Self-ironic, funny, entertaining... How actor Til Schweiger, with KEINOHRHASEN, is making Germans laugh... The Good German -- Ulrich Tukur as «John Rabe» He has been compared to Oskar Schindler. John Rabe was a German business man working in China in 1937 when the Japanese invaded. As imperial troops began slaughtering the civilians of Nanking, Rabe took a stand, rescuing a quarter of million people. German director Florian Gallenberger has taken John Rabe's story as the subject of his second feature film, shooting on original locations in Nanking and Shanghai. Ulrich Tukur, known to international audiences for his supporting role in Oscar-winner THE LIVES OF OTHERS, stars as Rabe. KINO reports from the set.Big Screen Entertainment -- The Secret of Til Schweiger's Success After failing to make it big in the U.S.A., Germany's favorite film star has come back home and gone back to basics. By focusing on his strengths in romantic comedy, Til Schweiger delivered the local box office hit, BAREFOOT. Now his latest film, with the bizarre title KEINOHRHASEN hits the screen. As with BAREFOOT, Schweiger wrote, directed and stars in the film. And he has again surrounded himself with some of the best German acting talent around: Nora Tschirner, Matthias Schweighöfer, Jürgen Vogel, Barbara Rudnik and, in a special walk-on role, boxing world champion Vladimir Klitschko. KEINOHRHASEN is already a hit, with more than 2 million tickets sold. KINO looks at the Schweiger phenomenon -- what is it about this tough guy that German audiences find so funny? SHORTCUTS * BESTE GEGEND (Heimatfilm) -- The second in the Markus Rosenmüller's Heimat film triology. Another story of friendship, freedom and leaving home, set in rural Bavaria. * THE RED ZORA (Children's Film) -- A new adaptation of the classic children's book starring newcomer Linn Reusse as the female head of an all-boys street gang. Also featuring veteran stars Mario Adorf, Ben Becker and Dominique Horwitz. * VORNE IST VERDAMMT WEIT WEG (Social Satire) -- The German cabaret star Frank-Markus Barwasser makes his big screen debut as the chauffeur of a big-boss capitalist. With subtle, tongue-in-cheek humour, the film takes on the serious subjects of unemployment and globalisation (also starring Peter Lohmeyer and Christiane Paul). * BERLIN BY THE SEA (Romantic Comedy) -- The debut film from director Wolfgang Eissler. A coming-of-age drama in hipster Berlin starring Robert Stadlober, Jana Pallaske and Anna Brüggemann.The Sound of Emotion -- Film Composer Annette Focks Annette Focks is one of the most promising young composers on the German film scene. A promise she fulfilled with her score to the German Film Prize winning film FOUR MINUTES, ironically the story of a classical music protégé. KINO paid Focks a visit at her studio in Munich, where she is currently working on the score to KRABAT the new film from Marco Kreuzpaintner.

• published: 23 Jan 2008
• views: 85341