Horst Krause Movies

An expectant, ultra-modern mother living in 1913 Barcelona is thrust into a complex and labyrinthine mystery when her psychiatrist husband goes missing and she is forced to seek the help of her conservative brother-in-law in locating her missing spouse in director Joaquin Oristrell's Freudian period comedy. Alma is a modern woman of very modern means; her father Spain's foremost neurosurgeon and her husband, Leon, a devoted follower of controversial Austrian psychiatrist Sigmund Freud. After arriving home one summer afternoon to find her tearful husband mumbling incoherent words of woe, Alma's life is turned upside down when Leon suddenly disappears. With no one else to turn to than her lovelorn brother-in-law Salvador -- likewise a psychiatrist who secretly pines for Alma despite being married to her sister -- Alma's discovery of a strange manuscript on hysteria and female sexuality proves the launching point for a tireless quest to locate her missing husband and discover the true meaning behind his inexplicable disappearance. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

An artist finds that leaving the creative life behind is more complicated than he expected in this comedy. Edward Schreiner (Tonio Arango) is a painter whose unusual ideas about art have prevented him from winning an audience for his work. Edward insists on destroying all of his work, convinced that this is the only true way to complete a canvas. While Edward's work has somehow won him a wealthy patron (Maximilian Schell), he becomes disillusioned with the world of art, and after a stint managing a gallery, he gives up and takes a job as a banker. However, just because Edward is finished with art doesn't mean that art is finished with Edward. Fisimatenten is the debut feature from Jochen Kuhn, who has a background in both fine art and animation. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The heroes of Andreas Dresen's metropolitan elegy become dreamers when confronted by harsh reality. A farmer dreams of romantic love in a red light district; a homeless man and woman dream of finding a room for the night; and an aging businessman dreams of a big career, unaware that it is too late. All this happens on the night when the Pope arrives in Berlin! The film was shot in 47 night shifts and countless winter outdoor shoots, yet improvisation was always part of the action, such as the scene with actor Oliver Bassler, who was not forewarned he would be entering a sleazy hotel room. The hand-held camera and grainy film stock give the film authenticity and a tragi-comic touch. An example of radical cinema which blends passion and political awareness with a sincere approach, Nachtgestalten succeeds in delivering on the promise of the director's first feature, Silent Country (1992). Michael Gwisdek received the Silver Bear for Best actor for his role as Peschke, the aging businessman, at the 49th International Berlin Film Festival in 1999. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi

Most funny movies don't come across well in print, but with some the humor is almost impossible to discern in written form. This well-received German farce reportedly had its audiences in stitches. The clue, if there is one is in the performances of Joachim Król and Horst Krause as Rudi and Most Kipp, an ill-matched set of illiterate brothers on their way to investigate an inheritance from their grandmother in a formerly inacessible part of (east) Germany on the Russian border. While they are traveling there, they pick up Viktor (Konstantin Kotljarov), a hitchhiking Russian army deserter who is packing a large submachine gun and speaks not one word of German. When this odd trio drives into a confrontation with a batch or robbers, they fend them off a bit too enthusiastically, and soon they are being chased by the police. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi