Willenbrock (2005)

Bernd Willenbrock is a car dealer at Magdeburg, East Germany, a small, but nonetheless successful and well-reputed businessman who has made his way in the post-communist society. A ... See full summary »

Director:

Andreas Dresen

Writers:

Christoph Hein (novel), Laila Stieler (screenplay)

Stars:

Axel Prahl, Inka Friedrich, Anne Ratte-Polle

4 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Axel Prahl	...	Bernd Willenbrock
Inka Friedrich	...	Susanne Willenbrock
Anne Ratte-Polle	...	Anna
Dagmar Manzel	...	Vera
Christian Grashof	...	Maler Waldersee
Andrzej Szopa	...	Jurek
Tilo Prückner	...	Fritz
Wladimir Tarasjanz	...	Krylow
Margit Bendokat	...	Frau Friedrich
Michael Gerber	...	Herr Friedrich
Ursula Werner	...	Kommissarin
Hans Kremer	...	Staatsanwalt
Anton Levit	...	Victor (as Anton Lewit)
Andrea Brose	...	Polizeimeisterin Holzapfel
Tobias Lehmann	...	Kommissar

Storyline

Bernd Willenbrock is a car dealer at Magdeburg, East Germany, a small, but nonetheless successful and well-reputed businessman who has made his way in the post-communist society. A sympathetic wife, a nice house, a fast car, a house on the countryside - these are the attributes of material success that count for Willenbrock. Then, things slowly begin to move into a different direction: Although he loves his wife, Willenbrock is attracted by a young student who keeps him at distance. To do her a favor, he gives her father the job of a night-watchman. But one night, the watchman gets cruelly beaten by burglars. And a bit later, the burglars come to Willenbrock's house at night. This is where the illusion of a quiet, secure, and self-satisfied life reaches an end. Things start to go wrong, well-known procedures don't work anymore, hopes and expectations of all kinds turn into disappointments. Willenbrock is challenged by an increasing feeling of lost safety and control, and he has to ...

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Plot Keywords:

male rear nudity | barefoot woman | sex in a window | downward spiral | burglar | 

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Genres:

Drama | Crime

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Germany] Official site at UFA.de

Country:

Germany

Language:

German Russian

Release Date:

17 March 2005 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Willenbrock, le roi de l'occase

Filming Locations:

Havelberg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

ARTE, Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR), Studio Babelsberg Motion Pictures

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

References Tatort: Taxi nach Leipzig (1970)

User Reviews

An East German Mike Leigh?

Andreas Dresen's precise touch for achingly realistic East German drama doesn't fail in "Willenbrock". Magdeburg's urban scenery is modern and cold, the characters are hopelessly human, the situations and dialogs are sadly comic at times, and suspense is everywhere.

Axel Prahl (again!) and Inka Friedrich shine effortlessly as the well adapted well-off couple, with all their little and not so little troubles and secrets. Lovely, if it weren't a bit depressing.

After the touching "Halbe Treppe", "Willenbrock" is another hint that Andreas Dresen might just become an East German Mike Leigh. Concerned with small town real people, not always consistent in story and quality, but true to reality and always trusting his actors, which he chooses wisely.