julia jentsch Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Julia Jentsch Lands Starring Role in 'Effi Briest'
Filed under: Drama », Foreign Language », Romance », Casting », Deals »
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One of my favorite interviews of last year was Julia Jentsch, a young German actress on the rise, who was at the time starring as Nazi-resistance hero Sophie Scholl in the under-appreciated film Sophie Scholl: The Final Days. Anyone who has seen the film is hard-pressed to forget it -- it follows the young freedom fighter as a minor screw-up in her daily routine lands her in the hands of the local police. If they find out who she really is, she'll be executed as fast as she can be dragged to the gallows. There really was no better suspense film released last year, and I highly recommend it to anyone. However, after the film absurdly lost the Best Foreign Language Oscar, I wondered if Jentsch would fade back into the obscurity of German stage work, which she was doing when I interviewed her, but now comes news that she's snagged the lead in a major helming of the German literary classic Effi Briest, which many consider one of the finest novels ever written.
The story, by Theodor Fontane, is about a young woman who is living a miserable existence in an arranged marriage to a man somewhat above her station in life and eventually takes on a lover who is equally unsuitable for her. Juliane Koehler, who was memorable as Eva Braun in 2004's Hitler saga Downfall, will play Effi's mother and Sebastian Koch, who starred in Verhoeven's incredible Dutch epic Black Book, will be playing one of the film's male leads. So in other words, the leading lights of German cinema are on this thing. The film is being directed by Hermine Huntgeburth, who I confess to knowing absolutely nothing about, but hopefully I'll learn more after this film sees the light of day. The pic is ramping up for a Berlin start date on September 3rd, exactly. Very precise -- that's Germans for you.
New Pics Get (European) Government Cash
Filed under: Drama », Foreign Language », Thrillers », Casting », Newsstand », Cinematical Indie »
Among the four films recently handed about $1.7 million each by The German-French Film Funding Commission are a couple that include fairly big names. (As an aside, how freaking awesome is it that the rest of the world has programs by which government money goes to funding film production? And why don't we do this? Or do we, and I'm just missing it?) The first, entitled Capri 1934, will star German actress Julia Jentsch, best known in this country for her blindingly powerful performance in the title role of Sophie Scholl - The Last Days. The film, which will be shot in English, is based on a novel by Italian writer Alberto Moravia, whose works were the basis for both The Conformist and Jean-Luc Godard's Contempt, and will be directed by Benoit Jacquot. (I'd tell you more about the story, but the book doesn't seem to be in print in English, at least not here or in the UK.)The second project featuring a familiar name is La Chambre d'ami, a psychological thriller set on the northern coast of France. The film will star Jérémie Renier (who recently gained international attention for his starring role in festival/arthouse hit L'Enfant) and the lovely Fanny Ardant under the direction of Christian de Chalonge.
Review: Sophie Scholl - The Final Days
Filed under: Drama », Foreign Language », New Releases », Theatrical Reviews », Oscar Watch », Cinematical Indie »
Sophie Scholl (Julia Jentsch, who astonishes at every turn), along with her brother Hans (Fabian Hinrichs) and four friends, were the only members of an anti-Nazi organization called The White Rose. Over the few short months of the group's existence in 1941 and 1942, they printed and distributed six leaflets to German and Austrian citizens, decrying the Nazi regime and urging resistance. Caught and convicted of high treason, troop demoralization, and aiding the enemy, Sophie Scholl was executed in Munich on February 22, 1943. She was 21.
Though Scholl is is something of an icon in Germany, she's virtually unknown here in the US, which is why Marc Rothemund’s Oscar-nominated Sophie Scholl - The Final Days is such a revelation. Using sources including newly-available Nazi interrogation notes, Rothemund’s fictional film explores the last few days of Scholl’s life in searing detail, from the printing of the fateful pamphlet on the night of February 17 to her death only five days later. Aided by a pair of remarkable performances, he has created a film that does his central character the honor of not only living up to her legacy, but also making it relevant to modern audiences.
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