Films with: Trotta, Margarethe von

Amerikanische Soldat The American soldier /

Fassbinder's homage to American gangster movies. Ricky, a professional killer, is hired by 3 Munich policemen upon his return to Germany from America. He visits family, meets up with friends, and drops by old haunts, all the while carrying out his kills without hesitation of emotion. Upon completion of all his assignments, Ricky finds himself in a shoot-out with the cops who hired him.

DVD 4543

Bleierne Zeit Marianne and Juliane /

Based on a true story, this film relates the emotional and psychological relationship between two sisters. Parallels the personal history of the Ensslin sisters: Gudrun (Marianne in the film) was imprisoned as a terrorist in the Stammheim prison, where she died, supposedly a suicide, in the fall of 1977 ; Christiane (Juliane in the film) worked for some time as an editor of a women's magazine, "Emma", and was determined to prove that her sister did not kill herself.

DVD 12405

Fangschuss

Set in Latvia in 1919 at the end of the Russian civil war, a Prussian soldier rejects the advances of an aristocratic woman. She retaliates by joining the Bolsheviks.

DVD 1987

Hannah Arendt

A biopic of Hannah Arendt, the influential German-Jewish philosopher and political theorist. Arendt's reporting on the 1961 trial of ex-Nazi Adolf Eichmann in The New Yorker, controversial both for her portrayal of Eichmann and the Jewish councils, introduced her now-famous concept of the "Banality of Evil." Using footage from the actual Eichmann trial and weaving a narrative that spans three countries, the director von Trotta beautifully turns the often invisible passion for thought into immersive, dramatic cinema. An Official Selection at the Toronto International and New York Jewish Film Festivals, Hannah Arendt also co-stars Klaus Pohl as philosopher Martin Heidegger, Nicolas Woodeson as New Yorker editor William Shawn, and two-time Oscar Nominee Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs) as novelist Mary McCarthy--adapted from the from Zeitgeist Films web page.

DVD 9865

Heller Wahn Sheer madness /

Chronicles the friendship between two very different women. One is a lecturer in literature and separated from her stage director husband, and the other is the shy wife of a well-known peace expert. As the two women become closer, their husbands become annoyed at their own loss.

DVD 12335

Rosa Luxemburg

A portrait of Rosa Luxemburg, the legendary political and social leader known as "Red Rosa." Rosa Luxemburg, a Polish Jew, was born on March 5, 1871. She became German through an unconsummated marriage and at the beginning of the century, she played an important role in the fields of politics and morals. She was at the sides of Bebel, Jaures, and Lenin during all of the major international congresses. She was also an ardent pacifist and spent the greatest part of the war in prison.

DVD 12350

Rosenstrasse

After the death of her father, Hannah becomes concerned with the strange behavior of her mother. As her mother's troubled childhood is revealed, Hannah realizes how little she ever knew.

DVD 3904

Schwestern, oder, die Balance des Glücks Sisters, or, The Balance of happiness /

Two sisters share a complex and compelling relationship, emotionally codependent but psychologically conflicted as the balance of power dramatically shifts between them. Maria is a most proficient executive secretary, encouraging Anna to finish her studies and start a career. Anna seems dependent, emotionally and economically, on Maria. It's more than just sibling rivalry -- they are Siamese twin-like, bonded to one another, so that eventually it is uncertain as to who exploits and dominates whom. When Maria starts to develop a serious relationship with Maurice, the son of her boss, Anna broods, threatens to quit university, takes pills, and eventually takes a selfish and drastic step that plummets Maria into solitude.

DVD 12333

Verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum The lost honor of Katharina Blum /

In the period of several days, Katharina's privacy and her honor are destroyed, first by the police who terrorize her, and then by the yellow press, which creates in her name the image of a politicized Bonnie Parker.

DVD 2205

Versprechen The promise /

East-Berlin, 1961, shortly after the erection of the Wall. Konrad, Sophie and three of their friends plan a daring escape to Western Germany. The attempt is successful, except for Konrad, who remains behind. From then on, and for the next 28 years, Konrad and Sophie will attempt to meet again, in spite of the Iron Curtain. Konrad, who has become a reputed Astrophysicist, tries to take advantage of scientific congresses outside Eastern Germany to arrange encounters with Sophie. But in a country where the political police, the Stasi, monitors the moves of all suspicious people (such as Konrad's sister Barbara and her husband Harald), preserving one's privacy, ideals and self-respect becomes an exhausting fight, even as the Eastern block begins its long process of disintegration.

DVD 12351

Vision aus dem Leben der Hildegard von Bingen = from the life of Hildegard von Bingen /

The story of Hildegard von Bingen, a 12th century Benedictine nun, who was one of the first women to preach and interpret Biblical scripture.

DVD 8106

Zweite Erwachen der Christa Klages The second awakening of Christa Klages /

Christa Klages is a young mother distraught at the prospect that her day care center is running out of money. With her lover, Werner, and another friend, she robs a bank. The friend is captured and Werner is killed while eluding the police, so Christa flees with her friend, Ingrid, who helps Christa escape to Portugal.

DVD 12334