FullReviews Index
Yella
Christian Petzold won the Silver Bear at last year’s Berlinale with the moody tale of a rootless woman who joins forces with a roving venture capitalist. Yella is a richly textured allegory of lust, greed, loneliness, and desire set in the rural East of Germany. It also features a mesmerizing lead performance by Nina Hoss (also awarded with a Silver Bear) and the most obvious, superfluous, and all-around maddening trick ending in memory.
The Edge of Heaven (2008)
Directed by Fatih Akin, "The Edge of Heaven" tells the story of six fragiel people connected on emotional voyages toward forgiveness and reconciliation in Germany and Turkey.
The Lives of Others
Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's "The Lives of Others" is set in 1984 East Berlin, five years before the downfall of the East German government.
Revanche
Revanche - Nominated for an Academy Award Gotz Spielman's Revanche is a story about guilt and revenge set against the backdrop of Vienna's demimonde and rural Austria. Starring Johannes Krisch, Irina Potapenko, Ursula Strauss, Hannes Thanheiser, Andreas Lust, Hanno Poschl
Der Baader Meinhof Komplex
Der Baader Meinhof Komplex - Uli Edel's Der Baader Meinhof Komplex chronicles the rise and fall of Germany's terrorist group, The Red Army Faction (RAF), which organized bombings, robberies, kidnappings and assassinations in the late 1960s and '70s. Martina Gedeck and Moritz Bleibtreu star.
The Counterfeiters
Stefan Ruzowitsky's "The Counterfeiters" tells the story of a counterfeiting plant run by prisoners in the concentration camp in Sachsenhausen during World War II.
The Free Will (Der Freie Wille)
Hard-working German actor Jürgen Vogel plays the serial rapist Theo in Matthias Glasner’s almost unbearably grim The Free Will (Der Freie Wille), now out on DVD from Benten.
And Along Come Tourists
With "And Along Come Tourists", writer-director Robert Thalheim has made an understated film about a particularly sensitive place where past and present collide with unforgotten atrocities: the present-day town of Oswicim, Poland, site of the Auschwitz extermination camp.
Mostly Martha
Sandra Nettelbuck's romantic comedy "Mostly Martha" about a chef who finds the recipe for love and happiness will turn your stomach. Catherine Zeta Jones stars in the unfortunate remake "No Reservations."
Pandora's Box
Lust, gambling, adultery, blackmail, prostitution, and murder: Louise Brooks epitomizes an era of delirious decadence in G.W. Pabst's 1929 film about a dancer without morals. Like the mythical Pandora, Brooks and her iconic haircut wreak havoc with the lives of everyone around her. To mark the Louise Brooks centennial, Pandora's Box will be showing at New York's Film Forum for a two-week engagement starting Friday, with live piano accompainment at select screenings.
Agnes and His Brothers
In writer-director Oskar Roehler's farce Agnes and His Brothers, Cologne is populated with freakishly exaggerated characters. With Moritz Bleibtreu, Martin Weiss, Katja Rieman and Herbert Knaup.
Die Nibelungen
In 1924, years before "Metropolis" and "M," director Fritz Lang created a silent epic based on the quintessential German legend: "Die Nibelungen," the ancient folk tale of heroism and revenge that also served as basis for Richard Wagner's Ring cycle.
Sophie Scholl: The Final Days
Nominated for an Acamedy Award for Best Foreign Film, Marc Rothemund's "Sophie Scholl: The Last Days" is a traditional and competently made film; Julia Jentsch's steely performance as the title character is brilliant.
Go for Zucker!
Dani Levi's farce about a Jewish family was a huge hit last year in Germany, but the film's serious subtext and heavy-handed attempts at edification undermine the humor. With Henry Hübchen and Hannelore Elsner.
The Edukators
A very German thriller with a theme: whatever happened to the rebellious spirit of 1968? Daniel Brühl ("Goodbye Lenin") joins a subversive commune and gets involved with lovely Julia Jentsch and a botched kidnapping.
Head-On (Gegen die Wand) Review
After winning the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, Fatih Akin's "Head-On" ("Gegen die Wand") is opening in New York today. Birol Unell and Sibel Kekilli give exhilerating performances as unlikely lovers in the raw Turkish-German drama. Marcy reviews.
Downfall (Der Untergang)
Oliver Hirschbiegel's Oscar-nominated “Downfall” breaks new ground for the war film, taking us into the Führerbunker, Adolf Hitler's underground fortress where the architects of the Holocaust met their grim end. Bruno Ganz's impersonation of history's most cursed monster is uncanny. Read Jürgen's review.
Rosenstrasse
Margarethe von Trotta's moving film "Rosenstrasse" focuses on a little known act of resistance in Germany during World War II. Starring Maria Schrader and Katja Riemann.
Free Radicals
A thoroughly depressing experience, Barbara Albert's "Free Radicals" traces the impact of a freak accident on the lives of a community of Austrians.