Doris Dörrie Movies

An elderly husband suffering from a terminal illness begins to appreciate his wife on a whole new level after she dies suddenly during a trip to see their children and grandchildren in Berlin. Rudi is not long for this world, but only his doctor and his wife, Trudi, know how serious his condition has truly become. As Trudi wrestles with whether or not to break the news to her ailing husband, the doctor recommends to her that the couple perhaps do something that they have been planning for years but could never find the time to fit into their busy schedules. Later, after convincing Rudi to travel with her to Berlin and visit their family for the first time in years, the couple is heartbroken to realize that their children have no time for them. When Trudi suddenly passes away and Rudi realizes that he never knew his wife as well as he wanted to or expressed his affection in a way that truly reverberated, the widower is devastated to discover just what sacrifices Trudi had made to be with him. In the aftermath of that discovery, Rudi dedicates his remaining days to realizing Trudi's unfulfilled dreams and traveling to Tokyo to celebrate her life during the breathtaking cherry blossom festival -- a colorful festival staged to celebrate beauty, impermanence, and new beginnings. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A shared love of fish leads to a variety of romantic predicaments in this offbeat comedy from writer and director Doris Dörrie. Otto (Christian Ulmen) and Leo (Simon Verhoeven) are two men from Germany who have launched a successful business in which they import koi, the beautiful Japanese fish, for collectors in their native land. While on a business trip to Japan, Otto and Leo meet Ida (Alexandra Maria Lara), a German tourist who is studying fashion design. Ida begins traveling with the two men, and surprisingly develops an infatuation with the rumpled Otto instead of the handsome Leo. When Ida discovers she's pregnant with Otto's child, the two marry, and upon their return to Germany, Ida attempts to join in the business by creating a line of scarves decorated with koi patterns. However, the honeymoon proves short-lived, and Ida's presence creates a rift between Otto and Leo, as the latter sets up his own concern, raising koi with his new bride, Yoko (Young-Shin Kim). Meanwhile, Ida's desire to make good in the business begins to irritate Otto when she becomes chummy with the wife of his most important investor; as he grows apart from Ida, he's uncertain of what to do when Yoko boldly makes it known that she's attracted to him. Der Fischer und Seine Frau (aka The Fisherman and His Wife) received its North American premiere at the 2005 New Montreal Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte gets a modern makeover in this stage version featuring Dorothea Röschmann, Katharina Kammerloher, and Hanno Müller-Brachmann in the leads, and directed for the stage by Doris Dörrie. Conductor Daniel Barenboim leads the Chor der Deutschen Staatsoper Berlin and the Staatskapelle Berlin. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

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, All Movie Guide

This Teutonic film noir received its first U.S. showing at the Seattle Film Festival. Hansa Czypionka plays Kemal Kayankaya, a Turk who speaks no Turkish. Raised in Germany by German parents, he is virtually man without a country, shunned not only by his fellow Turks but by native Germans. So what's an outsider like Kayankaya to do? He becomes a private eye, of course. Hired to find a missing husband, Kayankaya follows the clue trail to a seedy Frankfurt brothel, where the man he seeks is murdered before his eyes. Refusing to drop the case, Kayankaya sinks deeper and deeper into a morass of drug traffic and police corruption. Happy Birthday, Turke! is based on a Chandleresque novel by Jakob Arjouni. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Loosely based on the novel by Alberto Moravia, Me and Him concerns an architect (Griffin Dunne) whose penis begins giving him advice on business and love. It urges him to leave his wife and seduce a series of co-workers and acquaintances. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

Elisabeth (Hannelore Schroth) and her scientist husband Heinrich (Friedrich von Thum) return to Germany after a 40-year stay in the United States. There, Heinrich's old friend and rival Franz (Hans Peter Hallwachs) becomes jealous of the attention Heinrich is receiving from government officials and he tries to discredit Heinrich. Elisabeth experiences health problems, so Heinrich arranges for nurse Charlotte to care for her, but for some strange reason, she moves in with Franz instead of with the patient and her husband. When the four go to Spain on a holiday, Charlotte becomes the object of Heinrich and Franz's rekindled rivalry. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

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, All Movie Guide

In this routine story about Carla (Janna Marangosoff) a young teen in search of herself as well as her long-lost mother, her conflicts with her police detective father (Peter Sattmann) set off an unpredictable train of events. After Carla's disagreements with her father become too much to handle (he sees traits in her that he hated in his estranged wife who left him a decade earlier), she leaves home to look for the mother she never really knew. That task is not an easy one because her mother moved constantly from one job to the next. As Carla perseveres she runs into her father's nemesis Rick (Eisi Gulp) and takes a liking to him as the kind of parent she really needs. Meanwhile, her father thinks she has been kidnapped, and when Carla sends him a postcard that provides enough information to figure out where she and her supposed kidnapper are located, it does not bode well for her newfound friend Rick. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide