Film: Cherry Blossoms
Wednesday, October 5, 7:00 PM
Goethe-Institut Los Angeles
5750 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Written and directed by: Doris Dörrie. Germany, 2008, 124 min. German with English subtitles, digital.
Starring: Aya Irizuki, Birgit Minichmayr, Floriane Daniel, Maximilian Brückner, Felix Eitner, Nadja Uhl, Hannelore Elsner, Elmar Wepper, Tadashi Endo
Inspired in part by Yasujirō Ozu’s TOKYO MONOGATARI (1953), which, in turn, was inspired by Leo McCarey’s American film MAKE WAY FOR TOMORROW (1937), Dörrie’s 3rd feature film shot in Japan is a tender, emotionally intense and profoundly moving story of marital love and the search for one’s self.
Only Trudi (Elsner) knows that her husband Rudi (Wepper) is terminally ill. Following his Doctor’s advice that the couple takes one last trip together, Trudi convinces her husband to visit their children and grandchildren in Berlin.
Upon arrival, they realize that the children are too caught up in their own lives and seem disinterested in their aging parents. Instead of burdening their children, the couple leaves Berlin to stay at a hotel on the Baltic Sea coast, where Trudy suddenly passes away unexpectedly.
Rudi is devastated and has no idea what to do with his remaining days until, in an attempt to honor his wife’s life and her love for Japan and Butoh dance, he makes one last journey to visit their youngest son, Karl (Brückner), who lives in Tokyo.
Awards:
Bavarian Film Award 2007 (Producers’ Prize & Best Actor Elmar Wepper)
German Film Award 2008 (Best Film in Silver, Best Actor Elmar Wepper, Best Costumes)
Best Film Golden Space Needle Award Seattle 2008
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The Goethe-Institut Los Angeles presents “Enlightenment Guaranteed: Doris Dörrie Films” from Aug. 31 through Oct. 5 at its venue, 5750 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 100 Los Angeles, CA 90036.
Free Admission with RSVP via Eventbrite
Filmmaker: Doris Dörrie
Following the international box office success of her 1985 breakthrough comedy MÄNNER (MEN), writer, director and producer Doris Dörrie has become one of Germany’s best-known filmmakers.
This series of six films provides a sampling of Dörrie’s extensive filmography, with a special focus on films she made in Japan.
As unconventional and determined as many of the characters in her films, Dörrie, a collector of stories, is often described as a “Chonicler of the present,” who is unafraid of placing her characters in sometimes bewildering situations in which they have no choice but to reinvent themselves.
Dörries long-time interest in Zen Buddhism has also found its way into her storytelling, as well as drawn her to set four of her feature films Japan.
Three of these films ERLEUCHTUNG GARANTIERT (ENLIGHTENMENT GUARANTEED), DER FISCHER UND SEINE FRAU (THE FISHERMAN AND HIS WIFE), and KIRSCHBLÜTEN-HANAMI (CHERRY BLOSSOMS) are presented in this series.
All films are in German with English Subtitles.
This film series is presented by Goethe-Institut Los Angeles with the support of the Japan Foundation, Los Angeles.
German film “Enlightenment Guaranteed” by Doris Dorrie
ENLIGHTENMENT GUARANTEED (1999)
Written and Directed by Doris Dörrie
Wednesday, September 7, from 7:00pm to 10:00pm
Goethe-Institut Los Angeles, 5750 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 100, Los Angeles CA 90036
Free Admission with RSVP via Eventbrite
Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
$1 validated parking (for events only) on weekdays after 6:00 pm and all day on weekends in the Wilshire Courtyard West underground garage-P1.
For more information, call (323) 525- 3388 or email info@losangeles.goethe.org
Written and Directed by: Doris Dörrie, Germany (1999), 109 min., German and Japanese with English Subtitles, digital. Starring: Gustav Peter Wöhler, Uwe Ochsenknecht, Heiner Lauterbach, Anica Dobra, Ulrike Kriener
Brothers Gustav and Uwe couldn’t be any different from one another. In an effort to find himself, 40-something Gustav plans a trip for a retreat in a Zen monastery in Japan. After his wife leaves him, Uwe’s life is in a tailspin. Distraught, Uwe asks his Gustav if he can accompany him on his trip, and Gustav reluctantly agrees. Enroute, the two brothers mid-life crises take a turn for the worse when they get lost in the neon jungle of night-time Tokyo.
With nothing in their pockets, the two wander through the city, where even the simplest of tasks become major, even comical challenges. When they ultimately arrive at the monastery, what awaits them is not what they expected, as they are met with a different set of subtle challenges, leading the two to question, whether or not they can ever truly obtain enlightenment.
This screening is one of a six part series films that provide a sampling of Doris Dörrie’s extensive filmography, with a special focus on films she made in Japan.
Presented with the support of the Japan Foundation Los Angeles.
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(c) Constantin-Film
The Fisherman and His Wife
September 21, at 7:00PM
The Goethe-Institut Los Angeles
5750 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 100 Los Angeles, CA 90036
Written and Directed by: Doris Dörrie, Germany, 2005, 104 min. German with English subtitles, digital.
Starring: Alexandra Maria Lara, Christian Ulmen, Simon Verhoeven, Young-Shin Kim
While travelling through Japan in search of inspiration, young fashion designer Ida (Lara) meets the bashful veterinarian Otto (Ulmen), who along with his business partner Leo (Verhoeven) scours the country in search of rare and expensive Koi fish for their wealthy clients.
For Ida and Otto, it is love at first sight and they immediately get married in Japan.
Back at home in Germany, Ida is now pregnant and the couple moves into a small, cramped apartment.
Otto is content with his new life and family, but Ida has ambitions of her own.
As Ida soon feels trapped by her surroundings, the new family’s bliss quickly fades.
Things look up, however, when Ida’s latest design (an extravagant koi-inspired scarf collection) catches the eye of a prominent fashion enterprise, creating an overnight sensation, and tension between her and Otto.
Dörrie’s second feature film to be set in Japan, draws inspiration from the classic Grimm’s fairytale of the same name, but plays out in a world, centered around Dörrie’s uniquely offbeat characters and signature style.