Maria Kopf Movies
- 2012
- R
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Two opposing teams of pilots band together in the name of survival, and discover that their similarities are stronger than their differences in this thought-provoking war drama from Norway. As fighting rages during World War II, German and English aces engage in a heated dogfight in the Norwegian sky. When their ravaged planes fail and they are forced to eject, the men come face-to-face on the ground below. As the harsh elements take hold, they are forced to seek refuge in a secluded cottage, where they slowly realize that their fighting is futile in the grand scheme of things. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
A prosecutor at a tribunal in the Hague attempts to convince a potential witness to testify in a crucial case against the man accused of deporting and killing Bosnian-Muslim civilians in a small town now known as the Republika Srpska in this tense courtroom drama from director Hans-Christian Schmid. Hannah Maynard is determined to make Goran Duric pay for his crimes against humanity. Her case is complicated, however, when a key witness in the trial becomes ensnared by the contradictions of his own testimony. In order to gain a better understanding of the facts of the case, the court sends a delegation to Bosnia, where the suspicions regarding the reliability of the witness are quickly confirmed. When the witness commits suicide, it begins to appear as if Duric will walk free. Now, Hannah's last hope of keeping the case alive is to travel to the witnesses' funeral in Sarajevo. There, Hannah comes into contact with the witnesses' sister Mira, who seems to know more about the defendant than she readily admits. Hannah works hard to gain Mira's trust, eventually convincing the girl to face her fears of the past and testify in the Hague. When Duric's defense team attempts to have Mira's testimony disallowed and finds their efforts unexpectedly supported by the members of the judiciary, Hannah realizes that her greatest adversaries aren't necessarily at the docks, but standing right beside her in the courtroom every day. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kerry Fox, Anamaria Marinca, (more)
Three years after his "experimental" phase wrapped with the jarring, iconoclastic Container, Swedish enfant terrible Lukas Moodysson returned for this sprawling, ambitious social drama. Echoing Alejandro González Iñárritu's Babel and featuring two Hollywood A-listers as his leads, Mammoth also marked the director's premier English-language project. Michelle Williams and Gael García Bernal co-star as Ellen and Leo, New York marrieds; she's an emergency-room surgeon, he's a listless, vaguely dissatisfied Internet game designer. They have a family, albeit an unconventional and dysfunctional one: seven-year-old daughter Jackie (Sophie Nyweide) is practically being raised by a 24/7 Filipino caregiver, Gloria (Marife Necesito), who dotes on her incessantly. This provokes the envy of Ellen and the resentment of Gloria's two geographically estranged sons, Manuel (Martin Delos Santos) and Salvador (Jan Nicdao), who repeatedly phone their mom from Manila and plead with her to come home. Gloria's mother grows so distressed by this behavior that she attempts to show Salvador just how easy his life is in comparison to that of others, which leads to unanticipated tragic consequences. Meanwhile, Leo teams up with a shifty associate, Bob (Tom McCarthy), flies to Thailand, and encounters a freewheeling, laid-back working mother named Cookie (Run Srinikornchot). Step by step, the actions that Leo takes while abroad create a domino effect and alter everyone's lives in irreversible ways. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michelle Williams, Gael García Bernal, (more)
- 2008
Seven clumsy menopausal males strive to become the new kings of a female-dominated sport in this comedy from Sweden. Frederik (Jonas Inde) is a man in his mid-forties whose life has been taking a series of small turns for the worst; he's lost his job as a newspaper reporter, his teenage daughter Sara (Amanda Davin) considers him an embarrassment, and his ego is bruised by the notion that his former wife has just earned a raise and a promotion. Frederik and a handful of buddies play floor hockey on a regular basis, but now the team is looking for a new home as their gym is now overrun by special teams for women, kids and the handicapped and has no space for them. One night, Frederik and the team work up a comedy skit for a friend's bachelor party in which they impersonate a women's synchronized swimming team in drag; the sketch is a hit, and while repeating it a few days later doesn't go at all well, it gives Frederik the idea that they could form Sweden's first all-male synchronized swimming team. The fact that Frederik and his buddies are overweight and can barely tread water doesn't dampen their enthusiasm to prove that they can still do something remarkable, but convincing anyone else that they're not some sort of joke is an uphill struggle. Directed and co-written by Mans Herngren, Allt Flyter (aka The Swimsuit Issue) features an original score by the acclaimed Swedish rock band The Soundtrack Of Our Lives. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jonas Inde, Amanda Davin, (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, Rovi
- 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, Rovi
- Starring:
- Natalie Portman, Melchior Beslon, (more)
German filmmaker Tom Tykwer helmed 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, Rovi
- Starring:
- Cate Blanchett, Giovanni Ribisi, (more)
- 2001
A teenager discovers a startling revelation about his favorite band -- but does so nearly 20 years after the rest of the world in this bright comedy. In the mid-1980s, Tobias (Sebastian Schmidtke) is a teenager growing up in a small, sleepy German town. Tobias' greatest passion in life is rock & roll, and his favorite radio show is a weekly series that accompanies highlights from the Beatles' back catalog with bits of history and trivia about the band. One week, the host offers a prize to whomever can identify what John Lennon is mumbling at the end of "Strawberry Fields Forever," and a salesman at a local record store tells Tobias that John is saying "I buried Paul." Tobias and his best friend Helmut (Martin Reinhold) start pondering the implications of this statement, and Tobias comes to the conclusion that Paul McCartney was killed, an imposter took over so the band could continue, and his bandmates left clues in their music and on their album covers to let loyal fans know about the tragedy. Tobias and Helmut are, however, entirely unaware of the "Paul is dead" rumor that ran rampant among Beatles fans in the late 1960s, in which many people came to the same false conclusion, and soon the two boys are obsessed with finding out the truth about Paul's death, as well as bringing his murderer to justice. Paul Is Dead features a host of Beatles tunes on its soundtrack, and was warmly received in its North American premiere at the 2001 Slamdance Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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, Rovi
- Starring:
- Franka Potente, Benno Fürmann, (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, Rovi
- Starring:
- Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu, (more)
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