A man, a woman, two children: a family. He is a musician. She used to be one until the children came. One day, Marie discovers that not far from where they live, her husband Thomas has set up a second life for himself, a second home with a second family. Marie falls into shock, slowly sinking into her pain by the end of the day. Finally, she is driven by her desperate need for consolation and explanations to seek Thomas at his night concert in an old castle, where there is a masked ball. From then on, she embarks on an emotional journey that will lead her to make an unexpected decision.
Some disasters come quietly, slowly creeping up from behind, hitting without warning, and every attempt to survive them, to explain or understand them is like quick sand. It only leads deeper into despair. This is the story of a woman whose seemingly harmonious world falls apart within seconds, leaving behind sharp-edged shards of a life that was lived in denial, and the question of how strong a wife and mother is supposed to be and how weak she is allowed to be.
THE HEART IS A DARK FOREST is directed by award-winning actress Nicolette Krebitz and is the director’s second feature film after JEANS. Nina Hoss and Devid Striesow, two of the top class German actors today, have taken on the task of interpreting this powerful tour de force. THE HEART IS A DARK FOREST is produced by Tom Tykwer (THE PERFUME, RUN LOLA RUN).
Marie / NINA HOSS /// Thomas / DEVID STRIESOW /// Anna / FRANZISKA /// Jonathan / MARC HOSEMANN /// Mietzi / MONICA BLEIBTREU /// Helmut / OTTO SANDER
DIRECTOR AND SCRIPTWRITER / NICOLETTE KREBITZ ///
PRODUCER / TOM TYKWER ///
CINEMATOGRAPHER / BELLA HALBEN ///
EDITOR /
SARA SCHILDE /// ART DIRECTOR
/ CHRISTEL REHM,
SYLVESTER KOZIOLEK ///
SOUND /
MARTIN MÜLLER ///
MUSIC BY
FETISCH,
WHITEST BOY ALIVE
AND OTHERS ///
A PRODUCTION OF
X FILME
IN CO-PRODUCTION WITH
NDR (DORIS HEINZE)
FORMAT 35 mm / 1:1,85 / Colour
Dolby SRD / LENGTH 86 mins / ORIGINAL LANGUAGE German SUBTITLES
English
Nicolette Krebitz is in a class of her own. Born in Berlin in 1972, she has been in front
of the camera since 1982, when during a casting, to which her sister had actually been
invited, she got the main role in a children’s movie. Since then, Nicolette Krebitz has
performed in various TV productions, in theater, had her own band, and composed
together with actresses Jasmin Tabatabai and Katja Riemann the soundtrack to the
road movie BANDITS. For this film she received in 1995, at the age of 23, her second
Adolf Grimme Award, as well as a Golden Record (1998) and the Bavarian Film Award
(for Best Music). Since 2001, Nicolette Krebitz has produced and also directed her own
films. THE HEART IS A DARK FOREST is her second feature film after her directorial debut
with JEANS.SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY: 2007 THE HEART IS A DARK FOREST /// 2005 WINTER JOURNEY (dir. Hans Steinbichler) /// 2004 IN ANOTHER LEAGUE (dir. Buket Alakus) /// 2003 THE DEPTH OF SPACE (dir. Gil Mehmert) /// 2002 HIERANKL (dir. Hans Steinbichler) /// 2001 BAADER (dir. Christopher Roth) – with Jutta Pohlmann /// 2001 JEANS (dir. Nicolette Krebitz) /// 1998 CANDY (dir. Christopher Roth)
