Night Shapes
(1999)
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Night Shapes
(1999)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
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Myriam Abbas | ... |
Hanna
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Dominique Horwitz | ... |
Victor
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Oliver Breite | ... |
Jochen
(as Oliver Bäßler)
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Susanne Bormann | ... |
Patty
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Michael Gwisdek | ... |
Peschke
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Ricardo Valentim | ... |
Feliz
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Ade Sapara | ... |
Ricardo
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Imogen Kogge | ... |
Rita
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| Horst Krause | ... |
Taxifahrer /
Cab Driver
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Axel Prahl | ... |
Polizist /
Police Officer
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Carmen-Maja Antoni | ... |
Frau im Hospitz /
Woman in Hospice
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Ursula Karusseit | ... |
Frau Gerhardt
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Dagmar Sitte | ... |
Kellnerin /
Waitress
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Christel Peters | ... |
Alte Dame /
Old Lady
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Josefine Leuschner | ... |
Rote
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The Pope is in town and the night of his visit is anything but heavenly for some of Berlin's inhabitants. The down-and-out, the rich and the poor, the polizei, the street kids and taxi drivers, in search of a little bit of happiness, all end up going for a harrowing odyssey through the labyrinth of the big city. Written by L.H. Wong <lhw@sfs.org.sg>
Writer/director Andreas Dresen has produced a nice little film with Nachtgestalten. It works on a level where Michael Haneke's Code inconnue failed miserably. The people, thrown together in a cold city where it is unwise to lift a finger to help a stranger in distress, are real and believable. Their actions are determined by the logic of their personalities and social position; watching Code inconnue you get the nauseating feeling that it is Haneke's pretentious opinion that is being forced down your throat; again and again. Dresen's stories allow for biting humor as well as moments of painful desperation; especially in my favourite story : that of the homeless couple in search of a hotelroom. Andreas Dresen is one of those new wave of young German directors who are pulling their country out of the oblivion where I for one thought they would be for a long time yet. Together with Tom Tykwer and Roland Suso Richter - to name but a few- Andreas Dresen is a director to watch. His script is fluent and well balanced; the direction never showy but to the point. It's a shame that good European films like Nachtgestalten don't get a general release in most countries while appalling creations like Code Inconnue do.