as the young couple gradually finds their common ground marred by treacherous trails and conversational landmines. Julie is defensive because she never really knew her father, and Marcel has always distanced himself from family for fear that others will discover his father is a drug addict. Later, upon arriving at their destination, Julie is shocked to discover that her estranged father has not moved abroad as she was once led to believe, but instead lives in surprisingly close proximity to Susan. Regardless of his close geographical proximity, however, Julie's reclusive father soon proves to harbor a few very dangerous secrets. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

With his bittersweet, German-language tragicomedy The Elementary Particles, writer-director Oskar Roehler brings to the screen Michel Houellebecq's popular seriocomic novel of two ill-adjusted siblings. Christian Ullmen and Moritz Bleibtreu portray, respectively, Michael and Bruno, half brothers who have each adjusted poorly to adult life, thanks in no small part to a cracked upbringing by their eccentric, social dropout mother. As the story opens, each brother experiences a personal crisis. Geneticist Michael returns to his work in cloning after an extended period away from his Irish laboratory, but suffers in quiet desperation from his intense inner loneliness; he must soon leave the lab once again and head back to his hometown, where his grandmother's corpse is being disinterred from a cemetery. Upon arrival, he reencounters Annabelle (Franka Potente of Run Lola Run), an adolescent crush to whom he was never before able to express his romantic yearnings; they consummate an intense erotic affair, and remain together, but a troubled pregnancy renders her infertile and makes family conception an utter impossibility. Meanwhile, high school teacher Bruno (a married husband and father) is driven completely around the bend by sexual yearnings for his female students, and consequently suffers from a nervous breakdown; he checks himself into a sanitarium, then heads off on a bender at a swingers' retreat with a new lover, Christiane (Martina Gedeck) - but their pleasure is all too short-lived. Nina Hoss and Uwe Ochsenknecht co-star. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

One of the Third Reich's sinister plans for training a legion of strong and obedient young men to do their bidding is exposed in this historical drama, inspired by true-life events. In 1942, Friedrich Weimer (Max Riemelt) is a 16-year-old amateur fighter who is spotted while working out at a boxing club by Heinrich Vogler (Devid Striesow). Vogler is a recruiter for the National-Political Institutes of Learning (called "NAPOLA" for short), where promising young men with various talents will be taught to hone their strength, cunning, and fearlessness to a fine point, with the ultimate goal of using NAPOLA graduates to help rule the territories Nazis will overtake once they've won the war. Vogler invites Weimer to join the NAPOLA training facility in Allenstein, and he accepts, despite the strong misgivings of his family. Weimer is at first enthusiastic and committed to his new regimen, and becomes friendly with a fellow student, Albrecht Stein (Tom Schilling), an aspiring writer whose father, a important man in the German military, would like to see him join the SS. Stein does not embrace the training with the same enthusiasm as many of his fellows, and in time he and Weimer develop feelings for one another that go beyond friendship. In time, Weimer begins to lose his enthusiasm for NAPOLA, especially after a mission to find escaped Russian prisoners leads to the death of unarmed teenagers, and he looks for a way to rebel against the repressive system. Filmmaker Dennis Gansel dedicated Before the Fall to his grandfather, Peter Fritz Gansel, a NAPOLA veteran whose stories of the school's brutality inspired the movie. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Two funnymen find themselves confronting tragedy just as they're poised to enjoy a career triumph in this comedy-drama. Paul (Steffan Wink) and Alex (Frank Giering) are two friends who are struggling stand-up comics; Paul was born with a surplus of confidence and a deficiency in self-control (especially when it comes to women), while Alex is the archetypal nice guy who finishes last. A nationwide competition for young comics is announced, and both Paul and Alex make it into the finals; one of Paul's greatest dreams is to work with comedy legend Rob Patterson (Simon Prescott), and winning would make it a reality. When Alex discovers he's contracted cancer and has only a short time to live, he puts his own ambitions on hold to help Paul win, but it takes Paul a while to realize just what Alex's sacrifice truly means. Der Himmel Kann Warten received its American premiere at the 2001 Cinequest San Jose Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi