Lothar Lambert Movies

Prolific German film actress and assistant director Eva Ebner's life is recalled in candid detail with the direction of filmmaker and longtime friend Lothar Lambert -- who has worked with Ebner on several of his own feature films -- in the 2003 biographical documentary Ich Bin, Gott Sei Dank, Beim Film! (Thank God I'm in the Film Business!). Born in Gdansk, Poland, and a survivor of World War II, Ebner recalls her early experiences, including her assertion that she was gang-raped by Russian soldiers at the end of the war. Establishing herself in Berlin, Germany, in the 1950s, Ebner quickly became a mainstay of crime films based on adaptations of Edgar Wallace novels, as well as a number of German Westerns. Her love of film also led to her involvement in scores of student films over the years, as well as taking on behind-the-scene responsibilities as an assistant director. Running concurrently with her personal historical anecdotes are scenes from some of the films she made with Lambert. Thank God I'm in the Film Business! was selected for inclusion into the Panorama program of the 2003 Berlin International Film Festival. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi

This German sex-farce from acclaimed filmmaker Lothar Lambert, comments upon post-wall Berlin with a series of amusing vignettes. In one scene two staid housewives offer sharp commentary upon the state of famed Kurfurstendamm square. In another, "Tomb Song" a mother and son visit the cemetery where Marlene Dietrich is interred. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Julchen is the "feminine" (transvestite) and definitely motherly half of a couple of homosexual men, the "co-fathers" of a pleasant part-Moroccan girl. The girl has been told that her mother is dead, but Julchen knows this is not true. In fact, she has been following events from afar for some time. Since the girl is asking questions, this mother-figure in her life figures it's time to get everybody together for a real family meeting, which sparks a humorous series of crises. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

This black-and-white film was created by the low-budget wonder Lothar Lambert, who manages to produce, write, direct, (and often shoot) his films with the least assistance possible. Here, eight short pieces tell stories exposing people's frailties and foolishness. In one scene, two middle-class housewives stand in front of a porno house chit-chatting, while one of their husbands sneaks into one of them. In another, one man is putting the pick-up moves on another after doing everything in his power to make sure that the object of his intentions shares his particular sexual tastes, no doubt very esoteric ones. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

This is an original underground hodge-podge that mixes the philosophy of Berliner Lothar Lambert's filmmaking with excerpts from his previous film, hacked to ruinous pieces in a processing lab. Ulrike S. stars as a refugee from an asylum who bares it all when accosted by a nosy bourgeois in the street. All she has to do is open her raincoat, the only garment she owns. At the same time, Ulrike S. shows up at Lambert's editing table as he mourns the loss of his last film and comments on his rising career in the film medium. Also offering their sharp comments are producer Albert Heins, and Dagmar Beiersdorf, who challenges Lambert on what his previous film was supposed to mean. Meanwhile, the "other film" within this film continues, centering on a gay man on the prowl and a wheelchair-bound voyeur. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In another Berlin underground farce from Lothar Lambert, the popular 1970's and '80s director/writer/actor focuses his sights on Gerhard, a buttoned-down bank clerk (played by Lambert) desperately in need of liberation. The poor man is hounded by his sister and a lustful neighbor and seems trapped in his life until Hans (Hans Marquardt), another bank employee, convinces Gerhard to come along to a big transvestite club to watch him and others perform. Gerhard goes -- and his evening out becomes the hot topic for the staid bank employees the next day. Undaunted, Gerhard decides to go back to the club and join in the performances after some serious practice in front of a mirror -- and he not only comes out of the closet, but runs wildly rampant through the neighborhood, taking down society's taboos as he goes along. Parents who supervise their young children's viewing should take note that much of Lambert's humor derives from very adult situations, and perhaps less-than-adult attitudes. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Underground director Lothar Lambert steps up to a slightly more mainstream comedy line in this uneven story about a wacky, middle-class family who go to their Mediterranean coastal home for a yearly summer vacation. The mother (Ulrike S.) is fascinated by an Iranian masseur, and the father becomes interested in a young, mute waiter -- while the teenage son and daughter take their parents' behavior in stride, because they know that sooner or later, everything will return to what passes for normal in their home. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

The Berlin film underground rises again in this movie written, directed, financed, edited, and shot by Lothar Lambert. One of the main stories is that of a couple looking for sexual adventure through ads in porn magazines and anyone they can pick up - and then the husband decides to become a filmmaker, sending up Lambert's own techniques in the process. The man's insistence on sex and violence leads to some tragic consequences as he is filming his wife and an African lover in an intimate scene. The in-house jokes on the world of filmmakers and the parody of filmmaking by making a film will be appreciated by film buffs, but might have the opposite effect on the unwashed majority. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Both the technique and the topic of this ribald, touching, unorthodox drama by Lothar Lambert are evocative in their own way. The irrepressible Lambert got on the phone with his individual actors (working "for the fun of it") and met them in the Tiergarten sector of Berlin, in the park. The Tiergarten used to be the posh diplomatic center before the war, but at this time, it stopped at the Brandenberg Gate. Though partly rebuilt, some of the new residents are not at all like the old -- Turkish immigrants live in one decaying sector and hookers, pimps, alcoholics, transvestites, and even murderers wander through the parks at night. Lambert's actors improvise, and the dialog is usually sharp and witty. There is a cabaret singer who picks up men that meet her fancy, an elderly man who shelters a battered prostitute, a drunken woman with a penchant for bad-mouthing every foreigner and gay who walks by, and a series of other characters that are interesting comments on how the times they are a'changing. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In an attempt to free himself from the pervasive feminine dominance exerted by his mother and his girlfriend, the hero of this improvisational German movie often leaves home late in the evening to take in the late show at a local cinema. One night, he sees a film there whose star is himself, undergoing a similar quest for self-knowledge and self-liberation. In his case, the blending of fantasy and reality serves as a helpful tonic. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Authenticity gives some value to this otherwise depressing film about a pair of addicts, "Ex" and "Hopp," who have taken their names from an instruction formerly printed on German beer bottles ("ex und hopp" means "empty, and throw away"). Filmed in the Charlottenburg area of West Berlin, which is famous for being the hangout of homosexuals and drug addicts, this movie features members of those communities as actors and extras. Aside from its other contents, some may find the film's nudity and depicted sexual encounters offensive. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Having seen better days quite long ago, the aged actress (Sylvia Heidemann) in this film scandalizes nearly everyone when she gleefully takes a very young man, a gardener, as her lover. Despite that, she whoops it up in style. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi