JERICHOW

Directed by Christian Petzold

SUNDAY JANUARY 18 6:15PM CASTRO

A dishonorably discharged Afghanistan vet, Thomas (Benno Fürmann) has come home for his mom’s funeral in the tiny town of Jerichow, west of Berlin. Violent clashes with his relatives set the film’s edgy tone. While the penniless Thomas stays on at the vacant family house, a serendipitous event alters his whole life. Ali Ozkan (Hilmi Soezer), the Turkish-German owner of 45 takeout joints in the area, crashes his car while drunk, and when his driver’s license is suspended, he offers Thomas a job as his driver. As soon as Ali’s blonde German wife, Laura (Nina Hoss), appears on the horizon, we know where things are headed. Even though she’s initially distant, willowy Laura is soon canoodling with hunky Thomas behind Ali’s back. And when Ali says he’s going off to Turkey for a few days, the seeds are sown for dark deeds.

Co-presented by the SAN FRANCISCO FILM SOCIETY

IN PERSON: Christian Petzold

PURCHASE TICKET

US Premiere

Country
Germany
Year
2008
Run Time
35mm, 93min., German
with English subtitles
Cast
Benno Fuermann
Nina Hoss
Hilmi Soezer
Camera
Hans Fromm
Screenwriter
Christian Petzold
Printsource
The Cinema Guild
Email
info@cinemaguild.com

Awards
Venice Film Festival 2008: In Competition for Golden Lion
Toronto International Film Festival 2008:
In Contemporary World Cinema Competition

Director

Christian Petzold
was born in 1960 in Hilden. He studied German language and literature in Berlin and attended the German Film and Television Academy in Berlin (dffb) from 1988 to 1994. Assistant director for Harun Farocki and Hartmut Bitomsky he received the German Film Award in Gold for DIE INNERE SICHERHEIT (2000). His films, all shown at Berlin & Beyond, include TOTER MANN (2001), WOLFSBURG (2002), GESPENSTER (2005) and YELLA (2007).