Rolf Zacher Movies

A hectic young father's family life takes a turn for the worse in Swiss director Dani Levy's 2002 comedy/drama I'm the Father. Architect Marco Krieger (Sebastian Blomberg) has been working hard on a new project that will be the crowning achievement to his short career and will also make his name in the industry -- but his relationships with his son Benny (Ezra Valentin Lenz) and wife Melanie (Maria Schrader) have suffered greatly as a result. Marco has failed to notice how dire the situation is, however, until Melanie leaves with Benny and promptly files for divorce with severe custody limitations. Shattered and distraught, Marco must reevaluate his desires for success in the business world against his desires to be a father and husband, ultimately choosing the latter. The problem now is convincing Melanie to let him back into their lives, which may require extraordinary action on his part. I'm the Father was screened as part of the 2002 Montreal World Film Festival. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide

The three performers (one Italian, one Frenchman and one German) in a ramshackle and miniscule traveling circus are traveling through rural Italy looking for an audience when they encounter Father Gregorio who asks them to portray the three wise men in his village Christmas pageant. This comedy chronicles the many misadventures that ensue when they take the job. First they must deal with irate union actors, then with the women's chorus with whom they dallied, but their biggest problem comes when they must find an infant to play the baby Jesus. For some reason, everyone in town is childless and so the three hit the road in search of their Christ child. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this German comedy, the Robin-Hood theme receives an entirely new spin. A gourmet tramp, a bankrupt film producer, an aspiring actress and a low-ranking tax inspector join forces to improve their lives and those of others by blackmailing the officers of a large phony charity into donating money to the one they have set up. How these disparate people get together is at least as interesting as the sting operation itself. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Otto Sander plays a German film director who shows his films to a skeptical panel of censors in this satire. He unspools the reels of his work in front of officials and religious leaders who make up the censorship board. Many filmmakers' and celebrities' faces familiar to German audiences appear in the film. One of the most memorable scenes involves a line-up of well-known directors awaiting their own appearance before the unforgiving board. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

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

In this well-photographed and sometimes confusing wartime drama, an Austrian village experiences the tragedy of war on several different levels. Within one family, the younger son is jealous of the praise his father gives to a Polish POW who is working for them under very difficult conditions. Within the village as a whole, the French, Polish, and Russian POWs are kept under guard by Nazi soldiers, creating a tense situation all around. But more importantly, the village has conspired to hide an Austrian deserter in a cave up in the mountains. This act of rebellion on the part of the deserter and the village hangs in a precarious balance that could be upset by a single traitorous comment to the Gestapo. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

An indirect condemnation of half-baked political views and the loss of traditional values, this drama centers on a trio of young people who travel the byways of the former West Germany to a gathering of neo-Nazis. Charlotte (Beate Jensen) is capable and attractive, Karl is a right-wing conservative against the very suggestion of physical hygiene, and the young fellow they pick up along the way is enthralled by their pulp-fiction politics. The trip heats up when the trio get into trouble, shoot two cops, and manage to escape capture. That traumatic event leads them to further violations of the law, and by implication, comments on the nature of neo-Nazi morality.

~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this fictionalized version of the sensational Marie Bachmeier case of the early 1980s, Marianne Grunwald (Bachmeier), played by Gudrun Landgrebe wears tight clothing and revealing blouses and occupies center stage from beginning to end. Director Burkhard Driest has placed his female star, rising in West Germany at this time, on the crest of the story. The drama opens with Marianne, her 7-year-old daughter Anna, and Marianne's live-in companion in their home in the country. Marianne has just sold a bar and has a little money to spend before she eventually buys a new place in the city -- which she does, and when the bar opens it is very popular because of Marianne's obvious physical appeal. But her personal life is not ideal, and her lover has talked about leaving. Meanwhile, a doctor and his wife want to adopt Anna. Marianne finally agrees to the adoption, and just as the couple are about to start the legal process, Anna disappears. Her strangled and sexually abused body was found later, with the accused criminal (Klaus Grabowski in real life) captured soon thereafter. Marianne is again the focus at the end of the movie, when the courtroom proceedings are set in motion and she pulls out her handgun, making a decision that will change her life forever. For some viewers, this version of Marie Bachmeier's story will trivialize the human tragedy at the core of the events, placing more emphasis on an actress' physical attributes than a mother's anguish. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this entertaining comedy, it is 1966 and in Recklinghausen, an industrial city in northwest Germany, a group of young teens is picked up by the police for some wild antics at a Rolling Stones concert. All are would-be rock musicians and during their interrogation at the police station, the teens formulate the idea of getting a band together. Sure enough, they manage to round up the necessary instruments and other paraphernalia, eventually decide on a female lead singer (though they are not exactly in agreement on how good she is), and voilà, "The Heartbreakers" is launched as a new pop group. Now all they have to do is to get their music rolling -- and maybe get over the personal problems that plague some of them, such as the lead singer's difficult home life. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

A group of unsuspecting small-time crooks stumble on an apparently abandoned cache of heroin. This gives them big-time ideas, and, fueled by their renewed inspiration, they take their revenge on some old enemies. In the meantime, a big-time mob boss is keeping an eye on their activities. He has set them up for a really big fall and is only waiting to spring the trap. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide