Category Archives: German Gems

When Austrian writer Peter Handke was recently honored with the Nobel Prize for literature, it caused quite an uproar. His political views, not his writing immediately became the center of attention by journalist and fellow writers. During the Yugoslav war … Continue reading →

Der Vorname/How About Adolf is a remake of the French film Le Prénom from 2012, a huge success in France but at that time not in Germany. However the new film by Sönke Wortmann (Das Wunder von Bern, Der bewegte … Continue reading →

THE GROUND BENEATH MY FEET /Der Boden unter den Füßen, DIR Marie Kreutzer When we talk about “Austrian Cinema” the famous names of Pre- and Post-War2  are often incorrectly thought of as German, for example Maximilian Schell, Romy Schneider, Hedy … Continue reading →

A rehearing request to the San Francisco Board of Appeals may be granted only to prevent manifest injustice. A month ago I did request a rehearing – my last chance, I thought, to present a case of severe injustice to … Continue reading →

If you can see only one film at this year’s Berlin & Beyond Filmfestival (March 8-14) then  choose GUNDERMANN. Veteran filmmaker Andreas Dresen, a frequent guest at the festival  (HALBE TREPPE, SOMMER VORM BALKON, DIE POLIZISTIN, WOLKE 9, HALT AUF … Continue reading →

I – AUF DEM JAKOBSWEG Zum 2. Mal auf dem Jakobsweg in Frankreich – von Aumont-Aubrac, wo wir letztes Jahr aufgehörten, bis nach Figeac. Acht Tage strammes Wanders, was dieses Mal Spuren an Knien und Füssen hinterlassen hat. Beäugt von … Continue reading →

  The City Without Jews, an Austrian silent film from 1924 that predicts the rise of nazism, has, after 90 years, been saved from decay. In 1991 a fading copy of the film was found in the Netherland’s Filmmuseum and … Continue reading →

More than 150 films were screened at this year’s SF International Film Festival in 8 theaters throughout the city without a central location where audience and filmmakers would always find each other. Traveling from one place to the next by … Continue reading →

    The five Oscar nominated foreign films are by veteran directors who dig deep into the social and political faultlines of their country but what they find at home feels eerily familiar anywhere. The films are depressing, shocking, touching, … Continue reading →

First stop the Blue Lagoon at 8am to recover from the 12+ hour flight with fuel stop in Edmonton, Canada. Pitch dark, the worst rain storm I can remember and driving in no man’s land. In pouring  rain the water … Continue reading →

  The 22nd BERLIN & BEYOND opens with WILLKOMMEN BEI DEN HARTMANNS, a “Familienkomödie” by Simon Verhoeven, son of Senta Berger who plays Frau Hartmann, and Michael Verhoeven, well known to B&B audiences and co-producer of the film. Since Western … Continue reading →

IN THE FADE / Aus dem Nichts,  the great German director Fatih Akin’s less great film just won the Golden Globe Award. (It will open on January 12 in San Francisco.) Wondering if I might have missed something at the … Continue reading →