26/10/2006

This week, local titles have a near monopoly of German screens. Among the nine new releases are three enthralling productions and one co-production, starting with Ein Freund von mir [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (lit. "A Friend of Mine"), the Sebastian Schipper’s second feature after the excellent Gigantic, also a tale of friendship. Schipper's new title recounts an unusual friendship between the very serious Karl (Daniel Brühl) and Hans, the eternal dreamer (Jürgen Vogel).

Vogel has spent the year delighting international festival-goers with his performances in some unexpected titles, such as Emma's Bliss [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] and The Free Will, which won him a Silver Bear at the 2006 Berlin Film Festival. In Schipper’s film, the actor stars alongside Sabine Timoteo for a second time, to round off a prestigious cast that has not spared its efforts.

Indeed, on October 22, Brühl and Vogel set a new world record with Ein Freund von mir. Its German premiere, complete with red carpet and audience debate, held from 6pm to midnight, made the film the most premiered in a minimum time period (a title held until now by Will Smith). With this kind of promotion, the X Filme Creative Pool film that will be distributed by X Verleih is expected to do very well at the box office.

Meanwhile, Filmgalerie 451 is releasing another much-talked about title, Windows on Monday by Ulrich Köhler (Bungalow), voted Best Film two weeks ago at the 2006 Hessischen Film- und Kinopreises. Produced by ÷ Filmproduktion Löprich & Schlösser, the film follows a woman (Isabelle Menke) who suddenly decides to leave her small family and the new house she has just moved to.

The third German release this Thursday, Dwarves - The Wood is Not Enough) by Sven Unterwaldt is co-written by, co-produced and stars the well-known actor Otto Waalkes as the dwarf Bubi, who with his friends comes to the rescue of Snow White. The Zipfelmützenfilm and VIP Medienfonds production is on release through UIP.

Lastly, Schwarz-Weiss is releasing the Italian/German co-production The Life I Want, in which Giuseppe Piccioni tells a story of love onstage and off between two actors (Sandra Ceccarelli and Luigi Lo Cascio).

(Translated from French)