Tom Tykwer Movies
Touted as the next major German director, Tom Tykwer made his international breakthrough with the hit Run Lola Run (1998).A movie fan and autodidact, Tykwer made his first Super-8 film at age 11. Undeterred by his failure to gain admission to Germany's film schools, he entered the film industry in his early twenties, working variously as a projectionist, production assistant, script supervisor, and assistant director. After directing several short films, Tykwer made his feature debut with Deadly Maria (1993). Scripted and scored by Tykwer as well, Deadly Maria became a hit in Germany and earned the first-time auteur several prizes. Seeking to maintain his creative control, Tykwer co-founded the production company X-Filme Creative Pool in 1994 before writing, directing, and scoring his second feature, Winter Sleepers (1997), a drama about the troubled relationships between several snowbound characters.
Tykwer finally made his international name, however, with his third feature, Run Lola Run. An eclectically shot time/space game, Run Lola Run envisioned three different versions of punkette Lola's desperate dash to get 100,000 marks to her drug dealer boyfriend in 20 minutes, revealing how the slightest change can make all the difference. Tykwer's pounding techno score and kinetic camerawork, and star Franka Potente's flame-red hair, enhanced the passionate energy of Lola's quest and turned the film into an unabashedly fun, stylish ride. A film-festival favorite at Sundance and Venice, Run Lola Run became a blockbuster in Germany (inspiring a mini-fad for Lola-colored hair) and an international arthouse success. But Tykwer's eagerly awaited follow-up, The Princess and the Warrior (2000), was less well received on the festival circuit. Though an engagingly original tale of romantic adversity, the sometimes-dragging film was ultimately a victim of comparisons to its hyper-kinetic predecessor.
As Lola engendered herself in American celebrity alongside Matt Damon in the big-budget action extravaganza The Bourne Identity, Tykwer moved further away from his frantic classic with his adaptation of the late Krzysztof Kieslowski's meditative drama Heaven. Kieslowski and Krzysztof Piesiewicz (co-scripters of the seminal Red, White, and Blue) co-authored three additional scripts just before Kieslowski's 1996 death, entitled Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory and loosely adapted from Dante Alighieri's three canticles of the Divine Comedy. The Heaven segment tells the tale of a mentally scarred woman whose act of revenge goes horribly awry.
Though it could be argued that risk-taking directors such as Tykwer will inevitably meet failure from time to time, it remained to be seen if he could re-capture the infectious energy and originality of his early success. After all, one can hardly imagine a more ambitious task than inheriting a project from the genius Kieslowski and seeing it through to fruition, no matter how gifted the protégé. In the end, the final picture's merits and flaws remain to be seen (though it gained increased social relevance following the terrorist acts of 9/11). If Heaven, upon its October 4, 2002 stateside issue, didn't even begin to approach the levels of the Three Colors segments in terms of critical bravura, and failed to become an arthouse sensation, it did glean a surprisingly large number of enthusiastic notices in the American press, particularly from Stephen Holden, who raved, "Mr. Tykwer and Kieslowski are conceptually in accord. Here the clinical, stopwatch precision of Mr. Tykwer's explorations of synchronicity and Kieslowski's warmer, metaphysically dreamy speculations about the role of chance and coincidence in human affairs synchronize into a film whose formal elegance is matched by its depth of feeling." And The Miami Herald's Rene Rodriguez observed, "If Heaven doesn't quite achieve the transcendent power that Kieslowski might have attained, it comes close. One shot in particular, with the couple making love under a tree in silhouette, is a thing of quiet, sublime beauty that is eloquent in a way words never could be."
Several years of directorial inactivity followed for Tykwer, but after producing Mennan Yapo's crime thriller Lautlos (Soundless) in 2004, and Oday Rasheed's Underexposure in 2005, the filmmaker returned to helming with the late 2006 release Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. With this unusual crime thriller, Tykwer mounts an adaptation of Patrick Suskind's bizarre 1985 novel, about an obsessed man, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (Ben Whishaw), driven over the edge of psychosis (and to serial murder) by his insatiable desire to capture the "spirit of virginal womanhood" in a perfume bottle. Debuting in the U.S. in December 2006, this French-German-Spanish international effort (jointly mounted by Nouvelles Editions de Films, DreamWorks, Constantin Films, and Castelao Productions) co-stars Rachel Hurd-Wood, Dustin Hoffman, and Alan Rickman. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- 2009
Thirteen noted German filmmakers offer their impressions of the past, present and future of the land they call home in this anthology. Coordinated by Tom Tykwer, Deutschland 09, 13 kurze Filme zur Lage der Nation is comprised of thirteen twelve-minute films, each from a different director and each focusing on an individual aspect of Germany's political and social reality, spanning the six decades that encompassed World War II, the post-war "Economic Miracle," the tumult of the 1960's, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the reunification of the two Germanys, and the new era of reform that emerged in the 21st Century. Featuring both dramatic and documentary segments and running the gamut from comic sketches to a fictive conversation between Susan Sontag and radical terrorist Ulrike Meinhof, Deutschland 09, 13 kurze Filme zur Lage der Nation includes contributions from Fatih Akin, Wolfgang Becker, Sylke Enders, Dominik Graf, Martin Gressmann, Christoph Hochhäusler, Romuald Karmakar, Nicolette Krebitz, Dani Levy, Angela Schanelec, Hans Steinbichler, Isabelle Stever and Hans Weingartner as well as Tom Tykwer. Deutschland 09, 13 kurze Filme zur Lage der Nation received its world premiere at the 2009 Berlin International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Clive Owen and Naomi Watts star in Run Lola Run director Tom Tykwer's action thriller concerning an ambitious Interpol agent who targets corruption at the top levels of the world's largest banking institutions. The world's most powerful banks have become hopelessly corrupt, prompting Interpol agent Louis Salinger (Owen) and Manhattan assistant district attorney Eleanor Whitman (Watts) to follow a dangerous money trail from Berlin to Milan to New York and Istanbul. But as determined as Agent Salinger and ADA Whitman are to ensure that justice is served, their targets are equally determined to ensure that war and terror continue to propagate so the powers that be can continue to profit. John Woo, Terence Chang, and Jeff Lurie executive produced the film, which was penned by emerging screenwriter Eric Warren Singer. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clive Owen, Naomi Watts, (more)
Twenty acclaimed filmmakers from around the world look at love in the City of Lights in this omnibus feature. Paris, Je T'Aime features 18 short stories, each set in a different part of Paris and each featuring a different cast and director (two segments were produced by two filmmakers in collaboration). In "Faubourg Saint-Denis," Tom Tykwer directs Natalie Portman as an American actress who is the object of affection for a blind student (Melchior Belson). Christopher Doyle's "Porte de Choisy" follows a salesman (Barbet Schroeder) as he tries to pitch beauty aids in Chinatown. Nick Nolte and Ludivine Sagnier are father and daughter in "Parc Monceau" from Alfonso Cuarón. Animator Sylvain Chomet turns his eye to a pair of living, breathing mimes in "Tour Eiffel." An interracial romance in France is offered by Gurinder Chadha in "Quais de Seine." In "Le Marais" from Gus Van Sant, a man (Gaspard Ulliel) finds himself falling for a handsome gent (Elias McConnell) who works in a print shop. Isabel Coixet tells the tale of a man (Sergio Castellitto) who is making his final choice between his wife (Miranda Richardson) and his lover (Leonor Watling) in "Bastille." Juliette Binoche plays a grieving mother in Nobuhiro Suwa's "Place des Victoires," in which she's greeted by a spectral cowboy (Willem Dafoe). Richard LaGravanese's "Pigalle" finds a long-married man (Bob Hoskins) turning to a prostitute for advice on pleasing his wife (Fanny Ardant). Gérard Depardieu and Frédéric Auburtin direct Gena Rowlands and Ben Gazzara as longtime marrieds meeting for one final pre-divorce encounter in "Quartier Latin." Steve Buscemi learns a lesson about local etiquette in the Paris Metro in "Tuileries" from Joel and Ethan Coen. In "Loin du 16ème" by Walter Salles, a housekeeper (Catalina Sandino Moreno) longs for her own child as she tends to the infant of her wealthy employer. Elijah Wood stars in "Quartier de la Madeleine," a vampire tale from Vincenzo Natali. Wes Craven presents another fantasy in "Père-Lachaise," in which an engaged young man (Rufus Sewell) receives romantic advice from the spirit of Oscar Wilde (Alex Payne). A postal worker from Colorado (Margo Martindale) shares her thoughts on her visit to Paris in mangled French in Alexander Payne's witty "14th Arrondissement." Other segments include "Place des Fêtes" from Oliver Schmitz, Bruno Podalydès' "Montmartre," and "Quartier des Enfants Rouges" by Olivier Assayas, which stars Maggie Gyllenhaal. Paris, Je T'Aime received its world premiere at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 2006
- R
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An obsessive French perfumer with a highly developed olfactory sense and an all-consuming drive to capture the essence of love eventually resorts to murder in his unrepentant quest to find the key ingredient for his recipe in director Tom Tykwer's adaptation of author Patrick Suskind's best-selling 1985 novel. Born in a fetid fish market and raised in a dilapidated orphanage, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (Ben Whishaw) toiled his childhood away in a rank tannery run by the thuggish Grimal (Sam Douglas). Subsequently obsessed by smell, Grenouille's keen olfactory sense becomes so finely tuned that it eventually overpowers such human qualities as love and compassion. Though he has indeed discovered the unmistakable scent of a woman, Grenouille finds it impossible to connect with the fairer sex on any sort of meaningful level. Roaming the streets of Paris late one night, Grenouille catches the scent of a young girl selling plums and impulsively strangles her, later sniffing her nude corpse in a twisted attempt to preserve the distinctive scent in his memory. After persuading legendary perfumer Giuseppe Baldini (Dustin Hoffman) to take him on as an apprentice, Grenouille travels to the town of Grasse in Southern France in order to learn the art of enfleurage at a firm run by the highly respected Mme. Arnulfi (Corinna Harfouch). It is there that Grenouille becomes dangerously drawn to the vestal aroma of the young and beautiful Laura (Rachel Hurd-Wood), the daughter of widower merchant Antione Richis (Alan Rickman). Soon driven to madness by such a pure scent, the spellbound Grenouille continues to claim the lives of the numerous young girls in a tragic attempt to bottle the impossibly elusive smell of virginal womanhood. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Whishaw, Alan Rickman, (more)
- 2006
This short film served as Run Lola Run director Tom Tykwer's contribution to the anthology film Paris, Je T'Aime. Natalie Portman stars as an American actress who experiences love with a blind Frenchman. Along with Faubourg Saint-Denis, Paris, Je T'Aime includes films by Joel Coen, Gus Van Sant, and others. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Natalie Portman, Melchior Beslon, (more)
An elusive hit-man whose targets never see him coming and who always manages to disappear without a trace is forced to risk it all after falling for a mysterious woman in director Mennan Yapo's dark crime thriller. Viktor (Jaochim Król) is a stealthy killing machine with a reputation for consummate professionalism. A chance meeting with a beautiful blonde (Nadja Uhl), however, buts more than Viktor's career at stake when the police lock onto the trail of the killer and the only way to escape the long arm of the law is to execute the most daring plan imaginable. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joachim Krol, Nadja Uhl, (more)
German filmmaker Tom Tykwer made his English-language debut with this feature, which was adapted from a screenplay co-authored by the late Krzysztof Kieslowski. Philippa (Cate Blanchett) is a British schoolteacher living in Italy, whose husband fell victim to a drug overdose, as have several of her students. Marco Vendice (Stefano Santospago) is a powerful local drug dealer who sold the dope which killed Philippa's husband, as well as a number of neighborhood teens. Disgusted with the inability of the police to bring Vendice to justice, Philippa takes the law into her own hands, planting a bomb which is intended to kill the dealer. However, Philippa's plan goes awry, and instead the bomb kills four innocent bystanders. Philippa is arrested and brought before the police for questioning, not knowing that the interrogating officer in charge of the case, Pini (Mattia Sbragia), is one of Vendice's secret business associates. More comfortable with English than Italian, Philippa requests a translator, and multilingual officer Filippo (Giovanni Ribisi) is brought in to serve as interpreter. Filippo finds himself falling in love with Philippa, and with his help she's able to escape and go into hiding; however, despite her deep regrets about the loss of four lives in the bombing, she is still bound and determined to see Vendice dead. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cate Blanchett, Giovanni Ribisi, (more)
Director Tom Tykwer followed up his international hit Lola Rennt (Run Lola Run) with this drama, which also examines young people living on the edges of the law. Sisi (Franka Potente) is an attractive but withdrawn woman who works in a psychiatric clinic, while Bodo (Benno Fürmann) is looking to make some quick money after his recent release from the army. Bodo robs a gas station and is fleeing on foot when he accidentally causes Sisi to be hit by a truck. Realizing she's seriously injured, Bodo comes to Sisi's rescue and performs an emergency tracheotomy on her before he escapes again. Sisi, who is often pursued by men but shies away from their advances, finds that she longs to meet the mysterious Bodo again, and eventually tracks him down to a hideout he shares with his brother, Walter (Joachim Krol). Bodo and Walter angrily send Sisi away, but she unexpectedly encounters them when they pull a robbery at a bank where she's running an errand. Bodo and Walter are caught in a shoot-out with police, and Sisi helps to spirit Bodo away to the clinic where she works, trying to spare him the grim news that Walter was killed in the melee. In addition to serving as writer and director, Tom Tykwer also composed the musical score for The Princess and the Warrior in collaboration with Johnny Klimek and Reinhold Heil. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Franka Potente, Benno Fürmann, (more)
- 1999
In the port town of Hamburg, Germany, Floyd (Frank Giering) disappoints his sanctimonious boss by announcing that he's shipping out to South Africa and Singapore now that his two-year probation for an unspecified juvenile offense has been completed. When he shares the news with his devoted friends Chubby (Antoine Monot Jr.), a mechanic, and Ricco (Florian Lukas), a fast-food cook and would-be b-boy, they can't comprehend their thoughtful friend's willingness to trade camaraderie for a wider view of the world. Overcoming their anger and bewilderment, the guys decide to spend one last night with Floyd, but the problem, as always, is how to find some fun. A succession of fast-food restaurants, parking garages, and local watering holes chronicles the inherent boredom of life in the provinces. But a run-in with a convention of dragster-racing Elvis impersonators sends the boys and their friend Telsa Julia Hummer on a series of adventures that veers from the farcical to the almost-tragic. Absolute Giganten was screened at the 1999 Flanders Film Festival and thereafter received limited international distribution. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Giering, Guido A. Schick, (more)
Tom Tykwer directed this German thriller in which Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu) handled a smuggling job, delivered the loot, collected the payment, left the bag on the subway, and now has 20 minutes to gather 100,000 deutsche marks or confront the wrath of his boss, local criminal Ronnie (Heino Ferch). Desperate, Manni phones his girlfriend Lola (Franka Potente) who immediately runs downstairs and through Berlin streets to the bank run by her father (Herbert Knaup). However, she's rejected and leaves minus money. When she goes to meet Manni, he's holding up a supermarket, and she's shot by the cops. In a destiny device familiar to readers of Ken Grimwood's acclaimed novel Replay, the story begins anew with different outcomes. In one version, Lola robs the bank and takes her father hostage; in another, there's casino cash to be won. All Lola-Manni scenes were in 35mm, while scenes without them were shot in video. Other cinematic techniques on display here include whip pans, jump cuts, slow and fast motion, split-screen, intercut color and black and white, segment titles, and animation. Shown at 1998 film fests (Venice, Montreal, Toronto). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu, (more)
- 1997
The political and social upheaval of the reunification of Germany provides the backdrop for this romantic comedy-drama. Jan Nebel (Jurgen Vogel), a young slaughterhouse worker who doesn't like to work much more than is necessary in order to keep his job, is walking home through Berlin one evening when he finds himself strolling into the middle of a riot. He sees a woman named Vera (Christiane Paul) trying to get away from a pair of cops; Jan trips the police officers, which earns him Vera's gratitude and a night behind bars. Jan's unexpected detainment causes him to lose his job, which doesn't bother him very much except that he'll be short on money. Jan decides to pay his father a visit only to discover that the old man has died; Jan takes over his apartment, and his friend Buddy (Ricky Tomlinson) joins him as a flatmate and pays him rent. Death pays a visit of its own to Jan when he learns that one of his former girlfriends has tested positive for the HIV virus; while Jan is understandably upset, he's too frightened of the possible results to be tested himself. While Jan is dealing with his many anxieties, he runs into Vera for the first time since the riot; they get to know each other better, and they are soon engaged in a passionate romance, though they take many twists down the bumpy road of love. Das Leben Ist Eine Baustelle was a prize winner at several major festivals in its native Germany, including a special award at the 1997 Berlin International Film Festival for writer and director Wolfgang Becker "for the humorous and ironic portrayal of the changes taking place in present-day Berlin." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Winterschlaefer (Winter Sleepers) is the sophomore effort from German director Tom Tykwer, released a year before Lola Rennt (Run Lola Run) won him international acclaim for its unique look and storytelling methods. Winter Sleepers follows a blizzard-filled winter in the lives of a handful of mountain town denizens: Marco (Heino Ferch), a dashing ski instructor; Rebecca (Floriane Daniel), his receptionist girlfriend; Laura (Marie-Lou Sellem), a nurse who is Rebecca's roommate; and Rene (Ulrich Matthes), a mysterious stranger who takes up with Laura. Before meeting them, Rene has unknowingly set into motion a tragedy that will affect the others' lives. While driving on an icy road (in Marco's stolen car), he swerves into the path of a destitute farmer taking his horse to the doctor, flipping the farmer's vehicle and sending his own careening down a snowy hillside. Rene emerges from the wreck unharmed, forgetting what has happened due to an old war injury that has damaged his ability to make short-term memories. When the farmer, Theo (Josef Bierbichler), emerges later to find that his young daughter had stowed away in the truck, and has been left comatose by the accident, he determines to track down the other driver. Meanwhile, not long after beginning his affair with Laura, Rene triggers Marco's jealousy when it seems Rebecca has feelings for him, prompting several tempestuous exchanges. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ulrich Matthes, Marie-Lou Sellem, (more)
- 1993
This German psychodrama looks into the events that lead an introverted woman into taking extreme action against her oppressors. Poor Maria has spent her life being ignored and pushed around by men. First there was her invalid father whom she waited on hand and foot. Then there was her cold and emotionally distant husband. Maria has been internalizing her rage for years. Her anger finally erupts when her husband takes the little bit of money she'd been secretly saving over the last few years. She kills both her husband and her father. The film ends with her new boyfriend's distressed facial expression as he learns of her murders. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nina Petri, Josef Bierbichler, (more)
