Burghart Klaußner

Kate Winslet and Ralph Finnes star in The Hours director Stephen Daldry's haunting period romance tracing the complicated love affair between a German teen and a mysterious woman twice his age. Based on author Bernhard Schlink's best-selling novel of the same name, The Reader opens in post-World War II Germany, where ailing teenager Michael Berg has fallen ill with scarlet fever. Nursed back to health by Hannah, Michael eventually makes a full recovery and decides to thank his benevolent caretaker in person. Upon being reunited, Michael discovers that Hannah loves being read to and the pair quickly enters into a passionate yet clandestine affair. Later, after intense readings of The Odyssey and Huck Finn, among others, Hannah vanishes without a trace, leaving Michael heartbroken and despondent. Flash-forward nearly a decade, and Michael is a law student observing Nazi war crime trials. When Hannah wanders into the courtroom and takes a seat in the defendant's chair, her past comes into focus just as Michael uncovers the secret that will have a profound impact on both of their lives. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A lonely man opens his heart to a troubled child with unfortunate results in this drama. Herbert (Burghart Klaussner) is a low-level German bureaucrat who works at the nation's embassy in Tbilisi, a city in the Republic of Georgia. Herbert is a loner with few friends, and the only local person he knows well is a co-worker (Marika Giorgobiani) who has been having an on-and-off affair with him, even though she's married. One day, Herbert is in the city market when a scruffy twelve-year-old girl (Lika Martinova) tries to steal his wallet; despite his initial anger, Herbert takes pity on the girl, and prevents her from being arrested. When Herbert learns the girl has no place to call home, he lets her stay at his flat for the night. While Herbert doesn't speak Georgian well and the girl doesn't speak German at all, the two strike up a wary friendship, and he develops a paternal affection towards the girl. But while Herbert and the girl brighten one another's lives, his lover is deeply disturbed when she discovers the girl is now living with him, and begins circulating a rumor that he's having inappropriate relations with the youngster. Der Mann von der Botschaft (aka The Man From The Embassy) received its North American premiere at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Three young radicals face off against an older man who left behind his ideals years ago in this drama from Austria. Jan (Daniel Brühl) and Peter (Stipe Erceg) are a pair of leftist political activists who have their own ideas of how to strike out in the name of economic justice. Jan and Peter like to break into the homes of the rich, re-arrange their belongings, and leave behind a note crediting "the Edukators" with the invasion, satisfied that their efforts will teach their victims a lesson about the futility of wealth. Peter's girlfriend, Jule (Julia Jentsch), who has found herself homeless and deeply in debt after she ran into a Mercedes Benz in a car accident, moves in with the two friends and starts joining them on their periodic missions. Jule convinces Peter and Jan that they should hit the home of Hardenberg (Burghart Klaussner), the businessman whose Mercedes caused her so much trouble. They agree, but when Jule makes the mistake of leaving behind her cell phone, they're forced to return, only to discover Hardenberg at home and waiting for them. Not certain what to do, Jan, Peter, and Jule abduct Hardenberg and take him to a cabin in the woods while they plan their next move. However, their attempts to enlighten Hardenberg fall on deaf ears; they discover that the businessman was a leftist activist himself in his college days and, several decades on, looks upon his radical past as the folly of youth. Die Fetten Jahre Sind Vorbei (aka The Edukators) was screened at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide