Elke Hauck

Various setbacks lead toward a new beginning for the title character in "Karger," a low-key, working-class slice-of-lifer set in eastern Germany. A closely observed tale of a man's difficulty in contending with divorce, job redundancy and his father's failing health, pic reps a generation of small-town thirtysomethings who expected to learn a trade, stay married and raise children -- and can't quite comprehend or cope with breaks in the cycle. (variety)

The present: Alex (Florian Panzner), a smug architect from Stuttgart returns to the run-down Thuringian town of his youth to re-design a set of apartment blocks, his "prize" for winning an architectural contest. Within hours, his suave hauteur is shaken, as he is recognized by some of the adults he knew as a teen... (viff)

Police officer Harry Österreich is a first responder at a traffic accident. Despite his best efforts, an entire family dies at the scene. Harry is shaken by the experience and increasingly obsessed by the fate of the extinguished family. (imdb)