A digest of key Swiss industry news announced during the Locarno Film Festival.
Swiss public broadcaster Srg has extended its co-production agreement with the local film industry for another four years and has increased its annual budget by CHF1.5m ($1.7m) to CHF34m ($38m).
The new “Pacte de l’Audiovisuel” co-production agreement between Srg and the local film industry will run from 1 January 2024 until the end of 2027.
The annual budget available in the “Pacte” for co-producing Swiss feature films will increase from $10m (Chf 9m) to $11.45m CHF10m in response to rising costs for film production.
In addition,...
Swiss public broadcaster Srg has extended its co-production agreement with the local film industry for another four years and has increased its annual budget by CHF1.5m ($1.7m) to CHF34m ($38m).
The new “Pacte de l’Audiovisuel” co-production agreement between Srg and the local film industry will run from 1 January 2024 until the end of 2027.
The annual budget available in the “Pacte” for co-producing Swiss feature films will increase from $10m (Chf 9m) to $11.45m CHF10m in response to rising costs for film production.
In addition,...
- 8/7/2023
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
The institution has backed the new films by Benjamin Heisenberg, Adrian Goiginger and Kurdwin Ayub. During the Vienna Film Fund’s fourth session of 2019, the five members of the committee decided that 11 of the 22 projects submitted would be supported with a total sum of €3.15 million. Eight feature-film projects received production support, while three projects were aided with development grants. The highest grant for production went to Serviam - Ich will dienen, the new film by Ruth Mader. The director, whose movie Struggle screened in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2003 Cannes Film Festival, is readying a thriller set in a Catholic boarding school for girls. Ruth Mader Filmproduktion is producing the film together with epo-film. Furthermore, the sci-fi thriller Sojus, which will be the feature debut by Magdalena Lauritsch, was backed by the...
Christian Petzold's The State I Am In (2000) and Christoph Hochhäusler's The City Below (2010) will be showing in September and October, 2017 on Mubi in most countries around the world.Christian Petzold (left) and Christoph Hochhäusler (right) on the set of Dreileben. Photo by Felix von Böhm.We meet in Christian Petzold’s office in Berlin-Kreuzberg. A giant wall of whispering books, almost like a Borgesian brain of fiction, encircles the table at which Christoph Hochhäusler, myself and the owner take place to discuss their films. The idea of the interview was to get Petzold’s take on Hochhäusler’s The City Below (2010) and Hochhäusler’s take on Petzold’s The State I Am In (2000). In the end, both filmmakers ended up talking about a lot more, as cinema for them has always been something that shines most brightly when remembering it, discussing it and loving it. The fictions proposed...
- 9/20/2017
- MUBI
Houda Benyamina [pictured], Jessica Hausner and Rebecca Daly among directors due to attend the festival.
The Les Arcs European Film Festival will champion female filmmakers at its eighth edition unfolding in the heart of the French Alps Dec 10-17.
A sidebar titled The New Women of Cinema will screen features by 10 female directors including Houda Benyamina’s Caméra d’Or-winning Divines, Rebecca Daly’s Mammal and Rachel Lang’s Baden Baden.
Older titles such as Jessica Hausner’s Lourdes, Agnes Kocsis’ Fresh Air and Nanouk Leopold’s Brownian Movement are also included in the line-up
The initiative is an extension of the festival’s Femme de Cinema award introduced in 2013, the recipients of which have included Bosnian director Jamila Zbanic and Poland’s Małgorzata Szumowska.
Alongside the screenings, there will also be a presentation on a specially-commissioned study of emerging female directors, as well as round-tables and a master-class by one of the attending female directors.
The programme...
The Les Arcs European Film Festival will champion female filmmakers at its eighth edition unfolding in the heart of the French Alps Dec 10-17.
A sidebar titled The New Women of Cinema will screen features by 10 female directors including Houda Benyamina’s Caméra d’Or-winning Divines, Rebecca Daly’s Mammal and Rachel Lang’s Baden Baden.
Older titles such as Jessica Hausner’s Lourdes, Agnes Kocsis’ Fresh Air and Nanouk Leopold’s Brownian Movement are also included in the line-up
The initiative is an extension of the festival’s Femme de Cinema award introduced in 2013, the recipients of which have included Bosnian director Jamila Zbanic and Poland’s Małgorzata Szumowska.
Alongside the screenings, there will also be a presentation on a specially-commissioned study of emerging female directors, as well as round-tables and a master-class by one of the attending female directors.
The programme...
- 11/8/2016
- ScreenDaily
Houda Benyamina [pictured], Jessica Hausner and Rebecca Daly among directors due to attend the festival.
The Les Arcs European Film Festival will champion female filmmakers at its eighth edition unfolding in the heart of the French Alps Dec 10-17.
A sidebar titled The New Women of Cinema will screen features by 10 female directors including Houda Benyamina’s Caméra d’Or-winning Divines, Rebecca Daly’s Mammal and Rachel Lang’s Baden Baden.
Older titles such as Jessica Hausner’s Lourdes, Agnes Kocsis’ Fresh Air and Nanouk Leopold’s Brownian Movement are also included in the line-up
The initiative is an extension of the festival’s Femme de Cinema award introduced in 2013, the recipients of which have included Bosnian director Jamila Zbanic and Poland’s Małgorzata Szumowska.
Alongside the screenings, there will also be a presentation on a specially-commissioned study of emerging female directors, as well as round-tables and a master-class by one of the attending female directors.
The programme...
The Les Arcs European Film Festival will champion female filmmakers at its eighth edition unfolding in the heart of the French Alps Dec 10-17.
A sidebar titled The New Women of Cinema will screen features by 10 female directors including Houda Benyamina’s Caméra d’Or-winning Divines, Rebecca Daly’s Mammal and Rachel Lang’s Baden Baden.
Older titles such as Jessica Hausner’s Lourdes, Agnes Kocsis’ Fresh Air and Nanouk Leopold’s Brownian Movement are also included in the line-up
The initiative is an extension of the festival’s Femme de Cinema award introduced in 2013, the recipients of which have included Bosnian director Jamila Zbanic and Poland’s Małgorzata Szumowska.
Alongside the screenings, there will also be a presentation on a specially-commissioned study of emerging female directors, as well as round-tables and a master-class by one of the attending female directors.
The programme...
- 11/8/2016
- ScreenDaily
Director J.C. Chandor will develop “The Robber,” a remake of the German thriller “Der Räuber,” FilmNation Entertainment announced Thursday. Neal Dodson and Anna Gerb will produce the film along with Chandor, while Chase Palmer will adapt the screenplay. FilmNation will handle the worldwide distribution rights. “Der Räuber,” released in 2010, was directed by Benjamin Heisenberg, who wrote it alongside Martin Prinz. It’s based on Prinz’s Austrian novel of the same name. Also Read: Tom Cruise 'Mummy' Remake Pushed Back 11 Weeks The film is about an elite marathon runner who uses races as cover for his bank heists. The Heisenberg...
- 1/21/2016
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Wrap
A half-decade ago, Sony snapped up the the English language remake rights to Benjamin Heisenberg's "Der Rauber" ("The Robber"), a German thriller that picked up good notices on the festival circuit at the time. As often happens, not much was heard about it afterwards. But the project now has a new home and a great filmmaker attached to get it off the ground. Read More: 'The Robber' Is A Relentless Character-Based Thriller J.C. Chandor ("A Most Violent Year," "All Is Lost") has signed up to helm the picture, which is now set up at FilmNation Enterntainment. Chase Palmer, who is writing "It" for Warner Bros., will pen the script for the real-life story of marathon runner Johann Rettenberger aka "Pump-gun Ronnie" who earned his name by robbing banks. Here's the synopsis of the original film: Johann Rettenberger leads a double life as a championship runner and serial bank robber,...
- 1/21/2016
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Following collaborations on A Most Violent Year and All Is Lost, FilmNation Entertainment is reteaming with J.C. Chandor to develop The Robber. A remake of Benjamin Heisenberg’ German/Austrian film Der Raüber, which was based on Martin Prinz’s novella of the same title, it has Neal Dodson, Anna Gerb and Chandor producing. Chandor is also attached to direct. FilmNation will finance and handle worldwide rights. Chase Palmer is adapting the screenplay. The action thriller is…...
- 1/21/2016
- Deadline
FilmNation is reuniting with Jc Chandor and his All Is Lost producers Neal Dodson, Anna Gerb on a remake of the German thriller.
Benjamin Heisenberg directed Der Räuber from a screenplay he co-wrote with Martin Prinz based on Prinz’s novella of the same title.
Chandor will produce with Dodson and Gerb and is attached to direct, while FilmNation will finance the film and handle worldwide distribution sales. The parties also collaborated on A Most Violent Year.
Chase Palmer will adapt the screenplay. Der Räuber centred on an elite runner who used major races as a cover to rob banks. The film premiered at the 2010 Berlinale.
Michael Kitzberger and Heisenberg negotiated on behalf of co-producers Ngf Geyrhalterfilm (Vienna) and Peter Heilrath Filmproduktion (Munich) and Martin Prinz.
Benjamin Heisenberg directed Der Räuber from a screenplay he co-wrote with Martin Prinz based on Prinz’s novella of the same title.
Chandor will produce with Dodson and Gerb and is attached to direct, while FilmNation will finance the film and handle worldwide distribution sales. The parties also collaborated on A Most Violent Year.
Chase Palmer will adapt the screenplay. Der Räuber centred on an elite runner who used major races as a cover to rob banks. The film premiered at the 2010 Berlinale.
Michael Kitzberger and Heisenberg negotiated on behalf of co-producers Ngf Geyrhalterfilm (Vienna) and Peter Heilrath Filmproduktion (Munich) and Martin Prinz.
- 1/21/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Toni Erdmann
Director: Maren Ade
Writer: Maren Ade
Though many be unfamiliar with her work, which is a pity since both her previous films are available in the Us, director Maren Ade happens to be one of the most vibrant new voices in German cinema. Her 2003 debut The Forest For the Trees received a rather hushed festival debut in Germany before going to collect a Special Jury prize at Sundance. Her powerful and exquisite follow-up was 2009’s Everyone Else, which took home the Silver Berlin Bear at that year’s Berlin film festival. Generally taking a long time between projects, we’ve been patiently waiting for her third feature, Toni Erdmann, which was initially announced back in 2012. With filming at last completed, we’re hoping to finally catch a glimpse of the film which we know little about except that it’s about a father trying to connect with his adult daughter.
Director: Maren Ade
Writer: Maren Ade
Though many be unfamiliar with her work, which is a pity since both her previous films are available in the Us, director Maren Ade happens to be one of the most vibrant new voices in German cinema. Her 2003 debut The Forest For the Trees received a rather hushed festival debut in Germany before going to collect a Special Jury prize at Sundance. Her powerful and exquisite follow-up was 2009’s Everyone Else, which took home the Silver Berlin Bear at that year’s Berlin film festival. Generally taking a long time between projects, we’ve been patiently waiting for her third feature, Toni Erdmann, which was initially announced back in 2012. With filming at last completed, we’re hoping to finally catch a glimpse of the film which we know little about except that it’s about a father trying to connect with his adult daughter.
- 1/13/2016
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Toni Erdmann
Director: Maren Ade // Writer: Maren Ade
Though many be unfamiliar with her work, which is a pity since both her previous films are available in the Us, director Maren Ade happens to be one of the most vibrant new voices in German cinema. Her 2003 debut The Forest For the Trees received a rather hushed festival debut in Germany before going to collect a Special Jury prize at Sundance. Her powerful and exquisite follow-up was 2009′s Everyone Else, which took home the Silver Berlin Bear at that year’s Berlin film festival. Generally taking a long time between projects, we’ve been patiently waiting for her third feature, Toni Erdmann, which was initially announced back in 2012. With filming at last completed, we’re hoping to finally catch a glimpse of the film which we know little about except that it’s about a father trying to connect with his adult daughter.
Director: Maren Ade // Writer: Maren Ade
Though many be unfamiliar with her work, which is a pity since both her previous films are available in the Us, director Maren Ade happens to be one of the most vibrant new voices in German cinema. Her 2003 debut The Forest For the Trees received a rather hushed festival debut in Germany before going to collect a Special Jury prize at Sundance. Her powerful and exquisite follow-up was 2009′s Everyone Else, which took home the Silver Berlin Bear at that year’s Berlin film festival. Generally taking a long time between projects, we’ve been patiently waiting for her third feature, Toni Erdmann, which was initially announced back in 2012. With filming at last completed, we’re hoping to finally catch a glimpse of the film which we know little about except that it’s about a father trying to connect with his adult daughter.
- 1/9/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Starred Up | Labor Day | Yves Saint Laurent | Gbf | The Robber | The Machine | Salvo | The Unknown Known | A Long Way Down
Starred Up (18)
(David Mackenzie, 2013, UK) Jack O'Connell, Ben Mendelsohn, Rupert Friend. 106 mins
We've seen enough prison movies to know the drill, but this is closer to A Prophet than The Great Escape – a bracing mix of brutal thriller, institutional critique and complex character drama. Conviction is key, both in the day-to-day details and the natural performances, particularly O'Connell – a young offender violent enough to be housed with the grown-ups, including his own father. It feels like things could kick off with every scene.
Labor Day (12A)
(Jason Reitman, 2013, Us) Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, Gattlin Griffith. 111 mins
The Juno director tries nuanced domestic drama – and it doesn't really suit him. Erotic tremors are a given when Brolin's escaped convict shacks up with Winslet's lonely single mum, but you'll need to park your disbelief.
Starred Up (18)
(David Mackenzie, 2013, UK) Jack O'Connell, Ben Mendelsohn, Rupert Friend. 106 mins
We've seen enough prison movies to know the drill, but this is closer to A Prophet than The Great Escape – a bracing mix of brutal thriller, institutional critique and complex character drama. Conviction is key, both in the day-to-day details and the natural performances, particularly O'Connell – a young offender violent enough to be housed with the grown-ups, including his own father. It feels like things could kick off with every scene.
Labor Day (12A)
(Jason Reitman, 2013, Us) Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, Gattlin Griffith. 111 mins
The Juno director tries nuanced domestic drama – and it doesn't really suit him. Erotic tremors are a given when Brolin's escaped convict shacks up with Winslet's lonely single mum, but you'll need to park your disbelief.
- 3/22/2014
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Based on a true story, Benjamin Heisenberg's drama about a monomaniacal con turned marathon runner still strains credulity and patience
Only a top athlete or a psychopath would have the kind of monomaniacal focus needed to train obsessively even while serving a long prison sentence, but luckily Rettenberger (Andreas Lust), the protagonist of this Austrian drama, fits both descriptions. Fresh out of the clink, he runs a marathon, breaking a record, no less. But seemingly prize money and fame aren't reward enough for this adrenalin junkie, and he resumes robbing banks. It's just as well the film declares from the off that it's based on a true story, because the premise seems ridiculous. Writer-director Benjamin Heisenberg makes no attempt to provide any kind of psychological backstory, a move both bold and frustrating, but he does have a real knack for illustrating Rettenberger's compulsive kineticism and savage determination. Lust looks permanently drained of blood,...
Only a top athlete or a psychopath would have the kind of monomaniacal focus needed to train obsessively even while serving a long prison sentence, but luckily Rettenberger (Andreas Lust), the protagonist of this Austrian drama, fits both descriptions. Fresh out of the clink, he runs a marathon, breaking a record, no less. But seemingly prize money and fame aren't reward enough for this adrenalin junkie, and he resumes robbing banks. It's just as well the film declares from the off that it's based on a true story, because the premise seems ridiculous. Writer-director Benjamin Heisenberg makes no attempt to provide any kind of psychological backstory, a move both bold and frustrating, but he does have a real knack for illustrating Rettenberger's compulsive kineticism and savage determination. Lust looks permanently drained of blood,...
- 3/21/2014
- The Guardian - Film News
★★★☆☆ "What are you looking forward to doing on your release?" Johann Rettenberger (Andreas Lust) is asked by his parole officer at the beginning of Benjamin Heisenberg's lean Austrian crime thriller The Robber (Der Räuber, 2010). "Not running around in circles," he replies. However, Johann doesn't simply mean his regular exercise regime is going to become more varied. He has no intention of going straight, robbing a bank as soon as he has a moment free. Rettenberger is the kind of quiet career criminal that Ryan Gosling would play in the American remake; an alternate version of Nicolas Winding Refn's über stylish Drive (2011), minus the screeching automobiles.
- 3/19/2014
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Below you will find our total coverage of the 64th Berlinale by our three attending critics. As our last couple pieces are published, they will be added to this index.
By Adam Cook
Impressions Parts I-iv:
Personal Programming
On Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel, Dominik Graf's Beloved Sisters, Bong Joon-ho's Snowpiercer
Journeys
On Tsai Ming-liang's Journey to the West, Richard Linklater's Boyhood
Time as Depth and Cinema-Space
On Ken Jacobs' The Guests, Nadège Trébal's Scrap Yard, Veiko Õunpuu's Free Range, Corneliu Porumboiu's The Second Game
On the Periphery
On Fruit Chan's The Midnight After, Diao Yinan's Black Coal, Thin Ice
New Spaces: A Conversation with Denis Lavant
By Yaron Dahan
The Fantastical Heart of the Old Continent That Was But Was-Not: Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel
Sleepers, Robbers, and Superegos: An Interview with Benjamin Heisenberg
Baal, Resurrected
By Michael Pattison
Essayist,...
By Adam Cook
Impressions Parts I-iv:
Personal Programming
On Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel, Dominik Graf's Beloved Sisters, Bong Joon-ho's Snowpiercer
Journeys
On Tsai Ming-liang's Journey to the West, Richard Linklater's Boyhood
Time as Depth and Cinema-Space
On Ken Jacobs' The Guests, Nadège Trébal's Scrap Yard, Veiko Õunpuu's Free Range, Corneliu Porumboiu's The Second Game
On the Periphery
On Fruit Chan's The Midnight After, Diao Yinan's Black Coal, Thin Ice
New Spaces: A Conversation with Denis Lavant
By Yaron Dahan
The Fantastical Heart of the Old Continent That Was But Was-Not: Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel
Sleepers, Robbers, and Superegos: An Interview with Benjamin Heisenberg
Baal, Resurrected
By Michael Pattison
Essayist,...
- 2/19/2014
- by Notebook
- MUBI
Above: Director Benjamin Heisenberg
Benjamin Heisenberg has presented his third feature film and first comedy Superegos (Über-Ich und Du) in the Berlinale this year in the Panorama section. Superegos is an improbable buddy film between Curt Leidig (André Wilms), an octogenarian psychologist with an undefined Nazi history, and Nick Gutlicht (Georg Friedrich), a young small-time crook without either convictions or, seemingly, even a past. When chance brings them together, Dr. Leidig begins his study of his “not uninteresting patient” and, inevitably, Freudian-cinematic acts of transference and counter-transference occur, leaving them both to question their identities. Benjamin Heisenberg’s debut feature Sleeper was screened at Cannes Un Certain Regard in 2005 and his second film The Robber competed for the Golden Bear at the 2010 Berlinale.
Yaron Dahan: Let's talk about your new film. It’s very different from your previous two. You mentioned you had wanted to do a comedy for a long time,...
Benjamin Heisenberg has presented his third feature film and first comedy Superegos (Über-Ich und Du) in the Berlinale this year in the Panorama section. Superegos is an improbable buddy film between Curt Leidig (André Wilms), an octogenarian psychologist with an undefined Nazi history, and Nick Gutlicht (Georg Friedrich), a young small-time crook without either convictions or, seemingly, even a past. When chance brings them together, Dr. Leidig begins his study of his “not uninteresting patient” and, inevitably, Freudian-cinematic acts of transference and counter-transference occur, leaving them both to question their identities. Benjamin Heisenberg’s debut feature Sleeper was screened at Cannes Un Certain Regard in 2005 and his second film The Robber competed for the Golden Bear at the 2010 Berlinale.
Yaron Dahan: Let's talk about your new film. It’s very different from your previous two. You mentioned you had wanted to do a comedy for a long time,...
- 2/13/2014
- by Yaron Dahan
- MUBI
Mia Madre (My Mother)
Director: Nanni Moretti
Writers: Nanni Moretti, Franceso Poccolo and Valia Santella
Producers: Moretti’s Sacher Film production, Le Pacte, Arte Cinema
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Nanni Moretti, Margerita Buy
Word on the cobblestone street is that Mia Madre is “partially autobiographical”. In our opinion, among the ten films in his filmography, Nanni Moretti’s biographical Caro diario might be his greatest celluloid legacy.
Gist: Tbd. No plot details have been released.
Release Date: Shooting began in January, which means it’ll be a longshot for a Cannes showing….is a Venice in August preem or his former stomping grounds Torino a possibility?
More Top 200 Most Anticipated Films of 2014 Top 200 Most Anticipated Films for 2014: #172. Benjamin Heisenberg’s SuperegosCavemen | Review >...
Director: Nanni Moretti
Writers: Nanni Moretti, Franceso Poccolo and Valia Santella
Producers: Moretti’s Sacher Film production, Le Pacte, Arte Cinema
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Nanni Moretti, Margerita Buy
Word on the cobblestone street is that Mia Madre is “partially autobiographical”. In our opinion, among the ten films in his filmography, Nanni Moretti’s biographical Caro diario might be his greatest celluloid legacy.
Gist: Tbd. No plot details have been released.
Release Date: Shooting began in January, which means it’ll be a longshot for a Cannes showing….is a Venice in August preem or his former stomping grounds Torino a possibility?
More Top 200 Most Anticipated Films of 2014 Top 200 Most Anticipated Films for 2014: #172. Benjamin Heisenberg’s SuperegosCavemen | Review >...
- 2/5/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Superegos
Director: Benjamin Heisenberg
Writers: Benjamin Heisenberg, Josef Lechner
Producer: Komplizen film
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Hildeaard Schroedter, Maria Hofstatter, Nina Fog
Heisenberg received critical acclaim and a smattering of film fest awards for his 2010 film, The Robber, which was based on a true story and is currently being groomed for an English language remake. His latest is being produced by Maren Ade and stars the deliriously entertaining Maria Hofstatter. We’re hoping to hear great things out of Berlin, where it was just announced the film will premiere.
Gist: A comical, double trouble buddy movie with both sensual and cryptic moments, Superegos shows how the improbabilities of life bring the washed-up boheme Nick Gutlicht together with the star psychologist Curt Ledig, who is rather long in the tooth and highly controversial because of his Nazi connections. Although he puts up some resistance, Nick soon becomes an object...
Director: Benjamin Heisenberg
Writers: Benjamin Heisenberg, Josef Lechner
Producer: Komplizen film
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Hildeaard Schroedter, Maria Hofstatter, Nina Fog
Heisenberg received critical acclaim and a smattering of film fest awards for his 2010 film, The Robber, which was based on a true story and is currently being groomed for an English language remake. His latest is being produced by Maren Ade and stars the deliriously entertaining Maria Hofstatter. We’re hoping to hear great things out of Berlin, where it was just announced the film will premiere.
Gist: A comical, double trouble buddy movie with both sensual and cryptic moments, Superegos shows how the improbabilities of life bring the washed-up boheme Nick Gutlicht together with the star psychologist Curt Ledig, who is rather long in the tooth and highly controversial because of his Nazi connections. Although he puts up some resistance, Nick soon becomes an object...
- 2/5/2014
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Not My Type (Pas son Genre)
Director: Lucas Belvaux
Writer: Lucas Belvaux
Producer: Agat Films’ Patrick Sobelman
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Emilie Dequenne, Loic Corbery, Anne Coesens
Belvaux is, unfortunately, one of those exciting director’s that isn’t often discussed in the Us, though he’s directed an enjoyable trilogy of films starring Catherine Frot (a great actress that doesn’t receive the attention she deserves in the English speaking realm) and a 2009 thriller, Rapt. While his last film, 2012′s 38 Hours (also known as One Night) was a bit dry, (though some last minute cast changes with Charlotte Gainsbourg dropping out may have upset proceedings) we’re looking forward to his latest offering based on the Philippe Vilain novel.
Gist: Clement, a young Parisian philosophy professor, is transferred to Arras for a year. Far from Paris and its nightlife, he doesn’t know what to do with his free time.
Director: Lucas Belvaux
Writer: Lucas Belvaux
Producer: Agat Films’ Patrick Sobelman
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Emilie Dequenne, Loic Corbery, Anne Coesens
Belvaux is, unfortunately, one of those exciting director’s that isn’t often discussed in the Us, though he’s directed an enjoyable trilogy of films starring Catherine Frot (a great actress that doesn’t receive the attention she deserves in the English speaking realm) and a 2009 thriller, Rapt. While his last film, 2012′s 38 Hours (also known as One Night) was a bit dry, (though some last minute cast changes with Charlotte Gainsbourg dropping out may have upset proceedings) we’re looking forward to his latest offering based on the Philippe Vilain novel.
Gist: Clement, a young Parisian philosophy professor, is transferred to Arras for a year. Far from Paris and its nightlife, he doesn’t know what to do with his free time.
- 2/5/2014
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
A total of 24 world premieres are included in the Berlinale’s Panorama selection, which has added a number of Asian productions.
Some 36 films from 29 countries will feature in the Panorama section of the Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 6-16), of which 24 will be world premieres.
Most recently invited are works from Norway, Ethiopia, Mexico, India, Iran, Georgia, Greece, Hungary and Austria – with returning filmmakers Elfi Mikesch and Umut Dağ, who opened Panorama 2012 with Kuma, his directorial debut.
New titles include a number of Asian productions. In Ieji (Homeland) by Japan’s Nao Kubota, a farmer’s son, who first fled to the city, explores his home village in the Fukushima district, an area that is actually still a no-go zone following the disaster at the region’s nuclear power plant.
In the South Korean film Night Flight, LeeSong Hee-il presents a duel between two schoolmates. LeeSong previously showed the films No Regret and White Night in Panorama...
Some 36 films from 29 countries will feature in the Panorama section of the Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 6-16), of which 24 will be world premieres.
Most recently invited are works from Norway, Ethiopia, Mexico, India, Iran, Georgia, Greece, Hungary and Austria – with returning filmmakers Elfi Mikesch and Umut Dağ, who opened Panorama 2012 with Kuma, his directorial debut.
New titles include a number of Asian productions. In Ieji (Homeland) by Japan’s Nao Kubota, a farmer’s son, who first fled to the city, explores his home village in the Fukushima district, an area that is actually still a no-go zone following the disaster at the region’s nuclear power plant.
In the South Korean film Night Flight, LeeSong Hee-il presents a duel between two schoolmates. LeeSong previously showed the films No Regret and White Night in Panorama...
- 1/17/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Because February really isn't that far away, the 2014 edition of the Berlin International Film Festival announced 28 films, 19 of which will be playing in their Panorama section, 5 in competition, and 4 in the Berlinale Special section which focuses on a wide ranging selection of docs and films in unique formats such as anthologies. These join the already announced openers The Grand Budapest Hotel and Monuments Men. And it's an eclectic bunch to be sure, with new work from Michel Gondry (Be Kind Rewind), John Michael McDonagh (The Guard), Benjamin Heisenberg (The Robber) and Tsai Ming-liang (The Wayward Cloud), among others. Get a lowdown on these first offerings below in the gallery. Berlin will announce additional Panorma titles, plus a whole lot more...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 12/20/2013
- Screen Anarchy
The 64th Berlin International Film Festival has announced the first set of screenings from the edition's Panorama section. 50 fictional and documentary films will be chosen to give the programme its distinctive profile between innovative mainstream and radical alternative. So far 19 films have been invited.
Fabio Audi, Ghilherme Lobo, Tess Amorim in Hoje Eu Quero Voltar Sozinho (The Way he Looks) von/by Daniel Ribeiro
If You Don't, I Will (Sophie Fillières, France)
The Rice Bomber (Cho Li, Taiwan)
Ice Poison (Midi Z, Taiwan/Myanmar)
Calvary (John Michael McDonagh, Ireland/Great Britain)
The Way He Looks (Daniel Ribeiro, Brazil)
Is the Tall Man Happy? (Michel Gondry, France)
The Man of the Crowd (Marcelo Gomes & Cao Guimarães, Brazil)
Papillio Buddha (Jayan Cherian, India/USA)
Quick Change (Eduardo Roy Jr., Philippines)
Stereo (Maximilian Erlenwein, Germany)
Test (Chris Mason Johnson, USA)
The Better Angels (A. J. Edwards, USA)
The Lamb (Kutluğ Ataman, Germany/Turkey...
Fabio Audi, Ghilherme Lobo, Tess Amorim in Hoje Eu Quero Voltar Sozinho (The Way he Looks) von/by Daniel Ribeiro
If You Don't, I Will (Sophie Fillières, France)
The Rice Bomber (Cho Li, Taiwan)
Ice Poison (Midi Z, Taiwan/Myanmar)
Calvary (John Michael McDonagh, Ireland/Great Britain)
The Way He Looks (Daniel Ribeiro, Brazil)
Is the Tall Man Happy? (Michel Gondry, France)
The Man of the Crowd (Marcelo Gomes & Cao Guimarães, Brazil)
Papillio Buddha (Jayan Cherian, India/USA)
Quick Change (Eduardo Roy Jr., Philippines)
Stereo (Maximilian Erlenwein, Germany)
Test (Chris Mason Johnson, USA)
The Better Angels (A. J. Edwards, USA)
The Lamb (Kutluğ Ataman, Germany/Turkey...
- 12/19/2013
- by Notebook
- MUBI
Nineteen films have been announced for the Berlin International Film Festival's Panorama program. New films from Michel Gondry, Kutluğ Ataman, Robert Lepage, Sophie Fillières, Benjamin Heisenberg, Maximilian Erlenwein, John Michael McDonagh and Tsai Ming-liang are included in the list, while Jalil Lespert's "Yves Saint Laurent" has been announced as the opening night section. With "Yves Saint Laurent," Berlin’s flagship cinema, the Zoo Palast, will be re-inaugurated as a Berlinale venue after extensive renovations on February 7, 2014. Another notable relocation announced today was that the queer film-oriented Teddy Award ceremony will go down for the first time in its 28-year history in the "baroque setting" of the Komische Oper Berlin. Here's the first 19 films announced from the Panorama. This list will grow to around 50 in the coming weeks: Arrête ou je continue (If You Don't, I Will) France By Sophie Fillières With Emmanuelle Devos, Mathieu...
- 12/19/2013
- by Peter Knegt
- Indiewire
John Michael McDonagh’s Calvary and new films by Michel Gondry, Kutlug Ataman and Robert Lepage are to feature in the Berlinale’s Panorama strand, which will open with Jalil Lespert’s Yves Saint Laurent.Scroll down for first batch of titles
A total of 50 features will be chosen for the Panorama section of the 2014 Berlinale (Feb 6-16), films that “provide insight on new directions in art house cinema”, and the first 19 have been announced. A total of 11 of those selected are world premieres.
The opening film will mark the international premiere of Jalil Lespert’s Yves Saint Laurent, a look at the life of the French designer from the beginning of his career in 1958 when he met his lover and business partner, Pierre Berge.
The opening screening on Feb 7 will see Berlin’s flagship cinema, the Zoo Palast, re-inaugurated as a Berlinale venue after extensive renovations.
Also in the line-up are new films from Michel Gondry, Kutluğ...
A total of 50 features will be chosen for the Panorama section of the 2014 Berlinale (Feb 6-16), films that “provide insight on new directions in art house cinema”, and the first 19 have been announced. A total of 11 of those selected are world premieres.
The opening film will mark the international premiere of Jalil Lespert’s Yves Saint Laurent, a look at the life of the French designer from the beginning of his career in 1958 when he met his lover and business partner, Pierre Berge.
The opening screening on Feb 7 will see Berlin’s flagship cinema, the Zoo Palast, re-inaugurated as a Berlinale venue after extensive renovations.
Also in the line-up are new films from Michel Gondry, Kutluğ...
- 12/19/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
The Berlin School: Films from the Berliner Schule opening night reception at MoMA's Terrace 5 Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Rajendra Roy, the Celeste Bartos Chief Curator of Film at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and independent film critic Anke Leweke have organised The Berlin School: Films from the Berliner Schule at MoMA, running from November 20 through December 06, 2013. Some of the filmmakers participating in this impressive program are Angela Schanelec with Orly and Mein langsames Leben (Passing Summer), Ulrich Köhler with Bungalow and Schlafkrankheit (Sleeping Sickness). Actor Nina Hoss will present with Christian Petzold, Barbara and Jerichow and with Thomas Arslan, Gold.
Arslan will also present two of his earlier films Geschwister (Brothers And Sisters) and Im Schatten (In The Shadows).
Also appearing in post-screening discussions are Benjamin Heisenberg with his cinematographer Reinhold Vorschneider for Der Räuber (The Robber) and Christoph Hochhäusler, director of Falscher Bekenner (I Am Guilty...
Rajendra Roy, the Celeste Bartos Chief Curator of Film at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and independent film critic Anke Leweke have organised The Berlin School: Films from the Berliner Schule at MoMA, running from November 20 through December 06, 2013. Some of the filmmakers participating in this impressive program are Angela Schanelec with Orly and Mein langsames Leben (Passing Summer), Ulrich Köhler with Bungalow and Schlafkrankheit (Sleeping Sickness). Actor Nina Hoss will present with Christian Petzold, Barbara and Jerichow and with Thomas Arslan, Gold.
Arslan will also present two of his earlier films Geschwister (Brothers And Sisters) and Im Schatten (In The Shadows).
Also appearing in post-screening discussions are Benjamin Heisenberg with his cinematographer Reinhold Vorschneider for Der Räuber (The Robber) and Christoph Hochhäusler, director of Falscher Bekenner (I Am Guilty...
- 11/21/2013
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
From Marathon Man to Forrest Gump, we complete a circuit of the best running-themed films. What's your favourite? Let us know below
Since the moment Eadweard Muybridge captured a man sprinting in 1887 runners have worn a path across the cinematic landscape. Whether on the pristine oval of an Olympic running track, a dusty patch in a prison rec yard or the damp tarmac of a rural country road, film has documented the sweat and solitude of running in all its pain and glory.
Here are 10 of the best.
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
Reading this on mobile? Click here to view the video
Opening with the sound of Tom Courtenay's feet thudding against a bleak rural lane, Tony Richardson and Alan Sillitoe's 1962 British New Wave classic is one of the most poetic running films in cinematic history. As Colin Smith, a petty delinquent, Courtenay gives a...
Since the moment Eadweard Muybridge captured a man sprinting in 1887 runners have worn a path across the cinematic landscape. Whether on the pristine oval of an Olympic running track, a dusty patch in a prison rec yard or the damp tarmac of a rural country road, film has documented the sweat and solitude of running in all its pain and glory.
Here are 10 of the best.
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
Reading this on mobile? Click here to view the video
Opening with the sound of Tom Courtenay's feet thudding against a bleak rural lane, Tony Richardson and Alan Sillitoe's 1962 British New Wave classic is one of the most poetic running films in cinematic history. As Colin Smith, a petty delinquent, Courtenay gives a...
- 2/18/2013
- by Adam Dewar
- The Guardian - Film News
Here’s the Movies That Became Available to Stream on Netflix Over the Past Week: Red State (R | 2011)
Flickchart Ranking: #2340
Times Ranked: 2096
Win Percentage: 53%
How Many Top-20′s: 13 Users
________________________________________________
I was pleasantly suprised by how much I liked Red State. It’s a tight little 90 mimute thriller with fantastic performances and it mixes genres quite effectively. The HD version on Netflix looks pretty nice too.
Directed By: Kevin Smith
Starring: Michael Parks • John Goodman • Melissa Leo • Kevin Pollak • Michael Angarano
Genres :Drama • Horror • Religious Drama • Thriller
• • • • • • • •
The Next Three Days (PG13 | 2010)
Flickchart Ranking: #2302
Times Ranked: 3616
Win Percentage: 48%
How Many Top-20′s: 3 Users
________________________________________________
Directed By: Paul Haggis
Starring: Russell Crowe • Elizabeth Banks • Olivia Wilde
Genres: Crime • Crime Drama • Crime Thriller • Drama • Romance • Romantic Drama • Thriller
• • • • • • • •
Winnebago Man (Nr | 2010)
Flickchart Ranking: #3403
Times Ranked: 2363
Win Percentage: 54%
How Many Top-20′s: 5 Users
________________________________________________
Directed By: Ben Steinbauer
Genres: Biography • Documentary
• • • • • • • •
F/X (R | 1986)
Flickchart Ranking:...
Flickchart Ranking: #2340
Times Ranked: 2096
Win Percentage: 53%
How Many Top-20′s: 13 Users
________________________________________________
I was pleasantly suprised by how much I liked Red State. It’s a tight little 90 mimute thriller with fantastic performances and it mixes genres quite effectively. The HD version on Netflix looks pretty nice too.
Directed By: Kevin Smith
Starring: Michael Parks • John Goodman • Melissa Leo • Kevin Pollak • Michael Angarano
Genres :Drama • Horror • Religious Drama • Thriller
• • • • • • • •
The Next Three Days (PG13 | 2010)
Flickchart Ranking: #2302
Times Ranked: 3616
Win Percentage: 48%
How Many Top-20′s: 3 Users
________________________________________________
Directed By: Paul Haggis
Starring: Russell Crowe • Elizabeth Banks • Olivia Wilde
Genres: Crime • Crime Drama • Crime Thriller • Drama • Romance • Romantic Drama • Thriller
• • • • • • • •
Winnebago Man (Nr | 2010)
Flickchart Ranking: #3403
Times Ranked: 2363
Win Percentage: 54%
How Many Top-20′s: 5 Users
________________________________________________
Directed By: Ben Steinbauer
Genres: Biography • Documentary
• • • • • • • •
F/X (R | 1986)
Flickchart Ranking:...
- 10/24/2011
- by Daniel Rohr
- Flickchart
"Idiom is an online magazine of artistic and cultural practice." And it now has a new film and electronic art editor. Tom McCormack introduces the new section, promising long-form work focusing on the "avant-garde and the art-house and the gallery" — and YouTube. What's more: "We'd like to get polemical. We want to get argumentative." Idiom Film launches with Michael Joshua Rowin on the collection of essays Optics Antics: The Cinema of Ken Jacobs, Colin Beckett on work by John Smith on DVD, Jonathon Kyle Sturgeon on Rossellini's Rome, Open City and Courtney Fiske on Sophie Fiennes's Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow.
How did I miss this breezy read in the New York Times last week? Elaine May: "The producers of Relatively Speaking (which opens at the Brooks Atkinson on Oct 20) have asked me to conduct an in-depth interview with Ethan Coen and Woody Allen, with whom it...
How did I miss this breezy read in the New York Times last week? Elaine May: "The producers of Relatively Speaking (which opens at the Brooks Atkinson on Oct 20) have asked me to conduct an in-depth interview with Ethan Coen and Woody Allen, with whom it...
- 10/18/2011
- MUBI
Your Weekly Source for the Newest Releases to Blu-Ray Tuesday, October 18th, 2011
Attack On Leningrad (2009)
Synopsis: When in 1941 Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union, their troops quickly besieged Leningrad. Foreign journalists are evacuated but one of them, Kate Davies, is presumed dead and misses the plane. Alone in the city she is helped by Nina Tsvetnova a young and idealist police officer and together they will fight for their own survival and the survival of the people in the besieged Leningrad. (blu-ray.com)
Special Features: Unknown.
Baaria (2009)
Synopsis: Peppino, the nickname of the boy at the story’s heart, is a tough little kid in the 1930s, used to the rough-and-tumble world of Baaria (local slang for Tornatore’s native Bagheria), a hot and dusty Sicilian village with one main street. His adventures are many and his memories singular: men gambling in the local square, goats eating his schoolbooks, and...
Attack On Leningrad (2009)
Synopsis: When in 1941 Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union, their troops quickly besieged Leningrad. Foreign journalists are evacuated but one of them, Kate Davies, is presumed dead and misses the plane. Alone in the city she is helped by Nina Tsvetnova a young and idealist police officer and together they will fight for their own survival and the survival of the people in the besieged Leningrad. (blu-ray.com)
Special Features: Unknown.
Baaria (2009)
Synopsis: Peppino, the nickname of the boy at the story’s heart, is a tough little kid in the 1930s, used to the rough-and-tumble world of Baaria (local slang for Tornatore’s native Bagheria), a hot and dusty Sicilian village with one main street. His adventures are many and his memories singular: men gambling in the local square, goats eating his schoolbooks, and...
- 10/18/2011
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The three 90-minute features made for German television that comprise the trilogy Dreileben — Christian Petzold's Beats Being Dead, Dominik Graf's Don't Follow Me Around and Christoph Hochhäusler's One Minute of Darkness — "share a single plot event," noted Girish Shambu a couple of weeks ago, explaining why he was ranking Dreileben among the personal favorites he saw in Toronto: "a murderer in custody is brought to a hospital to visit his dying foster mother, and uses the opportunity to escape. They weave separate stories around this event, often at its peripheries, occasionally moving to its center. The Petzold film, Beats Being Dead, employs a mise en scène that is so absurdly clean that it strikes me as humorous…. The Hochhäusler film (to my mind the strongest of the three) finds an equivalence between a cop losing his hearing and a hypersensitive, mentally disturbed murderer. This is a film about heightened,...
- 10/5/2011
- MUBI
The Robber
Directed by Benjamin Heisenberg
Written by Benjamin Heisenberg and Martin Prinz
Germany, 2010
Benjamin Heisenberg’s The Robber will never be accused of being too obvious. In fact, it’s a film that begs the question, ‘how much information is too little information?’
Johann Rettenberger (Andreas Lust) robs banks. He also runs marathons. He’s quite good at both though his perpetually stoic demeanor belies any internal excitement. Director Heisenberg juxtaposes kinetically shot chase sequences that would make Peter Yates proud, with quiet, vague moments alone with Johann. Upon his release from prison Johann meets an old acquaintance, Erika (Franziska Weisz). He moves into her house and they quickly begin an affair. How he knew Erika, why she is attracted to him, whether he actually cares for her – all questions are left for us to decide and entirely without hint.
The Robber finds a comparison in another German existential film,...
Directed by Benjamin Heisenberg
Written by Benjamin Heisenberg and Martin Prinz
Germany, 2010
Benjamin Heisenberg’s The Robber will never be accused of being too obvious. In fact, it’s a film that begs the question, ‘how much information is too little information?’
Johann Rettenberger (Andreas Lust) robs banks. He also runs marathons. He’s quite good at both though his perpetually stoic demeanor belies any internal excitement. Director Heisenberg juxtaposes kinetically shot chase sequences that would make Peter Yates proud, with quiet, vague moments alone with Johann. Upon his release from prison Johann meets an old acquaintance, Erika (Franziska Weisz). He moves into her house and they quickly begin an affair. How he knew Erika, why she is attracted to him, whether he actually cares for her – all questions are left for us to decide and entirely without hint.
The Robber finds a comparison in another German existential film,...
- 8/11/2011
- by Neal Dhand
- SoundOnSight
The stoic, determined , enigmatic loner has been the subject of many thrillers and action films. On either side of the the law, the single-minded protagonist has been a fixture in cinema perhaps best exemplified in the sixties and seventies movies of actors such as Clint Eastwood and Charles Bronson. In the new film The Robber we get to see a character based on a real person from the Austrian director Benjamin Heisenberg.
We first observe Johann Rettenberger ( Andreas Lust ) running in circles around a small patch of grass. Soon we learn that he is in prison. Taking up most of the space in his small cell is a electric treadmill, which he immediately puts to use. Johann meets with his parole officer prior to his imminent release. Thr officer wants to make sure that he has a plan for the outside and does not become part of another bank robbing gang.
We first observe Johann Rettenberger ( Andreas Lust ) running in circles around a small patch of grass. Soon we learn that he is in prison. Taking up most of the space in his small cell is a electric treadmill, which he immediately puts to use. Johann meets with his parole officer prior to his imminent release. Thr officer wants to make sure that he has a plan for the outside and does not become part of another bank robbing gang.
- 6/10/2011
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
"Mothers of America, let your kids go to the movies! ...It's true that fresh air is good for the body but what about the soul that grows in darkness, embossed by silvery images?"—Frank O'Hara, "Ave Maria" (from Lunch Poems, 1964)
During one of my conversations with San Franciscan film historian Matthew Kennedy, I realized that both of us had acquired our love for movies through our mothers, which led me to wonder how many other cinephiles—filmmakers and audience alike—shared a similar experience? In the past year, I have asked several individuals: "Did your mother have any influence on your cinephilia? Did she influence the movies you watched or—in the case of filmmakers—the movies you've made?" Here are some of the generous responses. And I would be delighted to hear any responses from the Mubi community.
Chris Fujiwara, Critic
My mother was a normal moviegoer of her generation,...
During one of my conversations with San Franciscan film historian Matthew Kennedy, I realized that both of us had acquired our love for movies through our mothers, which led me to wonder how many other cinephiles—filmmakers and audience alike—shared a similar experience? In the past year, I have asked several individuals: "Did your mother have any influence on your cinephilia? Did she influence the movies you watched or—in the case of filmmakers—the movies you've made?" Here are some of the generous responses. And I would be delighted to hear any responses from the Mubi community.
Chris Fujiwara, Critic
My mother was a normal moviegoer of her generation,...
- 5/9/2011
- MUBI
"What makes Johann run — and rob?" asks Melissa Anderson in the Voice. "Benjamin Heisenberg's second feature is as taut, lean, and fleet as its title character, played by Andreas Lust and based on the real-life Johann Kastenberger, who was both Austria's most-wanted bank robber of the 1980s and a champion marathoner. Writing the script with Martin Prinz, who adapted his own 2005 novel about the notorious criminal, Heisenberg forgoes backstory and psychological explanation, structuring his film as a series of adrenaline spikes."
"Lust's character in The Robber is familiar from European crime movies," suggests Noel Murray at the Av Club. "He's the stoic loner who doesn't say much, lest he inadvertently reveal some kind of motivation. When he robs banks, he wears a thin mask that doesn't look all that different from his face, and when he goes on a date with his caseworker, Franziska Weisz, he's more amused by...
"Lust's character in The Robber is familiar from European crime movies," suggests Noel Murray at the Av Club. "He's the stoic loner who doesn't say much, lest he inadvertently reveal some kind of motivation. When he robs banks, he wears a thin mask that doesn't look all that different from his face, and when he goes on a date with his caseworker, Franziska Weisz, he's more amused by...
- 5/8/2011
- MUBI
The Robber
Directed by Benjamin Heisenberg
Written by Benjamin Heisenberg and Martin Prinz
Germany, 2010
Benjamin Heisenberg’s The Robber will never be accused of being too obvious. In fact, it’s a film that begs the question, ‘how much information is too little information?’
Johann Rettenberger (Andreas Lust) robs banks. He also runs marathons. He’s quite good at both though his perpetually stoic demeanor belies any internal excitement. Director Heisenberg juxtaposes kinetically shot chase sequences that would make Peter Yates proud, with quiet, vague moments alone with Johann. Upon his release from prison Johann meets an old acquaintance, Erika (Franziska Weisz). He moves into her house and they quickly begin an affair. How he knew Erika, why she is attracted to him, whether he actually cares for her – all questions are left for us to decide and entirely without hint.
The Robber finds a comparison in another German existential film,...
Directed by Benjamin Heisenberg
Written by Benjamin Heisenberg and Martin Prinz
Germany, 2010
Benjamin Heisenberg’s The Robber will never be accused of being too obvious. In fact, it’s a film that begs the question, ‘how much information is too little information?’
Johann Rettenberger (Andreas Lust) robs banks. He also runs marathons. He’s quite good at both though his perpetually stoic demeanor belies any internal excitement. Director Heisenberg juxtaposes kinetically shot chase sequences that would make Peter Yates proud, with quiet, vague moments alone with Johann. Upon his release from prison Johann meets an old acquaintance, Erika (Franziska Weisz). He moves into her house and they quickly begin an affair. How he knew Erika, why she is attracted to him, whether he actually cares for her – all questions are left for us to decide and entirely without hint.
The Robber finds a comparison in another German existential film,...
- 5/8/2011
- by Neal Dhand
- SoundOnSight
It's almost as if the protagonist would say "The devil made me do it" if he were called upon to explain why he ran marathons and pulled a string of bank robberies when he was not enthusiastically training. "The Robber," filmed in Vienna and directed by Benjamin Heisenberg from a novel by Martin Prinz, is based on the true story of Johann Kastenberger. Kastenberger set national records in running marathons while in his spare time he robbed banks-not because he wanted money but because of a compulsion. His bank robbing and his running are both irrational, nor can society explain the man away by looking at his background. No background information is provided, and none is necessary. The fascination of the movie about Johann Rettenberger (Andreas Lust) comes from his compulsive physical activity and his affair with Erika (Franziska Weisz), a woman whose lust that brings him into contact with...
- 5/3/2011
- Arizona Reporter
The personalities of runners always seem to run the gamut. On the one hand, regular exercise and fitness is a sign of stability, a display of having chosen the “right” priorities to care for one’s own body. On the other hand, running can become an obsession and a compulsion for a variety of reasons, and can become the vice of somebody with the personality of an addict. The strange relationship between compulsive personalities and physical fitness is at the heart of Benjamin Heisenberg’s Austrian thriller The Robber, an engrossing and complex yet economically straightforward character-driven thriller about a marathon runner who has an addiction to robbing banks. We first meet Johann Rettenberger (Andreus Lust) jogging in a tight square around a small yard, and quickly realize that he’s in prison. As soon as he’s called back inside and is directed to his cell, he continues running on the small treadmill right next to...
- 4/29/2011
- by Landon Palmer
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Opening in limited release this week is an eclectic batch: Clio Barnard's unique exploration of playwright Andrea Dunbar, "The Arbor," Werner Herzog's 3-D history lesson, "Cave of Forgotten Dreams," Benjamin Heisenberg's German bank robber flick "The Robber," Takashi Miike's Japanese import, "13 Assassins," television producer Philip Rosenthal's doc on bringing his "Everybody Loves Raymond" to Russia, "Exporting Raymond," and Mark Ruffalo's directorial debut, "Sympathy For Delicious." The clear critics' pick ...
- 4/28/2011
- Indiewire
Trailer for Benjamin Heisenberg’s The Robber with subtitles has hit the web! I’m sure this already sounds familiar to you, and I’m sure you remember us writing about this project.
The Robber is Heisenberg’s 2010 film which tells the real-life story of marathon runner Johann Rettenberger, known as “Pump-gun Ronnie,” who made a hobby of robbing banks.
The movie premiered at the Berlin Film Festival is based on author Martin Prinz‘ source tome Der Räuber.
Sony bought the English-language remake rights to Austrian helmer Benjamin Heisenberg’s movie but in the meantime the original is getting a limited release in the Us on April 29, 2011.
Check out the rest of this report for more story details.
“In the 1980s the bank-robber Johann Rettenberger was the most wanted criminal in Austria. Known as Pump-gun Ronnie because of the weapon he used and the Ronald Reagan mask he wore for his robberies,...
The Robber is Heisenberg’s 2010 film which tells the real-life story of marathon runner Johann Rettenberger, known as “Pump-gun Ronnie,” who made a hobby of robbing banks.
The movie premiered at the Berlin Film Festival is based on author Martin Prinz‘ source tome Der Räuber.
Sony bought the English-language remake rights to Austrian helmer Benjamin Heisenberg’s movie but in the meantime the original is getting a limited release in the Us on April 29, 2011.
Check out the rest of this report for more story details.
“In the 1980s the bank-robber Johann Rettenberger was the most wanted criminal in Austria. Known as Pump-gun Ronnie because of the weapon he used and the Ronald Reagan mask he wore for his robberies,...
- 4/12/2011
- by Fiona
- Filmofilia
"Sprint, don't walk, to catch it!" My favorite quote from the trailer. Kino International has debuted the official Us trailer on Apple for the German film The Robber, starring Austrian actor Andreas Lust as Johann Rettenberger, a real marathon athlete who robbed banks as a hobby by running from then back in the 90's. This actually looks surprisingly good, like it gets into the psyche and mentality behind this guy and what made him tick. The performances look incredible, the story looks intriguing, I think I'm going to need to see this. I'm sure most of you have never heard of this film, but please give it a shot, it looks really good! Watch the official Us trailer for Benjamin Heisenberg's The Robber: You can also watch The Robber trailer in High Definition on Apple Tells the true story of Johann Rettenberger, a marathon athlete who developed ...
- 4/10/2011
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
A trailer for The Robber by Austrian director Benjamin Heisenberg has landed. The film is based on the true story of – you guessed it – a bank robber, but not just any bank robber. This particular thief led a double life as a marathon runner. Supposedly Sony has already latched on to the rights for a remake, cause you know Hollywood is so original these days – but in the meantime you can check out the trailer below.
-...
-...
- 4/8/2011
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Here's the trailer for a great looking film based on a true story called The Robber about a marathon runner who robs banks. The film was directed by Austrian director Benjamin Heisenberg, and it looks pretty suspenseful.
The film is based on the book by Martin Prinz which was published in English under the title of On the Run. Here's the description of the book,
In the 1980s the bank-robber Johann Rettenberger was the most wanted criminal in Austria. Known as Pumpgun Ronnie because of the weapon he used and the Ronald Reagan mask he wore for his robberies, he sometimes robbed two or three banks on the same day. He was also wanted for one murder, unconnected with the bank robberies. Unusually for a bank-robber, he was also a keen amateur marathon runner and had won several races. He jumped out of a window during questioning and escaped by running into the Vienna Woods.
The film is based on the book by Martin Prinz which was published in English under the title of On the Run. Here's the description of the book,
In the 1980s the bank-robber Johann Rettenberger was the most wanted criminal in Austria. Known as Pumpgun Ronnie because of the weapon he used and the Ronald Reagan mask he wore for his robberies, he sometimes robbed two or three banks on the same day. He was also wanted for one murder, unconnected with the bank robberies. Unusually for a bank-robber, he was also a keen amateur marathon runner and had won several races. He jumped out of a window during questioning and escaped by running into the Vienna Woods.
- 4/7/2011
- by Venkman
- GeekTyrant
We first started to get wind of The Robber, Austrian director Benjamin Heisenberg's account of the true story of a marathon runner who robs banks, when it hit a couple festivals last year. It was promptly snapped up by Sony [1] for a possible remake, but in the meantime the well-received original is getting a limited release in the States. Check out a trailer below. This is basically the same trailer that was cut for Germany, only with a few English-language changes. Still, it looks like it might be a thrilling little film. The source material is Martin Prinz‘s book Der Rauber, which was published in English as On the Run. and is described in detail as follows: In the 1980s the bank-robber Johann Rettenberger was the most wanted criminal in Austria. Known as Pumpgun Ronnie because of the weapon he used and the Ronald Reagan mask he wore for his robberies,...
- 4/7/2011
- by Russ Fischer
- Slash Film
German filmmaker Benjamin Heisenberg has caught American audiences attention with his new thrilling new film called "The Robber." Based off the true story of Johann Rettenberger, his new written and directed tale showcases a cast that includes Andreas Lust, Franziska Weisz and Florian Wotruba.A champion marathoner leads a double life as a serial bank robber, sprinting between fixes (and away from police cavalcades) as many as three times a day. Based on the real-life story of Austria's most-wanted bank robber of the 1980s, Benjamin Heisenberg's thriller is a lean, visceral study of pathological compulsion, featuring a riveting central performance by Andreas Lust (Revanche)."The Robber" will finally step out of the film festival circuit and into limited theaters on April 29th. Source: Apple Trailers...
- 4/7/2011
- LRMonline.com
Popping up on our radar back in the fall when Peter Gutierrez gave it an enthusiastic review from Nyff, and a month later Michael Guillen sat down with director Benjamin Heisenberg, The Robber is now getting a release stateside thanks to the people at Kino, and Apple has the trailer. And while it's pretty typical trailer-fare the film itself has such an interesting set-up at its core that it could only be based on true events. And it is. Johann Kastenberger took life to the extreme both with his marathon runs and his serial bank robbing. Heisenberg's film looks to be equal parts a great character study and an unorthodox take on the action movie. Select cities (New York and La presumably) get it starting...
- 4/7/2011
- Screen Anarchy
Late last year Sony snatched up the remake rights to Benjamin Heisenberg‘s Austrian-German thriller The Robber. The film tells the real-life story of marathon runner Johann Rettenberger, who also had a little addiction of robbing banks. It was an official selection at the New York Film Festival and our own Raffi Asdourian reviewed it, which you can read here. The original, which cost less than $300,000 stars Andreas Lust, the lead of one of my favorite films of the last few years, Revanche.
As for the remake, the producer of Spider-Man 1-3 and the Marc Webb reboot, Laura Ziskin, will also produce here. There has been rumors of The Amazing Spider-Man star Andrew Garfield leading the film, but nothing has been confirmed. Check out the trailer for the original below via Apple.
Synopsis:
A champion marathoner leads a double life as a serial bank robber, sprinting between fixes (and away...
As for the remake, the producer of Spider-Man 1-3 and the Marc Webb reboot, Laura Ziskin, will also produce here. There has been rumors of The Amazing Spider-Man star Andrew Garfield leading the film, but nothing has been confirmed. Check out the trailer for the original below via Apple.
Synopsis:
A champion marathoner leads a double life as a serial bank robber, sprinting between fixes (and away...
- 4/6/2011
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
It seems that there is about to be another run on the banks! Following on from the success of Ben Affleck’s The Town, Spider-Man and Obi-Wan Kenobi are both looking to take out a few withdrawals of their own – with two competing heist movies!
Andrew Garfield (“Spider-Man“, “The Social Network“) and Ewan McGregor (“Angels & Demons“, “The Ghost“) are both in talks for bank heist movies according to the sources of La Times. The first project, entitled The Robber, is a remake of a German film and based on a true story which will see Garfield playing a marathon runner who robs banks for the sheer sport of it. The second project, the dubiously titled Electric Slide, is also based on a true story and would see McGregor playing a “Gentleman thief” who robbed banks all over Southern California back in the 80s. This from La Times:
An existential inquiry...
Andrew Garfield (“Spider-Man“, “The Social Network“) and Ewan McGregor (“Angels & Demons“, “The Ghost“) are both in talks for bank heist movies according to the sources of La Times. The first project, entitled The Robber, is a remake of a German film and based on a true story which will see Garfield playing a marathon runner who robs banks for the sheer sport of it. The second project, the dubiously titled Electric Slide, is also based on a true story and would see McGregor playing a “Gentleman thief” who robbed banks all over Southern California back in the 80s. This from La Times:
An existential inquiry...
- 3/7/2011
- by Craig Sharp
- FilmShaft.com
I’m sure this already sounds familiar to you, and I’m sure you remember us writing about this project back in December. The Robber is an upcoming remake of Benjamin Heisenberg’s 2010 film which tells the real-life story of marathon runner Johann Rettenberger, known as “Pump-gun Ronnie,” who made a hobby of robbing banks.
Well, guess what, now it looks that Andrew Garfield is set to star in a remake of the German film.
So, according to the latest reports, The Amazing Spider-Man star Andrew Garfield has watched the original and expressed interest in playing the lead part. On the other hand, we also learned that Laura Ziskin, producer of The Amazing Spider-Man is also in charge for producing the “Robber” remake.
Based on author Martin Prinz‘s source tome, The Robber (Der Räuber) tells the real-life story that goes like this:
“In the 1980s the bank-robber Johann Rettenberger...
Well, guess what, now it looks that Andrew Garfield is set to star in a remake of the German film.
So, according to the latest reports, The Amazing Spider-Man star Andrew Garfield has watched the original and expressed interest in playing the lead part. On the other hand, we also learned that Laura Ziskin, producer of The Amazing Spider-Man is also in charge for producing the “Robber” remake.
Based on author Martin Prinz‘s source tome, The Robber (Der Räuber) tells the real-life story that goes like this:
“In the 1980s the bank-robber Johann Rettenberger...
- 3/6/2011
- by Fiona
- Filmofilia
[1] It's been rumored [2] for the past month or so that Kristen Stewart would be starring in Snow White and the Huntsman, one of three [3] Snow White-themed films in the works, and we finally have confirmation. Producer Palak Patel has tweeted that the Twilight actress is in the final stages of negotiation and will officially sign next week. Though his tweets were quickly deleted, this being the Internet, at least one person managed to grab an image before they were taken down. Patel's tweets read as follows: @aurastew KStew is officially playing Snow White and her deal is in final negotiations and will close next week. @cenup official confirmation coming next week. But we are in final negotiations. Stewart will be joining previously confirmed stars Charlize Theron, who will play the evil queen, and Viggo Mortensen, who will play the titular huntsman. Rupert Sanders is directing. Snow White and the Huntsman...
- 3/6/2011
- by Angie Han
- Slash Film
Fans of heist films get ready for some good news! There are currently two new heist films gaining momentum in Hollywood that plant to get back to the basics of bank robbery. Sony is considering making a film called The Robber, which is a remake of a well-regarded German movie about a marathon runner who robs banks for sport. According to a source close to the project, Andrew Garfield has seen the original film and is interested in playing the lead part.
The original film was directed by Benjamin Heisenberg and was based on the true story of the German bank robber Johann Rettenberger. Writers are currently being sought for the new project to add a degree of backstory to make the film more palatable to a mainstream American audience.
The second film in the works is from the producers of Blue Valentine. The long gestating project titled Electric Slide...
The original film was directed by Benjamin Heisenberg and was based on the true story of the German bank robber Johann Rettenberger. Writers are currently being sought for the new project to add a degree of backstory to make the film more palatable to a mainstream American audience.
The second film in the works is from the producers of Blue Valentine. The long gestating project titled Electric Slide...
- 3/4/2011
- by Tiberius
- GeekTyrant
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.