Uwe Ochsenknecht Movies

A film that was reportedly over ten years in the making, Männersache represents the long-awaited onscreen pairing of two German comics: Dieter Tappert, and standup sensation Mario Barth. Barth stars as Paul, the assistant in a Berlin pet shop who harbors not-so-quiet aspirations of establishing himself as a stand-up comedian. In time, he manages to achieve this goal, but does so by aggressively making fun of his best friend Hotte (Tappert) and his sexy girlfriend, Susi (Anja Kling). Paul's potshots and putdowns score with audiences across Deutschland, but in the process he risks losing the ones he loves the most, and must quickly choose between career priorities and personal ones. Uwe Ochsenknecht and Juergen Vogel contribute guest roles. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

With his bittersweet, German-language tragicomedy The Elementary Particles, writer-director Oskar Roehler brings to the screen Michel Houellebecq's popular seriocomic novel of two ill-adjusted siblings. Christian Ullmen and Moritz Bleibtreu portray, respectively, Michael and Bruno, half brothers who have each adjusted poorly to adult life, thanks in no small part to a cracked upbringing by their eccentric, social dropout mother. As the story opens, each brother experiences a personal crisis. Geneticist Michael returns to his work in cloning after an extended period away from his Irish laboratory, but suffers in quiet desperation from his intense inner loneliness; he must soon leave the lab once again and head back to his hometown, where his grandmother's corpse is being disinterred from a cemetery. Upon arrival, he reencounters Annabelle (Franka Potente of Run Lola Run), an adolescent crush to whom he was never before able to express his romantic yearnings; they consummate an intense erotic affair, and remain together, but a troubled pregnancy renders her infertile and makes family conception an utter impossibility. Meanwhile, high school teacher Bruno (a married husband and father) is driven completely around the bend by sexual yearnings for his female students, and consequently suffers from a nervous breakdown; he checks himself into a sanitarium, then heads off on a bender at a swingers' retreat with a new lover, Christiane (Martina Gedeck) - but their pleasure is all too short-lived. Nina Hoss and Uwe Ochsenknecht co-star. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

The life of one of the controversial figures in the history of modern religion is brought to the screen in this historical biography. Born in 1483, Martin Luther (Joseph Fiennes) was an intelligent and principled young man who was studying law in early 16th century Germany when a close brush with death led him to follow a spiritual path and join a Catholic monastery. Under the guidance of Johann von Staupitz (Bruno Ganz), Luther became a valued member of the monastery's hierarchy, and as a sign of his trust, von Staupitz asked Luther to join him for a voyage to Rome as part of church business. Luther was appalled by the corrupt practices of the leading church officials, in particular the sale of "indulgences," in which the wealthy could purchase forgiveness for a wide variety of sins. Luther left the monastery to study theology in Wittenberg; a keen student, he later became a professor and won the support of Frederick the Wise (Peter Ustinov), who also recognized the potential controversy of Luther's iron principles. When a new pope, Leo X, assumes the throne at the Vatican, he orders the construction of St. Peter's Basilica. To pay the costs, an ambitious monk, Johann Tetzel (Alfred Molina), was sent out to sell indulgences to both the wealthy and the poor, leaving his audiences with little doubt of the eternal consequences that awaited those who did not empty their purses. An infuriated Luther wrote an angry essay on the corruption of the church entitled "95 Theses," and thanks to the recent invention of the printing press, Luther's words were soon circulated throughout Europe, leading to an angry conflict with Catholic officials which threatened to tear the church in two. Luther also features supporting performances from Claire Cox as Katharina von Bora and Jonathan Firth as Girolamo Aleandro. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Noted German filmmaker Doris Dorrie directs this understated comedy about two middle-aged brothers who go to study at a Zen monastery in Japan. The two brothers could not be more different. Uwe (Uwe Ochsenknecht) is a bored husband and kitchenware salesman, while Gustav (Gustav Peter Wohler) is a flighty feng shui consultant and Eastern religions devotee. Just as Gustav is preparing to leave for the land of the rising sun, Uwe, whose wife just dumped him, begs his brother to let him tag along. The first night in Tokyo proves to be a disaster. After a night of drinking, the pair get lost, spend the last of their cash on an ill-fated taxi ride, lose their credit cards, and end up sleeping in some boxes on the city streets. But this deprivation prepares them for the hard living of monastic life, including 4:30 a.m. wake up calls, elaborate dining rituals, long periods of silent mediation, and a punishing cleaning routine. As the days wear on, Gustav soon finds himself buckling under the strain while Uwe demonstrates himself to be much more adaptable to a monk's life. The experience eventually brings the night-and-day brothers closer together. This film was screened at the 2000 Rotterdam Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

One of Germany's most important female directors, Doris Dörrie chose the subject of the universal quest for happiness for the film Bin ich Schön?. Set in Spain and Germany, the film interlaces individual stories of broken hearts and broken dreams with aspirations of new beginnings. On a hot afternoon in Spain, Linda is standing beside the road wearing a thin summer dress and carrying a handbag. A car stops and Werner, a robust-looking German, picks her up. She shows him a note which says, "I am deaf-mute and in need of your help." Werner is touched. As they move off together, Linda throws her handbag out of the window. In a near-by motel, Klaus is on the phone to Munich trying to convince his reluctant girlfriend Franziska to come down to Spain. Linda and Werner have checked into the next room where Werner is asking Linda to hit him with his belt. Plots and subplots intertwine until the film reaches a climax during a religious procession. In an ironic way, the film celebrates life with a message that life is here today and then it's gone. No beginning, no end and enjoy it while you can. Bin ich schön? was screened as part of the New German Films at the 49th International Berlin Film Festival, 1999. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi

In this German language comedy, Barbara (Veronica Ferres) discovers that her husband (Kai Wiesinger) is having sex with his secretary, and runs to the apartment of her friends Christine (Julia Stemberger) and Linda (Anica Dobra) for comfort. There she discovers that all of them have recently suffered too much from their alliances with men. Christine, can't find a man who can fulfill her romantic vision, and Linda is jaded after bedding many. The three of them agree to swear off men. As soon as they do this, suitable men appear in the lives of Christine and Linda, and Barbara's husband is contrite. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Director Peter Sehr offers here another version of the origins of Kaspar Hauser, one of the most enigmatic characters in German history. According to this film, the title character is the real son of Duke Karl of Baden. Karl's brother Ludwig wants the throne for himself so he secretly orders a dying baby to be exchanged for the newborn heir. The real baby heir is promptly sent with a nurse to the countryside, but then is kidnapped by the Bavarians who are antagonistic to Baden. After Ludwig becomes a ruler of Baden, the young boy is kept in a cellar by the Bavarians, and then in 1828, after 12 years of confinement, he is brought to a square in Nuremberg in the early morning and left there alone. Unable to talk or walk, the young man is given the name Kaspar Hauser and is brought to the home of the kind professor Daumer, who teaches him to talk and introduces him to a civilized life. However, while the tension between the two rival countries increases, Ludwig of Baden sends his spies to seek out and eliminate the missing heir. Unlike Werner Herzog's The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser, which treated the leading character as a mysterious man of the universe, this is a rather straightforward tale of political intrigue, where Kaspar is merely a pawn in someone else's wicked game, and the film barely rises above the level of a beautifully crafted costume drama. ~ Yuri German, Rovi

A wife finds herself highly expendable as her husband and his lover continually bungle their attempts at murder in this black comedy. Mona, the wife, is a woman of substance who is forever trying to coerce her husband Eddie, a selfish, shallow creep, into making love to her. He refuses. She goes to the hospital for liposuction. While she is gone, Eddie saves the life of a woman attempting suicide. She is the beautiful Rachel. They become lovers. When Mona returns, Eddie lies and tells her that Rachel will be her nurse. Realizing that Mona will figure it out soon, the two lovers decide to murder her first. They try burying her in the sand, tossing her into the garbage, towing her out to sea, but nothing works. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Angelo (Dexter Fletcher) and two of his buddies set out to rob a Swiss bank, and from the start things don't go well. The man driving the getaway car packed up and left before anyone could connect him with the crime, and Angelo's other partner got shot and killed. The best he can do is grab someone's cash-filled briefcase and take a car and its driver hostage. It turns out that the driver is the daughter (Fabienne Babe) of the bank director, so he figures that she's good for ransom money and begins negotiations for that. Meanwhile, the briefcase he took at the bank turns out to have belonged to a man who is willing to hire killers to get it back for him. The situation grows increasingly perilous for him, and he decides to flee the scene -- but not before he has won the heart of his lovely hostage. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

This is a direct translation to film of director Gabriel Barylli's stage play. In the story, three men with romantic problems gather together and attempt to find out what their fundamental problem is. After a great deal of discussion, they decide that low self-esteem is the culprit. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Carmen is a middle-aged housewife with two teen-aged children and a husband. The family has been living a comfortably middle-class existence. Carmen is shocked to discover that her husband has been unemployed for months without telling her about it. Desperate to pay their mounting bills, she hits on a scheme to acquire the money she needs by robbing a bank run by a neighbor of hers. She disguises herself by wearing sexy clothes, but once at the bank, she is so petrified that she forgets how to rob it. Fortunately, the child of one of the bank customers coaches her, and she succeeds in taking the manager (her friend) hostage using the threat of her toy pistol. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

The men in The Men are stuffy ad exec Heiner Lauterbach and nonconformist artist Uwe Oschsenknecht. Both are amorously involved with lovely Ulrike Kleiner: Lauterbach is her husband, Oschsenknecht her new lover. Deducing that Ulrike is attracted to Oschsenknecht's Bohemian lifestyle, Lauterbach plots to transform the artist into a rock-ribbed conservative. A dash of gratuitous slapstick hurts the farcical proceedings not one whit. Originally titled Manner, The Men was made on a shoestring for German television, then released as a theatrical feature, making a tidy sum in the process. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi