2001 film by Nicolette Krebitz

anthology film

On her way home from her uninspiring office job, Ania catches sight of an untamed wolf on the outskirts of the city. For a brief moment they lock eyes and the wolf’s gaze instantly changes Ania’s life. The young woman who seemed to have accepted the insignificance of her own existence is overwhelmed by a sensual longing for this wolf. She becomes obsessed with the wild and beautiful animal, and ruthlessly determined in her desire to domesticate it. Sexually charged and visually poetic, director Nicolette Krebitz articulately and sensitively explores this unique story of a young woman who gradually liberates herself from the conformism of society and the restrictions of femininity. Driven by Lilith Stangenberg's uncompromising performance, expect a unique and unpredictable love story and a cinematic accomplishment very much on the wild side.

A woman's life is destroyed when she discovers that her husband has another family.

Anna is 60 and her acting heyday is now behind her. She lives on her own but has a friend and confidant in her downstairs neighbour Michel, who is also single. Reluctantly, Anna accepts a job as a language coach for 17-year-old Adrian who has a speech impediment and is something of a misfit. She recognises him as the boy who recently snatched her handbag in the street ... “Irresistible” is the term that springs to mind when describing this light-footed and humorous story of an impossible love affair between a thief and a lady. Director Nicolette Krebitz handles the fragile balance between the dictates of society and the heart with great care. The fresh breath of freedom blows through a narrative that makes room for a nod to old West Berlin, some gentle teasing of Germany’s French neighbours, and even a ghost that is chased away to make way for new possibilities. But most of all, A E I O U is a passionate love letter to Sophie Rois and, perhaps through her, all the brilliant actors neglected by an industry all too fond of young blood. Well, it turns out that these young players, embodied here by newcomer Milan Herms, not only look up to their more experienced peers, they truly love them.

Over sixty years after the end of the Second World War, forty years after the student revolts of 1968, thirty years after the “German Autumn” of 1977, twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and, in the midst of the social upheaval caused by the reforms of “Agenda 2010” as the country moves into the globalised world of the 21st century, a group of German film directors have come together to create a panoramic impression – each from their own individual point of view – of the social and political climate in today’s Federal Republic. Each of the directors involved in this episodic film has created their personal cinematic take on present-day Germany. 招蘇珊桑塔格和《赤色風暴》女恐怖分子的魂；通街都是塔利班，窮小子必然是小偷。這邊拆舊樓是忘記「德國童年」，那邊放棄歌德字體，編輯要死。《黑金殺機》湯泰華扯頭纜，13導演響應，有《快樂的謊言》的胡夫根貝嘉、《玩謝希特拉》的丹尼李維、去年焦點導演《收視大騎劫》的漢斯雲格拿，和《天堂邊緣》的法堤艾金等，劇情片外也有論文和抒情詩紀錄片另類觀察。精彩對白摘錄：每個人都可以成為恐怖分子／德國已沒有人挨餓／德國需要一記腦震盪／德國已矣，他們相信不已。角度縱橫勁抽有深度有態度，絕非只有浪漫溫馨，模仿《我愛巴黎》。