David Kross Movies
German actor David Kross debuted on film as an adolescent and spent the majority of his first decade onscreen essaying roles in productions from his native country. Though Kross sported a slightly soft and innocent look, he deliberately and aggressively cut against the grain of expectations by seeking out and thriving in emotionally demanding roles. These included a turn as a 15-year-old boy forced to fend for himself in a tough urban neighborhood in Detlev Buck's drama Tough Enough (2006), a teenager who sinks into the occult and black magic in Marco Kreuzpainter's fantasy adventure Krabat (2008), and an adolescent who begins a torrid affair with an older woman (Kate Winslet) little realizing that she's a Nazi, in the Stephen Daldry-directed, David Hare-scripted drama The Reader (2008). ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes star in The Hours director Stephen Daldry's haunting period drama concerning the relationship between a 15-year-old German boy and a mysterious woman twice his age, and the way that it grows doubly complex when the man reencounters the woman years later and discovers a shocking truth about her past. Based on author Bernhard Schlink's best-selling novel of the same name, the film opens on the character of Michael Berg (Ralph Fiennes) in middle age -- cold, remote, and emotionally withdrawn. It then moves back in time to 1950s Berlin, where ailing teenager Michael (now played by David Kross) has fallen ill with fever, and is discovered in the street by Hanna, a woman in her thirties. After Michael recovers, the two immediately lapse into a torrid affair and Michael falls prey to the confusion of his own burgeoning sexuality. Their liaisons are often marked by Hanna's request that Michael read to her (hence the title). Later, when Michael returns to Hanna's flat and finds it deserted, her absence becomes an emotional blow for which he is completely unprepared, and indeed, scarred for life. The film then moves forward in time by eight years. Michael -- now a law student -- walks into a courtroom and comes across Hanna, one of a series of Nazi prison guards being tried for murderous war crimes during World War II. As he watches her on the witness stand, memories of their past experiences together bring him to the point of realization concerning a startling, long-buried truth about Hanna -- and Michael knows that if he divulges this information, it could modify the prison sentence handed out and dramatically alter her fate. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes, (more)
- 2008
Director Marco Kreuzpaintner adapts author Otfried Preußler's award-winning novel about a young sorcerer's apprentice who rebels against his malevolent master after making a disturbing discovery. The year is 1646. Krabat is a starving fourteen year old orphan from Germany who has struggled for survival after seeing his country decimated by war and disease. One night, a strange voice calls out to Krabat in his dreams, beckoning the destitute child to a mysterious mill in the countryside. When the miller offers Krabat room and board in exchange for becoming an apprentice, the hungry young boy readily accepts. But something isn't quite right in this mill, and Krabat can sense it. He gradually begins to suspect that the eleven other young men who live in the mill are harboring a mysterious secret, suspicions that are later confirmed when the curious newcomer discovers that his fellow apprentices are involved with some truly bizarre activities. Upon further inquiry, Krabat discovers that the miller is in fact a master of the dark arts, and that the young men who reside in the mill are his students. Fascinated by their magic and eager to belong, Krabat accepts their invitation to become a member of their secret society. When Krabat discovers that his new master's plans could spell doom for his protector and best friend Tonda, however, realizes that in order to save Tonda he will somehow have to break free of the malevolent sorcerer's powerful grip. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Kross, Daniel Brühl, (more)
- 2006
As written and directed by Detlev Buck, the inner-city character drama Tough Enough opens on 15-year-old Michael Polischka (David Kross), who lives with his single, white trash mom, Miriam (Jenny Elvers-Elbertzhagen and her wealthy physician lover, Klaus (Jan Henrik Stahlberg) in an affluent German suburb. After Miriam and Klaus have a bitter quarrel, mother and son are thrown out onto their ear, and must move to Neukoelln, a gritty ghetto in the eastern section of Berlin rife with illegal Turkish immigrants. Michael experiences a brush or two with the law by falling in with a pack of juvenile delinquents, including Crille (Arnel Taci) and his brother Matze (Kai Michael Mueller) , who (on a darkly humorous note) collectively gain revenge on Klaus by breaking into his home and robbing him blind. Circumstances take a decidedly nastier turn, however, when Michael falls prey to the wheedling of thug Hamal (Erhan Emre) and agrees to go to work as a drug runner. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Kross, Jenny Elvers-Elbertzhagen, (more)
