Rosemarie Fendel Movies

This modern, cross-cultural spin on Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969) centers around a German-American housewife (Martina Gedeck) who gradually becomes enamored with her neighbor, David (John Corbett), leaving her two children and husband Bob (Vyto Ruginis) in the lurch. Luckily for her, David's wife Ellen (Margaret Colin) has designs on Bob. Private Lies was directed by Sherry Hormann, whose previous works have also explored the cultural differences between Germany (Hormann's country of residence) and the U.S. (her place of birth). Gedeck has long been a popular TV and film actress in her native Germany. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

Peter Keller has come back to his native village in Switzerland from Berlin to investigate a murder. It seems that an old army buddy of his is the accused. As he pokes around, it becomes clear that his having roots there cuts no ice with the locals: they all seem to have something to hide and resent his presence on the scene. Among the tensions seething beneath the placid surface of the place is the resentment a religious commune has provoked locally, and schemes which are designed to take their land away from them. This drama about a particularly tenacious and methodical investigation is based on a novel by mystery writer Sam Juan. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In ancient Greek mythology, Erebos was a region of the afterlife, a county in Hades. Unlike the rest of that region, it was a place of intense suffering and anguish. In this drama, Manos (Dimitri Poulikakos), a Greek tailor living in Germany, has pinned all his hopes onto saving enough money to open some sort of tourist attraction in Crete, a popular Greek resort island. To do so, he has suffered disdain (and worse) from his German customers and the authorities, has worked a gruelling schedule himself, and has kept his family hard at work also. His daughter, tired of all this relentless work for a goal she does not share, takes up with a German man, and does what she can to undermine his efforts. When he discovers this betrayal, he is deeply hurt, and sells his business for less than he would have otherwise gotten in order to have a chance at his old dream. Alas, fate has other plans in store. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In this "film essay," director Alexander Kluge handles two different stories with both fictional and documentary aspects. In one story, a foster parent cares for a traumatized young girl who is now an orphan after witnessing a car crash that killed both her parents. After the foster-parent does the right thing and takes the girl to her aunt -- her court-appointed guardian -- she is shocked to see that neither the wealthy aunt nor her servants are very interested in the girl. An unusual decision follows. In the other story, a director goes blind in the middle of a film project but has to be kept on because of his contract. This situation leads to some philosophizing on the nature of film and art in the modern world. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this run-of-the-mill comedy, the bizarre environment and unbalanced owners of a run-down inn give an unsuspecting Swiss businessman a bit of grief. Just as Kaiser (Emil Steinberger) is about to finish a phone call at the train station, his train pulls away, and he is left stranded. Along comes a young woman on a motor scooter to take him to the next station, but she takes him instead to the odd excuse for an inn that is run by her father, a loopy ex-boxer, and her mother, a former nightclub singer. The stuffy Kaiser is even more offended when he meets the libidinous maid at the inn.
~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

First-time Swiss director Marcus Fischer also wrote and edited this story about a relatively poor family -- parents and one older son, Franz (Alexander Duda) -- living together without much communication or openness, and with no show of affection. The parents (Rosemarie Fendel and Hans Heinz Moser are inflexible in their viewpoints, and the father in particular is dictatorial in his treatment of his wife and son. He himself may lose his income if his shop closes down, and that preys on his mind constantly. As a result of this inhumane environment, the wife's stability slips and she has a breakdown, while Franz loses touch with his own feelings (which are basically to get out of there as fast as he can). Into this scenario walks the boy's grandmother (Grete Heger) who blackens the pot by siding with her son against his wife and Franz. Although Franz has spent a long time at an impasse, he goes to his room and destroys the model planes that he had patiently constructed, thinking long and hard about whether to leave or to stay. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Benno (Christof Wackernagel) is a troubled 16 year-old who is placed in a home for juvenile delinquents in this depressing drama. He is mercilessly tortured by the other residents when he refuses to tell them where he has hidden a stolen gun. His isolation ends when he is invited back home to live, but he can't along with his stepfather, whose only goals are business and social climbing. Benno finds he is just as alone as he was at the reform school as he handles the stolen gun. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide