Detlev Buck Movies

Franz-Xaver Kroatz stars in this wacky German fantasy comedy as Brandner Kaspar, an elderly German smith rapidly careening toward the end of his life, but in no hurry to leave. He's soon visited by Death, who attempts to whisk him off to the afterlife; instead, Brandner slips Death a few too many drinks, gets him wildly intoxicated, and convinces him to bequeath 18 more years of life as a reward for a win at a card game. When tragedy strikes Brandner, however, it stirs up some serious misgivings in the old man about the prospect of remaining on Earth for another two decades. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

As written and directed by Detlev Buck, the inner-city character drama Tough Enough opens on 15-year-old Michael Polischka (David Kross), who lives with his single, white trash mom, Miriam (Jenny Elvers-Elbertzhagen and her wealthy physician lover, Klaus (Jan Henrik Stahlberg) in an affluent German suburb. After Miriam and Klaus have a bitter quarrel, mother and son are thrown out onto their ear, and must move to Neukoelln, a gritty ghetto in the eastern section of Berlin rife with illegal Turkish immigrants. Michael experiences a brush or two with the law by falling in with a pack of juvenile delinquents, including Crille (Arnel Taci) and his brother Matze (Kai Michael Mueller) , who (on a darkly humorous note) collectively gain revenge on Klaus by breaking into his home and robbing him blind. Circumstances take a decidedly nastier turn, however, when Michael falls prey to the wheedling of thug Hamal (Erhan Emre) and agrees to go to work as a drug runner. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Writer, artist, and stage designer Andrea Maria Dusl makes her directorial debut with the offbeat road movie Blue Moon, appropriately taking place during a month with two full moons. Minor criminal Johnny Pichler (Austrian standup comic Josef Hader) goes on the road with a bag of money and a blonde call girl named Shirley (Ukranian actress Viktoria Malektorovych). After she leaves him at a hotel, Johnny briefly runs into the shady con man Ignaz Springer (East German actor/director Detlev W. Buck). Trying to find Shirley with only an address on a photograph, Johnny ends up in Lviv, Ukraine, and meets brunette cab driver Jana (also Malektorovych), who happens to be Shirley's twin sister. Eventually Johnny is led to the Black Sea and into the city of Odessa. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

The opening film of the 49th International Berlin Film Festival in 1999, Aimée & Jaguar drew attention not only for the lesbian love story that it narrates, but equally for the political position of the lovers -- Aimée, the wife of a Nazi officer, and Jaguar, a Jewish journalist. The story is based on the memoirs of Lilly Wust (the Aimée character), who is 85 and still living in Germany. In 1943, as Allied bombers leave Berlin in ruins, Lilly Wust Juliane Köhler earns a Cross of Motherhood for bringing up four children while husband Günther Detlev Buck is away fighting on the eastern front. She leads a bourgeois existence, with occasional love affairs on the side, and the bust of Hitler is a prominent decoration in their flat. When Lilly receives a love letter signed 'Jaguar,' she suspects a male admirer. But it is the self-confident Felice Schragenheim Maria Schrader who initiates this forbidden romance. A passionate love affair begins amidst the bombing raids and the threat of persecution. Madly in love, Lilly wants to divorce her husband, which causes a terrible storm, not just because her lover is a woman, but because she is Jewish and fighting for the Resistance. But nothing stops the love-blind Lilly. The two women make a pact of love and marriage and try to block out the reality of war and persecution; however, the Gestapo soon catches up with them. Aimée & Jaguar is based on Erica Fischer's best-selling book, published in 1994 and translated into eleven languages; the real life Lilly Wust was 80 years old when she told Erica Fischer her story. Maria Schrader and Juliane Köhler shared the Silver Bear for the Best Actress at the 49th Berlin International Film Festival, for their roles in Aimée & Jaguar, while the film received the Teddy Award, given to films dealing with gay and lesbian issues. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi

It's said that love can change a man, but one woman finds herself wondering just how powerful love might be in this comedy. Cora Dulz (Corinna Harfouch) is a psychiatrist who begins working with Stanislaus Nagy (Til Schweiger), a good looking but mysterious man who is obsessed with the late operatic diva Maria Callas -- and claims to have been her mentor during the height of her career. Not surprisingly, Nagy admits he has a hard time separating truth from fiction, but for reasons even Dulz finds hard, she finds herself fascinated with her new patient, to the extent of following Nagy after appointments and pursuing a romance with him. As things look to become more serious between Nagy and Dulz, he decides to make a little confession to her -- he wasn't really Callas' mentor. Instead, Nagy announces, he is actually Satan himself, and Callas was the result of a project in which he attempted to create the perfect woman. Nagy's relationship with Callas was a failure, however, and he's decided he wants to give up his career as the Lord of Darkness and instead live out his days as a mortal man. In order to do that, Nagy would need to find a mortal woman willing to take his hand -- would Dulz be at all interested? ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this German comedy, a pair of convicts attempt to exploit a new rehab program that has inmates paired with female chaperones who escort them outside the prisons one weekend per month in the hopes that the feminine influence will imbue the criminals with good, loving, and more socially acceptable qualities. The two cons try hard to get into the program with the plan of robbing a bank. They succeed in the former, but their robbery plans are quickly derailed and they get in even bigger trouble. They also begin falling in love with their lovely escorts. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

A freshman college student heads for Munich a few days before classes commence to find a job and find himself a woman. He quickly finds a job working as a sleeping-car attendant on night trains. The trains go all over Europe and he learns much about the world and has several humorous adventures. Once back in school, he encounters a lovely young woman and his second wish also comes true. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Movie-making cliches are parodied in this German comedy which features to warring actresses, meddling producers, indulgent directors, and an ignored writer. Not only must they contend with each other, they must also deal with the bankers who have the power to shut them down at any moment. The story begins at the premier of director Viktor Rote's newest film "The Tin Cat," which stars his popular wife Riki Rote. The film's writer and Viktor's brother Richard is miffed when he is not allowed into the screening. Viktor's ambitious mistress and aspiring star the Nina is also not invited in. The film is a hit so Rote is allowed to begin his new film by producer George Kuballa. George is also head of the studio. His rich and frequently rejected wife is Lore, a major financial studio backer who prefers spending her time consorting with her handsome young chauffeur. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi