Josef Ostendorf Movies

A chef discovers that the old saw "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach" works for women as well in this romantic comedy from Germany. Gregor (Josef Ostendorf) is a gourmet chef who runs a small but highly regarded restaurant in Berlin. Gregor believes that food can awaken the erotic impulses and he revels in the sensual pleasures of his cooking; however, he hasn't had much luck in finding someone to share the joy of cooking with him. One night, Gregor meets Eden (Charlotte Roche), a woman who works as a waitress at a nearby resort hotel, and he's immediately smitten. However, Gregor soon discovers that Eden is married to Xaver (Devid Striesow), an older man who teaches dancercise to the elderly, and they have a young daughter with Down's syndrome. Since seducing Eden would be out of the question, Gregor does what, for him, is the next best thing -- he cooks for her, starting with a special chocolate cake for her birthday, and following with a variety of special dishes that awaken her to the physical pleasures of life. Gregor's culinary attentions make Eden happier at home, and kick-starts her sex life with her husband, but Xaver thinks something's not kosher about Eden's new friend, and when he learns she's pregnant, he wonders if Gregor might be the father. Eden won the Audience Award at the 2006 Rotterdam Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This German-made children's fantasy (with English dialogue) employs marionettes from Germany's acclaimed Augsburger Puppet Theatre to tell a tale of lovers in the rodent community beneath the streets of Manhattan. The screenplay was adapted from the children's book by Tor Seidler (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1986), illustrated by Fred Marcellino, and expanding on the 1995 short film pilot Monty Spinneratz. The tale focuses on artist Monty Mad-Rat Jr. and politician's daughter Isabella Noble-Rat. Isabella is impressed when Monty takes her on a tour of New York's underground sewers, but her family doesn't want her dating beneath her station. Meanwhile, the "democratcy" is threatened by both rising drain waters and a chemical concocted for a mass extermination of the rat populace. Fortunately, Monty has some magical Mexican shells which could save the situation. Four onscreen performers here (Lauren Hutton, Beverly D'Angelo, Jerry Stiller, Josef Ostendorf) have no strings attached. In Germany, this film opened to a $3 million box office. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Uli (Ulrich Kratzsch) is a loner, an "autumn cat" (cats born just before winter have to be tougher) faced with a dead-end job on an assembly line at a newspaper office, callous bosses, and aloof acquaintances. He works the night shift and when he wakes up late on a wintry morning to begin another routine day, he checks out the litter of autumn kittens sleeping on his bed -- kindred spirits. Uli would like to have some sort of relationship, something his timidity has always blocked, so when he has a brief liaison with a married woman looking for a good time, there is some hope that autumn might turn to spring for awhile. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide