Marc Hosemann Movies

A low-budget restaurateur finds himself in a big vat of trouble in this comedy from director Fatih Akin. Zinos Kazantsakis (Adam Bousdoukos) runs a cheap restaurant in a run-down warehouse distract that he calls the Soul Kitchen. While the food isn't very good, it doesn't cost much and a regular clientele shows up each evening for cheap beer, filling food, and the company of their peers. Bad luck follows Zinos like a shadow, and when his girlfriend, Nadine (Pheline Roggan), runs off to China, he decides to follow, putting his brother (Moritz Bleibtreu) in charge of the restaurant. However, his brother is a convicted criminal, and before long the city's underworld has taken over the place and tax collectors are threatening to shut them down. Zinos returns after Nadine pledges her heart to another, and discovers his diner is a shambles; hoping to put the Soul Kitchen back on its feet, Zinos hires a flashy gourmet chef (Birol Unel) to revamp the menu, but soon he's alienated his old customers while new ones haven't taken their place. Soul Kitchen received its North American premiere at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Filmmaker Ed Herzog and actress Heike Makatsch (Almost Heaven) reunite for this easygoing comedy drama concerning two unfamiliar sisters attempting to connect during a short holiday in Spain during the off-season. Anne (Makatsch) is a stressed out Berlin music executive who has hit her thirties and recently learned that she is six weeks pregnant with the child of her terminally mellow boyfriend Philipp (Marc Hosemann). Despite the fact that she loves Philipp dearly, the fact remains that he is fairly unreliable and she is the dictionary definition of a workaholic. After making the decision to keep news of the pregnancy to herself, Anne and her eighteen year old sister Marie (Anna Maria Muehe) book an apartment in a seaside resort town in Spain and set out for a brief vacation. The two sisters don't really know one another too well, but what better opportunity to get acquainted than during a relaxing getaway? Despite their most sincere attempts to find some common ground, Anne and Marie gradually find themselves pushed farther apart than ever before when Anne makes a drunken attempt to seduce a vacationing student named Max (Sebastian Urzendowsky), who later warms up to the younger of the two siblings. As the reality of her age and disillusionment sets in, Anne experiences a minor breakdown that leaves her feeling exceptionally vulnerable. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A new wrinkle in the eternal battle between good and evil forms the basis for the comedy Liebe Deine Naechste!/Love Your Neighbor!. Lt. Josephine (Lea Mornar) is a new soldier with the Salvation Army, and she's sent on a mission to save souls and do good works in Berlin, paired with her new associate, Lt. Isolde (Heike Makatsch). Berlin proves to be bigger, dirtier and more frightening than they expected, and the mission where they stay is an ominous hovel populated by alcoholic ne'er-do-wells. Not long after they arrive, the pair encounter Tristan (Moritz Bleibtreu), a powerful and morally-elastic management consultant who takes one look at Jospehine and immediately sees her as a piece of property he'd like to acquire. So will evil triumph over virtue -- specifically Josephine's virtue? Liebe Deine Naechste!/Love Your Neighbor! was the third feature from noted German director Detlev Buck. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi