Fritz Baumann Movies
- 2002
German director Fritz Baumann's 2002 immigrant drama follows the paths of four Ghanaians as they begin a journey to Germany in the hopes of reaping the benefits of a capitalist society -- the likes of which are simply not to be found in their homeland. Things go from bad to worse for the four companions as they begin their trip by stowing away on a freighter, only to be caught by the crew a short time later. They are sent out to sea in a small raft and eventually beach on a remote coast that leads to the Sahara. After spending a number of days wandering about, they encounter a caravan that leads them to the Moroccan port of Tangiers. After a number of devastating challenges, the group finally reaches its destination -- but not without some substantial losses along the way. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Quaye, Naomie Harris, (more)
- 1989
Follow Me takes place just after the Russian suppression of Czechoslovakian freedom of expression in the spring of 1968. Pavel Landovsky plays a liberal philosophy professor who continues teaching forbidden classes in his apartment. When things get too hot for him in Prague, the professor decides to head for Western Europe. Alas, he is detained indefinitely at a German airport, where he takes a job as baggage handler in order to survive. While in these reduced circumstances, the professor befriends several other political exiles, whose individual stories are related for our benefit. Follow Me was the second directorial effort of Maria (Lieber Karl) Knilli, who co-wrote the perceptive screenplay with Vera Has. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pavel Landovsky, Marina Vlady, (more)
- 1988
Lenz (Albert Paulus) is a masseur at a once-popular mountain resort that has fallen on hard times in this slow-moving drama. With his debts mounting far beyond his income, he resorts to stealing furniture and uses what he is not able to sell. Lenz also has an affair with a beautiful young dancer (Mercedes Echerer) when his wife Lisbeth (Daniela Obermeir) becomes affected by his larcenous behavior. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Albert Paulus, Günther Maria Halmer, (more)
- 1983
This human drama that unfolds quite slowly, is the story of the village woman Agnes (Therese Affolter) and her gradual adjustment after the trauma of being raped when she was a little girl. Agnes has an admirer, Adi (Siegfried Zimmerschied) who lives on the next-door farm, and their families hope the two will one day marry. Although Adi has fallen in love with Agnes, she is indecisive about her own feelings for him and besides, she is plagued by nightmares that prevent her from having a normal relationship. Then one day her family's barn burns to the ground and a young boy who was infatuated with Agnes dies in the blaze. Since some villagers feel Agnes is "cursed," she eventually opts to leave the village and stay with a friend in a larger, nearby town. On arrival, she discovers her friend works at a cabaret-style brothel and for awhile Agnes is tempted to sleep with one of the womanizers in the town -- until Adi arrives and she changes her mind. Both Adi and Agnes return to the village, and indications are that there is some hope for their future together, some hope that the nightmares will end. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Therese Affolter, Sigi Zimmerschied, (more)
- 1982
Director and writer Klaus Kirschner has deftly put together a combination of musical scores, visual images, and the philosophical writings of Robert Schumann(1810-1856), himself to extract the best qualities of each medium. While Schumann's words provide a textual mode of thought, the music conveys an array of emotional tonalities, and the visual images (such as rain in a summer landscape) evoke a setting that encompasses the whole. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
