Sebastian Schipper Movies

A husband and wife are both tempted into infidelity, but they have more in common than they'd imagine in this comedy drama from German filmmaker Tom Tykwer. Hanna (Sophie Rois) and Simon (Sebastian Schipper) are a married couple in their early forties; she's the host of a television talk show and he's an engineer. Though Hanna and Simon get along well, the spark has clearly gone out of their relationship and both find themselves casually fantasizing about other people. When Hanna meets Adam (Devid Striesow), a handsome scientist with a background in genetics, she finds herself powerfully attracted to him, and they begin having an affair. This happens as Simon is struggling with the death of his mother and the news that he has testicular cancer. After surgery returns him to health, Simon is enjoying a swim at a public pool when he meets Adam; while Simon has never been attracted to men before, something about Adam strikes a connection within him, and before long the two are involved with one another. Adam has no idea that Hanna and Simon are married, and neither Simon nor Hanna realize that their spouse is also being unfaithful, but how long can this go on before the three parties all understand what's happening? Drei (aka Three) received its North American premiere at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Tom Tykwer protégé Sebastian Schipper details the burgeoning friendship between an introverted corporate drone and a mischievous motor-mouth while taking the audience for a wild ride in a series of formidably powerful street machines. Conscientious Karl (Daniel Bruehl) was on the fast track to success when his boss Fernandez (Peter Kurth) assigned him the thankless task of spying on the head of a questionable car rental service. Though the exercise was more a test of Karl's reaction to provocation than an outright necessity, the depressive suit and tie guy voices no objection to the job and soon makes contact with fast-talking garage employee Hans (Juergen Vogel). While reserved Karl and hyperactive Hans couldn't be more different, the pair soon finds common ground in their mutual love of fast cars and beautiful women. When Hans introduces Karl to his beautiful girlfriend Stelle (Sabine Timoteo), Karl gradually begins to emerge from his shell and try his luck with the local ladies. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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, Rovi

Anthony Minghella wrote and directed this award-winning adaptation of Michael Ondaatje's novel about a doomed and tragic romance set against the backdrop of World War II. In a field hospital in Italy, Hana (Juliette Binoche), a nurse from Canada, is caring for a pilot who was horribly burned in a plane wreck; he has no identification and cannot remember his name, so he's known simply as "the English Patient," thanks to his accent. When the hospital is forced to evacuate, Hana determines en route that the patient shouldn't be moved far due to his fragile condition, so the two are left in a monastery to be picked up later. In time, Hana begins to piece together the patient's story from the shards of his memories; he's actually Count Laszlo Almasy (Ralph Fiennes), of Hungarian nobility and an explorer working with a group mapping uncharted territory in North Africa. An Englishman, Geoffrey Clifton (Colin Firth), soon joins Almasy's team; travelling with him is his lovely and spirited wife, Katherine (Kristin Scott Thomas). Katherine and Laszlo soon fall in love, which leads Laszlo to betray his friend, his country and all that is dear to him. Meanwhile, Hana and the Patient are joined by Kip (Naveen Andrews), a Sikh with a gift for defusing mines, and Caravaggio (Willem Dafoe), an intelligence agent who knows some of Laszlo's most shameful secrets. The English Patient won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actress (Juliette Binoche). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi