Heino Ferch

A holiday celebration with the extended family gets stretched to the breaking point in this comedy from Germany. Sara (Martina Gedeck) is happily married to Jan (Heino Ferch), though this wasn't always the case -- Sara is Jan's second wife, while Sara has three ex-husbands, Gunnar (Andreas Windhuis), Andi (Roeland Wiesnekker) and Erich (Rainer Sellien), and she and Jan are raising children from each of their previous marriages. Jan is less than thrilled with the prospect of spending the holidays with Sara's mother (Petra Kelling), but things get worse when he learns his wife has planned a surprise for Christmas eve -- they'll be joined by Gunnar, Andi and Erich, as well as Erich's new wife Pauline (Meret Becker), Andi's current spouse Rita (Jasmin Tabatabai) and his own ex-wife, Eva (Rosa Enskat). To call the atmosphere uncomfortable is an understatement, and things only get worse when Sara announces she's pregnant, which is quite troubling for Jan since he's been waiting for the right time to tell her he had a vasectomy several months before. Directed by Vanessa Jopp, Meine Schoene Bescherung (aka Messy Christmas) is a remake of the 1999 Swedish hit Tomten ar far till alla barnen (aka In Bed With Santa). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The last ten days of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime are seen through the eyes of a young woman in his employ in this historical drama from Germany. Traudl Junge (Alexandra Maria Lara) was 22 years old when, in the fall of 1942, she was hired to be personal secretary to Adolf Hitler (Bruno Ganz). In April of 1945, Junge was still working for Hitler as forces were bearing down on Germany and the leader retreated to a secret bunker in Berlin for what would prove to be the last ten days of his life, as well as that of the Third Reich. As Hitler's mistress Eva Braun (Juliane Köhler) attempts to throw a cheerful birthday party for her man, Hitler's closest associates, including Heinrich Himmler (Ulrich Noethen), Joseph Goebbels (Ulrich Matthes), and Albert Speer (Heino Ferch), urge him to flee the city with only Goebbels maintaining any illusions that the Third Reich has any hope of survival. Hitler refuses to leave Berlin, and he spends his final days ranting and raving to Junge, blaming all around him as he tries to understand where his leadership went wrong. Meanwhile, Goebbels and his wife round up their six children and bring them to the bunker as Berlin begins to topple, determined to take their lives rather than face the Allies after Germany's certain defeat. Der Untergang (aka The Downfall) was based in part on the memoirs of the real-life Traudl Junge, whose experiences also formed the basis of the 2002 documentary Im Toten Winkel: Hitlers Sekretarin (aka Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Agust Gudmundsson's Mavahlatur (The Seagull's Laughter) is a comedy/drama about a woman who comes to an Icelandic town. Freja (Margret Vilhjalmsdottir) arrives in the town claiming that her husband has passed away. She moves in with some extended family members, including her eleven year-old cousin Agga (Ugla Egilsdottir). Freyja rekindles a romance with the financially secure Bjorm (Heino Ferch), and manipulates him into a relationship. Bjorn's mother turns out to be more than Freyja could handle. The Seagull's Laughter competed at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Filmed in France, Hungary, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Morocco, and Canada, this ambitious biographical TV miniseries chronicles the life and times of the "Little Corporal" from Corsica who managed to conquer nearly all of Europe within a period of a dozen years. The narrative begins in the mid-1790s, as Napoleon Bonaparte (played, curiously enough, by comic actor Christian Clavier) makes his mark on posterity with spectacular victories in Austria and Egypt. On the home front, Napoleon woos and wins the lovely (and considerably older) Josephine (Isabella Rossellini), but finds time for extracurricular romances with other women, notably Countess Marie Walewska (Alexandra Maria Lara). Ultimately, Bonaparte's ambitions destroy him, first in Russia, then at Waterloo, consigning the general-cum-emperor to live out his life in humiliation and exile. When originally broadcast in France in October 2002, Napoleon ran six hours (plus commercials), with four episodes. For its American presentation on the A&E cable network beginning April 8, 2003, the production was literally sliced in half, shown in two installments with a running time of three hours. What remained was all highlights and few insights, though a few brilliant moments remained, many of these supplied by the supporting cast, which included Gérard Depardieu (who also produced) as Fouche, and John Malkovich as Talleyrand. Thankfully, the full six-hour version was made available in the U.S. on DVD and VHS in 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director Joseph Vilsmaier's long-awaited biopic of screen legend Marlene Dietrich opens with the star's last public outing, her 1975 appearance at Carnegie Hall. Subsequently backtracking to 1929 Berlin, the film follows Dietrich's rise to fame and international adulation, turning a particularly attentive eye toward her relationship with director Josef von Sternberg (Hans-Werner Meyer) and her years in Hollywood. Screened at the 2000 Cannes Festival, Marlene stars Katja Flint in the title role and takes meticulous care in re-creating pre-WWII Berlin. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

A former soldier is called on to help capture a former colleague turned vigilante in this action-thriller. Frank Hector (Dennis Hopper) is an American expatriate who now lives in Germany, running a chain of strip joints. Hector was once a member of the French Legion, and one of his comrades in arms was Volker Bretz (Heino Ferch), a sniper who was a sure shot with a rifle. After Bretz's daughter dies as a result of an accident at a nuclear power plant, the former gunman snaps and hatches a plan to kill the men who built and operate the plant one by one until it's shut down. Intelligence agents draft Hector as one of the only men who might be able to stop Bretz and his reign of terror, but it's soon discovered that his vendetta may be more complex than expected. Katja Flint and Hannelore Hoger co-star. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The title of this German comedy-drama translates literally as "First Marriage, Then Fun." The Father's Day team of director Sherry Hormann and scripter Kit Hopkins reunited to capture the lives of three women, friends since their school days -- lawyer Elisabeth (Katja Flint), living with the much older Charles (Martin Benrath); Maria (Ornella Muti), now trying to dump her third husband; and mother Molly (Eva Mattes), whose husband Erich (Owe Ochsenknecht) is involved in an affair with actress Sandi (Gruschenka Stevens). When Erich takes off to Cannes with Sandi, Molly gets back by sending his business partners a prank note claiming Erich has died. When Charles goes away, Elisabeth becomes attracted to a younger man, rock musician Vince (Heino Ferch). Shown at the 1998 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Joseph Vilsmaier (Stalingrad and Brother of Sleep) directed this fact-based German musical drama about a popular barbershop sextet in Nazi Germany of the '30s. In 1927, musician Harry Frommermann (Ulrich Noethen), attracted to music-shop assistant Erna (Meret Becker), joins ambitious vocalist Robert Biberti (Ben Becker) in forming a vocal group with arranger Erwin (Kai Wiesinger) and Bulgarian cafe-singer Ari (Max Tidof). As their fame increases, the authorities, who object to the Jews in the group, pressure them to perform National Socialist material. Traveling to New York, they eventually must decide whether to remain in the U.S. or return to Germany. The musical numbers use digitally remastered recordings by the real-life group, and computer graphics were employed to re-create a 1934 concert aboard an aircraft carrier in New York harbor. Barry Manilow's stage musical Harmony is based on this same music group. Shown at the 1998 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

During the French Resistance, Lucie, a courageous wife, struggles to save her husband, Raymond Samuel, from a firing squad. He was arrested after blowing up a train during the war. Lucie is also a freedom fighter who goes by the moniker of Aubrac. She helps free Raymond by directly threatening a prosecutor. After his release, Raymond is given a new identity and sent to continue the fight in the North. Unfortunately, he is again arrested. This time he is given the death penalty. While he awaits his sentence in jail, Lucie tries to trick the Gestapo into giving other Resistance members the chance to save Raymond. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Based on a novel by French author Michel Tournier, this drama chronicles the redemption of Abel, a French POW responsible for kidnapping dozens of young boys for recruitment by the Nazi SS during WW II. The film opens with black-and-white shots of Abel's childhood in Paris. The year is 1925 and already he has problems getting along with teachers and students. Then he is befriended by the portly young Nestor. Abel loses his only friend during a terrible fire that demolishes the school and leaves him convinced that he has been blessed by fate to survive. Fourteen years quickly pass; the story turns to color, and the now hulking Abel is seen working in a Paris garage. He also spends time with his girlfriend Rachel. It is she who playfully dubs him "ogre" because he is rather rough in bed. Abel has always loved children. He was good friends with little Martine, until she falsely accuses him of rape and he is sent to prison. During the war, he is freed by the German invaders who involve him with the upper echelons of the SS and give him a job as a hunting assistant on Goering's Bavarian estate. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide