Kurt Raab Movies

The title of this documentary on Rainer Maria Fassbinder is just slightly changed from the title of a film that director made in 1976, entitled Ich Will Doch Nur, Dass Ihr Mich Liebt (I Only Want You to Love Me). The wunderkind of postwar German filmmaking died at age 36 in 1982 after making over 50 films in his short fifteen year career. He tended to produce resolutely experimental films using members of his theatrical troupe, the "Anti-Theater." Hanna Schygulla, frequently the female lead in his films, speaks about the man and his character as a director, as do others who were members of his extended filmmaking family. This is the first attempt to produce a documentary of the audacious, controversial director since his death, and it is interesting that it shuns personal controversies (his homosexuality, drug use) that he never shied away from in real life. Those looking for a deeper perspective on the man's character and development will have to wait for another feature; his complex and far-reaching career will surely yield quite a few. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

During WWII, Sobibor was a notorious Nazi death camp. This gripping, fact-based drama chronicles the courage of an inmate who managed the largest escape from such a place. Thanks to him, over 300 prisoners were freed. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

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

Partly parody and partly imitation underground film (Walter Bockmayer appears in drag), this mixed cinematic bag starts out featuring the adventures of TV star Willie Wonder (Dirk Bach) as he takes his traveling quiz show from town to town. After the show arrives in Kaseburg, Willie is surprised by a fanatical fan (Billie Zockler) who is overly excited that her hero is in town, and the campy shenanigans begin.
~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This West German film was first released in 1985 under the title Bittere Ernte. Armin-Mueller Stahl plays a Polish farmer living under the wartime Nazi occupation. Stahl isn't too offended at the prospect of answering to the Germans; in fact, he has profited by confiscating the property of his neighbor, a wealthy Jew. His conscience doesn't disturb him until a starving Jewish woman (Elisabeth Trissenaar) stumbles onto his property. At first Stahl shelters her, but his baser instincts surface; she is in no position to refuse when he ultimately rapes her. She even comes to fall in love with Stahl--and kills herself when another woman moves in with him. Stahl survives the war with health and wealth intact, only mildly disturbed by the misery he has caused. This Oscar-nominated film was to have been lensed in director Agnieszka Holland's native Poland; upon the imposition of martial law, production was switched to Sweden. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this suspenseful thriller, David Parker (Bryan Brown) is a married businessman with three children, a mistress in Germany, and a brother dealing drugs -- a combination of relationships that will eventually prove fatal to several people. After David leaves his London home and family behind for a short business-trip to Munich, he is held captive for more than a week by ten men and one woman, their identities disguised by masks. David starts to suspect Jillian, his mistress (Hannelore Elsner) is involved because when he goes to the police with his story once he is released, he discovers he was never reported missing. Why did Jillian remain silent about his disappearance for eleven days? And there were no ransom demands. After awhile the police inspector assigned to David's case (Kurt Raab) and David's wife (Cherie Lunghi) begin to doubt the kidnapping itself. At that point, David launches into a full-scale investigation on his own that sets into motion a series of killings and a strong suspicion of drug-world involvement. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This film of a glitzy showbiz world by director Peter Keglevic in his first feature-length effort recounts the saga of a married torch singer whose numerous lovers are meant to steady her nerves and a saxophone player who loves her but cannot get his own act together. Singing and cinematography are pluses. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This talkative melodrama concerns a self-absorbed songwriter, his wife who runs an art gallery, and their dreams for the future. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

A rendition of the classic tale of Tristan and Isolde, this drama revolves around the dilemma of a medieval knight who is forced to choose between the love of a woman and the love of his country. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

The director Veith von Fuerstenberg has added some fictional elements to the story of Tristan and Isolde, a tale of star-crossed lovers which the film interprets without Wagner and operatic flourishes. Tristan, a knight from Cornwall, ends up wounded on the sands of an Irish beach after defeating the Irish knight Morolt in battle. After he is nursed back to health by the Irish princess Isolde, he returns home to his father's castle very much in love with her. As king of Cornwall, his father Marke decides to create a truce with Ireland by marrying their princess - Isolde. Tristan is dispatched to bring the proposal to Ireland and does not find out the identity of the unnamed princess until he meets her. Isolde returns with Tristan to go through with the marriage, for the sake of peace between the two regions. Soon the two lovers cannot stay apart and end up running off into the forest together, where Isolde bears Tristan's child. Their actions have precipitated a civil war that threatens to get worse by the minute, and so Isolde takes a sacred vow to return to the king and bring peace to the area by that action. Tristan turns to philanthropic brigandry, a la Robin Hood, and one day he is fatally wounded in a fight - lingering on for some time afterwards. Meanwhile, Isolde is faced with the fact that her return did nothing to bring peace, and during an attack on the castle by Irish forces, she escapes to go live with Tristan. A maid who had also fallen in love with Tristan delays Isolde's arrival, with tragic consequences. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Two bit players in the movies share a home together, spend their days getting as much work as they can, and keep scrapbooks of their minor triumphs - literally in the background of the cinematic world. Costumed in character as an executive, one of the players is riding the bus to work when a woman mistakes him for a studio head and before the ride is over, she has been easily convinced to be a bit player. She quits her job and does become a bit player, in fact, when one day her mother decides to make a surprise visit to the studio. By coincidence, the crew have rebelled against the head of the studio that day, and the crazy bit players put on a false show to fool her mother into thinking that her daughter is a lead actress - making in fact, a film within a film. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi