Johann VonBuelow Movies

What should be a time of joy and new beginnings becomes a harrowing experience for one woman in this drama from Germany. Rebecca (Susanne Wolff) and Julien (Johann von Bulow) are a couple in their mid-thirties who have learned that they're going to have a child. At first, both Rebecca and Julien are happy with the news that they're expecting, but as their anticipation grows, Rebecca begins wondering about the responsibilities of parenthood, and when their son Lukas is born, her concern turns into a deep and overwhelming dread. Rebecca develops a severe case of postpartum depression, and she finds herself unable to care for the baby or herself. Rebecca is determined at first to keep her troubles to herself, but in time she can no longer hide her feelings, and as her condition becomes worse, she is hospitalized and becomes convinced the mere act of feeding the baby could cause her son to die. Das Fremde In Mir (aka The Stranger In Me) was screened as part of the Critics' Week series at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

When a boorish German entrepreneur falls prey to a notorious, Kenya-based banking scam, his last-ditch effort reclaim his cash by traveling to Africa and confronting the con-artist serve as a noble epilogue to a reckless life in director Hans Steinbichler's dramatic account of one man's downward spiral. A diagnosed manic-depressive whose impulsive behavior only serves to further isolate him from his increasingly irritated family and friends, Franz Brenninger (Josef Bierbichler) is a once-wealthy businessman who has since fallen on hard times. When Franz receives letter promising a healthy payoff if he simply allows millions of dollars to be transferred through his German bank account, he enlists the aid of Kurdish translator Leyla (Sibel Kekilli) and secures the 50,000 Euros needed to seal the deal, telling his trusting son Xaver (Philipp Hochmair) that he is going to use the cash to pay for his ailing wife Martha (Hanna Schygulla)'s much-needed eye surgery. Upon realizing that he has been scammed and has nothing left to lose, Franz quickly scrounges whatever funds he can gather and travels to Nairobi with Leyla in hopes of confronting the elusive con artist and getting the money back. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide