Niki List Movies

In his documentaries Mama Lustig... ? and Muss Denken, Austrian filmmaker Niki List offered viewers a look into the life of Christian Polster, a young man dealing with life under the considerable handicap of Down's syndrome. In Mein Boss Bin Ich, List once again checks in on Polster to discover that, at the age of 33, Christian appears to be making some real inroads into his dream of a career in show business. We observe as Polster (with his mother in tow) rehearses with an experimental theater troupe, acts in a short film that he helped to write, and performs a song-and-dance routine he's worked up. Mein Boss Bin Ich was screened in competition at the 2001 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A writer is visited by one of his creations in this Austrian fantasy comedy. Crime novelist Robert David aspires to write "serious" literature. The heavy drinking writer's first attempt is an epic romance in which a daring hero (patterned after himself) is involved with a lovely, yet passive heroine, Sarah. One day, as Robert gazes into the hotel window across the street he sees a woman who is the perfect physical match of his Sarah. They meet and he is shocked to discover that her personality is the total opposite of his character's personality. Whereas the fictional Sarah is meek and gentle, the real one is fiery and independent. She wants to be no one's fantasy. Robert's friends see nothing amiss about the fact that a fictional person has magically come to life. When a police official threatens her, they valiantly rally 'round her. Apparently the cop is trying to get revenge on Robert, who slept with his wife, by having Sarah, a woman with no past and no documentation committed to an asylum. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Werner is a cult-hero among young Germans; he is the opposite of the dutiful, work-oriented model usually promulgated to them. Intead, he roars swiftly through the city on his highly customized motorcycle, cleverly outwitting the traffic policemen whose paths he crosses, while he picks up yet another in an endless series of cases of beer. He has no visible means of support, is as articulate as a stone, and seems to spend his days in a perpetual party.This Animal House-like comedy combines live action and animation. The story takes place on the north coast of Germany, and much of the dialog is in an obscure local dialect. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

This original detective story has songs that refer to the unfolding plot combined with a cloak-and-dagger murder mystery that would feel at home in Sam Spade's office. When Max Muller (Christian Schmidt) starts to look for the missing fiance of the beautiful Bettina (Barbara Rudnik), his daily paper reports that Bettina has been killed. Now committed to the case, Max and his pal Andy (Andreas Vitasek) dig into the mystery of the missing boyfriend only to discover that the Mafia wants them out of it. With plot twists and turns in abundance, several corpses are left in the investigation's wake before the case is solved. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

A popular night spot in suburbia is the hang-out for a parade of classic characters that represent archetypes in a comic, slapstick, whimsical fashion. From the country bumpkin and lonely cowhand to the Marxist fanatic and sultry dame, each has their own unique brand of fun -- not to mention the barmaid who spikes the drinks with detergents and other sources of suds. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi