German Film Series
This is a great way to hear a lot of spoken German. The films are often in German with English subtitles, so all are welcome to come and are able to understand the films, even those with few or no German language skills. The films chosen are an eclectic mix of old classics and more recent releases. All films are shown at 7:00pm in UL 308.

Films for spring 2007:

Olympia
Monday, April 16
(Dir: Leni Reifenstahl, 111 min., 1936)
After being commissioned by the 1936 Olympic Committee to create a feature film of the Berlin Olympics, Riefenstahl shot a documentary that celebrates the human body by combining the poetry of bodies in motion with close-ups of athletes in the heat of competition. The film glorifies the young male body and expresses the Nazi attitude toward athletic prowess.

Der Verlorene
Monday, April 23
(Dir: Peter Lorre, 98 min., 1951)
During WWII, Dr. Rothe, a German research scientist, discovers that his fiancée has been selling his scientific secrets to the British. In a fit of pique, he murders her, but is not punished for the crime, which is passed off by the Nazi authorities as justifiable homicide. Unable to console himself, Rothe wanders the countryside, killing every woman who reminds him of his lost love - while the Gestapo dutifully covers his tracks.

Die Ehe der Maria Braun
Monday, April 30
(Dir: Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 120 min., 1978)
Amidst the chaos of a bombing raid on Berlin during the last days of WWII, protagonist Maria is married to Hermann Braun in a rushed ceremony. After only one night together, Hermann returns to the front. After the war ends, Maria hears that Hermann has been killed. With the portrayal of Maria’s ensuing struggle, the film laments the unfortunate debasement of Germany's once proud cultural heritage.

Die Legende von Paul und Paula
Monday, May 7
(Dir: Heiner Carow, 105 min., 1972)
Paul and Paula have known each other for a long time. Paul is married, has a career, and is bored. Paula lives alone with her two children, having left her philandering husband. Paula falls in love with Paul, but Paul is reluctant to endanger his career and his marriage. When one of Paula's children is killed in an accident, Paul discovers his love for Paula, although she now rejects him.

Schwestern, oder die Balance des Glücks
Monday, May 14
(Dir: Margarethe von Trotta, 95 min., 1979)
Sisters Maria and Anna live together. Maria is a successful executive secretary, who encourages Anna to finish her studies and to start a career. Anna broods, threatens to quit school, takes pills, and keeps a diary. When Maria's relationship with Maurice, the son of her boss, starts to lead to love, Anna takes a selfish and drastic step that plummets Maria into solitude.

Lola rennt
Monday, May 21
(Dir: Tom Tykwer, 81 min., 1998)
The film explores how events are affected by fate and chance. The film follows the events between a woman, Lola, and her boyfriend, Mani, whom she desperately tries to save from death by helping him obtain a huge amount of money he carelessly lost. The film takes the viewer on three different journeys with Lola, all controlled by fate, exploring what would happen in each.

The American Friend
Monday, May 28
(Dir: Wim Wenders, 127 min., 2000)
Tom Ripley has a great deal with an art forger: the forger creates the paintings, and Tom sells them. Another criminal business associate wants Tom to go in for an even riskier enterprise: murder. Tom suggests his associate ask a local, terminally ill picture framer instead: no one would suspect him. The craftsman agrees to the misdeed and descends into a nightmarish world of deceit and double dealing.