Martin Benrath Movies
- 2008
To classical music enthusiasts, the name Herbert von Karajan is nothing short of legendary. From the beginning, this Austrian symphony and opera conductor sustained and pursued a dream of making hundreds of thousands of classical recordings available via collaborations with the Berlin Philaharmonic and other ensembles- and his output grew so prolific that von Karajan's recordings virtually became synonymous with the creation of the classical recording industry per se. This documentary, produced in 2008 to coincide with the 100th anniversary of von Karajan's birth, takes a long and detailed look at the trajectory of the man's life, from his childhood in Salzburg, Austria, through an endless series of accomplishments that would prompt the New York Times (on the occasion of the maestro's death in 1989) to term him one of the most powerful figures in all of classical music. Gernot Friedel directed; the film was made with the collaboration and assistance of the Karajan-Centrum in Salzburg. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- 1999
- NR
- Add Beresina oder die letzten Tage der Schweiz to QueueAdd Beresina oder die letzten Tage der Schweiz to top of Queue
A naive girl's love for Switzerland is put to the test in this satiric comedy. Irina (Yelena Panova) is a woman from Russia who all her life has always been fascinated by Switzerland and longs to live there some day, though her notion of Swiss life has more to do with Heidi and old movies set in the Alps than reality. So when fashion designer Charlotte De (Geraldine Chaplin) and lawyer Alfred Waldvogel (Ulrich Noethen) offer Irina a chance to live in Switzerland and gain the Swiss passport she's always dreamed of, she leaps at the chance. Never mind that she's actually working for them as a prostitute, catering to the sexual appetites of the slimier members of the Swiss upper crust -- she's simply delighted to be there and nothing bothers her a bit. However, just as Irina's about to gain her cherished passport, her "sponsors" decide she's outlived her usefulness and send her back home. She responds by blowing the whistle on Charlotte and Alfred, which in turn sends a shock wave through the nation's social and political foundations. Beresina was noted for its barbed wit, clever production design, and a fine comic performance by Yelena Panova when it was screened in the "Un Certain Regard" category at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yelena Panova, Geraldine Chaplin, (more)
- 1998
In this German comedy-drama, adapted from a Dietrich Schwanitz novel, Hamburg sociology professor Hanno Hackmann (Heiner Lauterbach) pleases his social-climbing wife Gabrielle (Sibylle Canonica) when he reveals he intends to compete against corrupt Schacht (Rudolf Kowalski) for position of university president. But what about his affair with drama student Babsi (Sandra Speichert)? Babsi, portraying a rape victim in a college play, is dropped from the cast, has a breakdown, and lands in a psych ward. This chain of events prompts rumors she was sexually harassed and innocent Hackmann is the suspect. Naturally, Schacht latches onto the rumor in order to crush his opponent prior to the university president election. Shown at the 1998 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Heiner Lauterbach, Axel Milberg, (more)
- 1998
The title of this German comedy-drama translates literally as "First Marriage, Then Fun." The Father's Day team of director Sherry Hormann and scripter Kit Hopkins reunited to capture the lives of three women, friends since their school days -- lawyer Elisabeth (Katja Flint), living with the much older Charles (Martin Benrath); Maria (Ornella Muti), now trying to dump her third husband; and mother Molly (Eva Mattes), whose husband Erich (Owe Ochsenknecht) is involved in an affair with actress Sandi (Gruschenka Stevens). When Erich takes off to Cannes with Sandi, Molly gets back by sending his business partners a prank note claiming Erich has died. When Charles goes away, Elisabeth becomes attracted to a younger man, rock musician Vince (Heino Ferch). Shown at the 1998 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ornella Muti, Katja Flint, (more)
- 1993
In this resonant drama, decades after the fact, Paul fondly recalls his grandfather's monomaniacal obsession with his craft of "telling" the stories of silent movies with his violin, occasionally supplementing the violin with his storytelling voice. When talkies newly appear on the scene, his grandfather (Armin Mueller-Stahl) heatedly disdains their evident lack of moviemaking craft, discussing these matters with the proprietor of the little Apollo theater, who is nervous about costs and the possibility of going out of business altogether. Meanwhile, social storms of all sorts rage in Germany around them, from hyperinflation to the political ferment which first saw Hitler appointed to government office. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Armin Mueller-Stahl, Martin Benrath, (more)
This German battlefield drama, released on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the climactic 1943 defeat of the Nazi forces at Stalingrad in Russia, does not paint a pretty picture either of war itself or of the Germans fighting in that war. Out of hundreds of thousands of previously victorious German soldiers who took part in this most crucial battle of WWII, a mere six thousand ruined men survived. Today, the word "Stalingrad" is used by Germans to signify any particularly ruinous reversal or defeat. In the story, the lives of several German soldiers are followed as they are transformed from arrogant and victorious killers into demoralized cowards who will do anything at all in order to survive, usually without success. Due to a political climate of resurgent sympathy for the fascists at the time this film was made, is was particularly important to the filmmakers to show the soldiers as lacking any shred of military dignity or real courage. Thus, though this big budget, well-made film did well in Germany, its lack of any truly sympathetic characters made it less popular elsewhere. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dominique Horwitz, Thomas Kretschmann, (more)
- 1992
In this slapstick satire, Fritz is a life-long forger of Nazi memorabilia. He got his start as a boy, selling items of clothing as something Hitler wore. His current income-generating scam is to sell "original" portraits by Hitler of his mistress Eva Braun to connoisseurs of Nazi art. He runs into an ambitious journalist who works for a tabloid-style magazine (a thinly disguised "Der Stern"), and the two of them concoct a scam which will garner headlines for the journalist and plenty of cash for the forger. With some care, Fritz creates "Hitler's Diaries," and his creations become a household word before the scam is uncovered. Film buffs may recognize the title of this film as a term Charlie Chaplin used in The Great Dictator to refer to Hitler. This satire hews pretty closely to the actual news story it is based on, but the movie plays it strictly for laughs, a tactic which won great popularity for it in Germany. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Götz George, Uwe Ochsenknecht, (more)
- 1988
This German drama chronicles the lives of a family of industrialists whose lives are forever changed by Hitler and WW II. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1982
Based on a true story, this film follows a group of German students in Munich who formed a group called "The White Rose," aimed at informing the German people of the atrocities that were being committed in the Nazi concentration camps. However, when the Gestapo discover what the students have been up to, their quest may prove deadly. This film is in German with English subtitles. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lena Stolze, Martin Benrath, (more)
- 1981
Injustices and misdemeanors in agencies like the local police and the National Security Bureau (West Germany's equivalent of the American FBI) are featured in this highly politicized drama about Brasch, a teacher (Helmut Griem) and Koerner (Martin Benrath), a NSB agent. A polarized society is, at one end, terrified after a public official (Hanns Martin Schleyer) is kidnapped and at the other end, enraged by the mysterious, sudden deaths of members of the Baader-Meinhof leftist guerrillas in prison. Brasch sympathizes with the liberal causes, and after he implicates Koerner and the NSB in some dirty dealings that resulted in the suicide of a young teen, the schoolteacher is fired -- and so is Koerner for being caught out. Both men react combatively to their dismissals and the drama escalates. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helmut Griem, Ángela Molina, (more)
- 1980
- R
Produced and directed for German television, Ingmar Bergman's From the Life of the Marionettes starts out in color and switches almost immediately to black-and-white. This cinematic self-indulgence is ideally suited to the subject matter: the horrible consequences of a rapidly disintegrating marriage. The husband, Peter Egerman (Robert Atzorn) is unable to articulate his frustration through normal channels. Warped by his repression, Egerman ends up raping and murdering a prostitute. This outrage occurs at the very beginning of the film; the rest of the footage is devoted to a semi-documentary study of the failed marriage, the police investigation, and the husband's twisted psyche. Once again, Bergman's vision is superbly realized by the camerawork of Sven Nykvist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christine Buchegger, Martin Benrath, (more)
- 1976
In this drama, Berlinger (Martin Benrath) is an important scientist in the Nazi era, who refuses to join the party, or to support many of the country's designs. Instead, he wafted people out of Germany into safer climes and then was forced to flee himself. In the film, he returns to Germany in 1968 to regain control of his abandoned factory and pick up where he left off--attempting to even up a few long-standing grudges. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Benrath, Hannelore Elsner, (more)
- 1959
In this war drama, three Nazi survivors are rescued after their battleship sank. Initially they are given heroes' accolades for their courage, but then it becomes apparent that these men actually jumped ship three hours before the boat sank. The men are tried and subsequently executed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1959
Die Ideal Frau is a very slight, German romantic comedy that features one of the nation's more popular actresses, Ruth Leuwerik as the mayor of a small town at odds with her husband. The catch is that she is secretly married and to make matters worse, her husband (Martin Benrath) leads the opposition party on the town council. Rather than highlight serious political differences set against a romantic pairing, the scripters and director Josef von Baky have decided to keep the couple's disagreements down to a safe level -- they argue over whether or not a music festival should be held in the town. Perhaps a more burning issue would have added some punch to the comedy. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ruth Leuwerik, Martin Benrath, (more)
