The Best of German Cinema June 2, 2007

Arena Theater, Berlin&Beyond, Goethe-Institut San Francisco present:

Saturday, June 2, 3 pm
EMIL & THE DETECTIVES / Emil und die Detektive
Germany 2001, 110 min. Directed by Franziska Buch
In German with English subtitles read by John Hooper
Bad luck follows 12-year-old Emil when he leaves his hometown for a visit to the big city while his divorced dad recovers from a car accident. En route, Emil is robbed of his life savings on the train. In Berlin he meets “The Detectives”, a band of wily street kids led by tough girl, Pony. These low-tech spy-kids rely on old fashioned ingenuity (though a cell phone and iBook do figure in their caper) and a rock solid brother and sisterhood that makes them nearly invincible as they help Emil track down the villain and recover his money.
Based on Erich Kästner’s highly acclaimed and immensely popular children’s book written in 1928 this is the latest of a series of film adaptations of Emil und die Detektive.

Saturday, June 2, 6pm
THE CAPTAIN OF KÖPENICK / Der Hauptmann von Köpenick
Germany 1956, 93 min. Directed by Helmut Käutner, starring Heinz Rühmann
In German with English subtitles
Released after serving time for a petty crime, an impoverished shoemaker is keen to make a fresh start, but finds himself mired in a catch 22 until he stumbles across a second-hand captain’s uniform. He decides to wear the uniform and embarks on a quest to fool the entire German army. As the SF International Film Festival’s Opening Night Film on December 4, 1957, THE CAPTAIN FROM KÖPENICK was critically acclaimed, and leading man Heinz Rühmann received the first Golden Gate Award for Best Actor. A true German classic, the film mercilessly lampoons bureaucracy and authoritarianism and seems as relevant here and now as it was at the turn of the century in Berlin.

Saturday, June 2, 8.30 pm
THE DEVIL’S GENERAL / Des Teufels General
Germany 1954/55, 115 min. Directed by Helmut Käutner starring Curt Jürgens
In German with English subtitels
The Luftwaffen General Harras in Helmut Käutner's film is based on the real-life pilot and aviation pioneer Ernst Udet. In a vintage performance by Curd Jürgens, General Harras is portrayed as a stubborn, power-driven officer, vain, irreverent to the point of recklessness and a womanizer.
During the course of WW2 in 1941, and following certain key experiences, he increasingly develops an inner distance from Hitler's regime. He is arrested, then released on the condition that he root out the saboteurs responsible for a series of fighter plane crashes but Harras refuses to denounce the perpetrators...

Tickets: $7 general, $10 for both evening films (at 6 & 8:30PM)
$5 seniors and children
Free for children under 10 accompanied by an adult

For more information please visit www.arenatheater.org or call 707.882.3272.

Official Website: http://www.goethe.de/ins/us/saf/en2284232.htm