Film Countries Archives: Germany

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Sound of Falling In die Sonne schauen

  Mascha Schilinski

  Germany     149 minutes

Synopsis

An eerie, unsettling century-spanning saga, Sound of Falling collages together the stories of four generations of farmworking women living on the banks of Germany’s Elbe River. In a region historically defined by decades of turmoil—two world wars and Germany’s East-West divide—the film’s ghostly farmhouse setting breathes a sense of profound disquiet as the events that unfold there are echoes of the violence around them.

Connecting characters across time—from Alma in the early 20th century to Lenka in the present day—director Mascha Schilinski observes moments of poetry, horror, and grace. As we observe each woman bearing up with her lot in life, this year’s Grand Jury Prize winner at the Cannes Film Festival offers a profound and moving reflection on resilience and the ripple effects of inherited trauma.

 German with subtitles

Content Considerations

Screenings & Events

Screening

Sat, Oct 18 @ 8:45pm

at Gene Siskel Film Center, Screen 1
Venue information...

Screening

Mon, Oct 20 @ 8:15pm

at AMC NEWCITY 14, Screen 06
Venue information...

Media

Film Credits

  •   Maren Schmitt, Lucas Schmidt
  •   Mascha Schilinski, Louise Peter
  •   Evelyn Rack
  •   Fabian Gamper
  •   Hanna Heckt, Lena Urzendowsky, Laeni Geiseler, Susanne Wuest, Luise Heyer, Lea Drinda
  •   Michael Fiedler, Eike Hosenfeld
  •   Lasse Scharpen
  •   Studio Zentral, ZDF

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Silent Friend

  Ildikó Enyedi

  Germany, Hungary, France     147 minutes

Synopsis

Nestled in the heart of a university campus in Germany, a majestic gingko tree stands tall. Bearing silent witness to the school’s history and the lives of the people that have passed through its halls, the stately plant serves as a kind of nexus that connects three characters across time: in 1908, the college’s first female student observes hidden patterns in plant life through photography; in 1972, a young student is profoundly changed by observing and cataloging the behavior of a geranium; in 2020, a neuroscientist (Tony Leung) in Covid lockdown begins a series of unexpected botanical experiments. Could the trees be watching us?

Seamlessly toggling between time periods, Silent Friend is a century-spanning exploration of humanity’s fascination with nature’s greatest mysteries. Featuring a stellar ensemble cast and a winsome sense of wonder, the film is a thoughtful meditation on longing, belonging, and what it means to be human.

  

 German, English with subtitles

Screenings & Events

Screening

Wed, Oct 22 @ 8:30pm

at AMC NEWCITY 14, Screen 06
Venue information...

Screening

Fri, Oct 24 @ 8:00pm

at AMC NEWCITY 14, Screen 06
Venue information...

Film Credits

  •   Reinhard Brundig, Monika Mécs, Nicolas Elghozi
  •   Ildikó Enyedi
  •   Károly Szalai
  •   Gergely Pálos
  •   Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Luna Wedler, Enzo Brumm, Sylvester Groth, Martin Wuttke, Johannes Hegemann, Rainer Bock, Léa Seydoux
  •   Gábor Keresztes, Kristóf Kelemen
  •   Pandora Film, Inforg-M&M Film, Galatée Films

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Short Summer

  Nastia Korkia

  Germany, France, Serbia     101 minutes

Synopsis

Eight-year-old Katya is spending the summer with her grandparents in the Russian countryside. She and her friends play soccer, hide and seek, and roam the nearby fields, their lives adopting the languid rhythms of the season. Amid the rolling hills and serene landscapes, time seems to stand still. Yet all the while, a war is raging on the periphery, intruding on daily life in ways both large and small.

Drawing on real-life memories from her upbringing in the early 2000s during Russia’s Second Chechen War, director Nastia Korkia carefully crafts a picture of a childhood coexisting with chaos and conflict in which violence seems to lurk around every corner. Featuring some of the year’s most stirring, thought-provoking images and a textured, earth-toned visual palette, Short Summer is an unforgettable, atmospheric vision of growing up in the inescapable shadow of war.

 Russian with subtitles

Screenings & Events

Screening

Sun, Oct 19 @ 5:30pm

at AMC NEWCITY 14, Screen 04
Venue information...

Screening

Mon, Oct 20 @ 5:00pm

at Gene Siskel Film Center, Screen 2
Venue information...

Media

Film Credits

  •   Dirk Decker, Andrea Schütte, Natalia Drozd
  •   Nastia Korkia, Mikhail Bushkov
  •   Benjamin Mirguet
  •   Evgeny Rodin
  •   Maiia Pleshkevich, Yakov Karykhalin, Aleksandr Karpushin, Vesna Jovanović, Alexander Feklistov
  •   Tamtam

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Sentimental Value Affeksjonsverdi

  Joachim Trier

  Norway, France, Denmark, Germany     134 minutes

Synopsis

In the wake of their mother’s passing, sisters Nora and Agnes are reunited with their estranged father, the charismatic Gustav, a once-renowned filmmaker. Never without an agenda, Gustav offers Nora, a talented but tortured stage actress, a role in what he hopes will be his comeback film. After Nora turns it down, she soon discovers he has given the part to an eager young Hollywood star. As the film takes shape, the two sisters begin to see the echoes of their own stories in this work of supposed fiction, and they must confront their family’s complicated past before they can move forward.

Continuing to explore the emotional depths of human relationships with signature grace, Joaquim Trier (The Worst Person in the World) returns with this poignant family drama that draws the very best from its veteran cast, which includes Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, and Elle Fanning. Within the bright rooms of the family home—a protagonist in itself—Trier crafts a living stage in which cinema and the performance of generational wounds might offer hope of healing.

 English, Norwegian with subtitles

Screenings & Events

Screening

Sun, Oct 19 @ 1:30pm

at AMC NEWCITY 14, Screen 13
Venue information...

This screening is not eligible for redemption with a Moviegoer or Passport Pass.

Screening

Sat, Oct 25 @ 3:00pm

at AMC NEWCITY 14, Screen 13
Venue information...

This screening is not eligible for redemption with a Moviegoer or Passport Pass.

Film Credits

  •   Maria Ekerhovd, Andrea Berentsen Ottmar
  •   Joachim Trier, Eskil Vogt
  •   Olivier Bugge Coutté
  •   Kasper Tuxen Andersen
  •   Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Elle Fanning, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas
  •   Eva Yates, Tom Quinn, Jeff Deutchman, Alexandre Mallet-Guy, Fridrik H. Mar, Magnus Thomassen, Kristina Börjeson, Anders Kjærhauge, Ola Strøm, Solène Léger, Nancy Grant, Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Joachim Trier, Eskil Vogt

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The Secret Agent O Agente Secreto

  Kleber Mendonça Filho

  Brazil, France, The Netherlands, Germany     160 minutes

Synopsis

Brazil, 1977. Marcelo, a university researcher, is on the lam. He holes up in the seaside city of Recife, hoping to reconnect with his young son before ultimately escaping the country. Fearing for his life, he assumes an alias to avoid attracting the attention of Brazil’s military dictatorship. As he awaits his opportunity to flee, mysterious forces beyond his control start to close in around him.

Director Kleber Mendonça Filho (Pictures of Ghosts) offers an urgent, entertaining political thriller replete with international intrigue, mistaken identities, and red herrings galore. The film is at once a loving snapshot of a place in time and a timely fable about greed, power, and forces beyond our control. Winner of both the Best Actor (Wagner Moura) and Best Director prizes at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, The Secret Agent captivates with its twisting, turning plotlines and colorful ’70s flare.

 Portuguese with subtitles

Screenings & Events

Screening

Fri, Oct 17 @ 8:00pm

at AMC NEWCITY 14, Screen 13
Venue information...

Screening

Sat, Oct 18 @ 8:15pm

at AMC NEWCITY 14, Screen 13
Venue information...

Film Credits

  •   Emilie Lesclaux
  •   Kleber Mendonça Filho
  •   Eduardo Serrano, Matheus Farias
  •   Evgenia Alexandrova
  •   Wagner Moura, Maria Fernanda Cândido, Gabriel Leone, Carlos Francisco, Alice Carvalho, Hermila Guedes
  •   Brent Travers