Mathias Kneißl

Räuber und Gendarm

Smoke

Writer Paul Benjamin is nearly hit by a bus when he leaves Auggie Wren's smoke shop. Stranger Rashid Cole saves his life, and soon middle-aged Paul tells homeless Rashid that he wouldn't mind a short-term housemate. Still grieving over his wife's murder, Paul is moved by both Rashid's quest to reconnect with his father and Auggie's discovery that a woman who might be his daughter is about to give birth.

Räuber Kneißl

Even today, Mathias Kneißl (1875-1902) is considered a national hero in the collective memory of Bavaria. During his lifetime, he was the most wanted criminal in Bavaria and even Prince Regent Luitpold was reported daily on the hunt for the lawbreaker report. Again and again Kneißl's story has occupied the Bavarian artists: his life was retold in folk songs and murders, sung in ballads, filmed and treated in various plays. In his feature film version, the Bavarian filmmaker Marcus H. Rosenmüller relies on a rapid staging, opulent images and a moving love story.

Ronia: The Robber's Daughter

Ronia lives happily in her father's castle until she comes across a new playmate, Birk, in the nearby dark forest. The two explore the wilderness, braving dangerous Witchbirds and Rump-Gnomes. But when their families find out Birk and Ronia have been playing together, they forbid them to see each other again. Indeed, their fathers are competing robber chieftains and bitter enemies. Now the two spunky children must try to tear down the barriers that have kept their families apart for so long.

His Dog

Peter Olsen, a young social outcast who lives alone on a rundown farm and raises vegetables for a living, finds his only consolation in liquor, though Dorcas Chatham, daughter of the general store owner, begs him to forego this indulgence. Returning from town, he finds a dog by the roadside, apparently injured by a car, and takes it home. Later, on a drunken spree, Peter is attacked by robbers, but the dog comes to his rescue and frightens the assailants away. Stirred by the unselfish devotion of his dog, Peter gradually regains his self-respect, and Dorcas falls in love with him and accepts his proposal, though she fears the dog. When Peter enters the dog in a show, another exhibitor proves to be its owner, and Peter is first parted from, then reunited with, "his" dog. Dorcas overcomes her fear and is united with Peter.

The River Wild

Gail and Tom Hartman are struggling to stay together and decide to take a white-water rafting holiday adventure in Montana for their son Roarke's 10th birthday, only to meet up with a pair of mysterious men whose desperation grows, turning their vacation into a nightmare.

Valley of Flowers

A Himalayan legend of a love struggling against the inevitability of death, an astonishing tale spanning from the early 19th century mountain existence, to hectic, bustling modern day Tokyo.

Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts

Screen adaptation of Eichendorff's famous novella. A penniless drifter roams the land with his violin and preferably sings his songs to beautiful women. Two of his female admirers get him employed as a gardener at a castle. Yet he doesn't settle down for long, and moves on to his next temporary job as a customs officer. Finally, he travels to Italy where he joins the gang of Rinaldo Rinaldini and eventually meets the love of his life.

No Good Deed

While doing a friend a favor and searching for a runaway teenager, a police detective stumbles upon a bizarre band of criminals about to pull off a bank robbery.

Stealing Raden Saleh

To get his father out of prison, a master forger assembles a diverse team of specialists to steal a priceless painting.

Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum

Prasad and Sreeja are a couple planning to set up a new life in Kasargod. On a bus journey they end up being robbed by a thief also named Prasad and this lands them up in a police station.

The Robbers

Set during the Tang Dynasty, The Robbers tells the story of two robbers' adventures in a seemingly peaceful Bitter Bamboo Village, where they encounter a beautiful woman, a group of soldiers and a village head scheming to kill the duo.

Charon

"Charon" follows a restaurant owner (Jason Shidiskis) and his wife (Liesl Cruz) going through their daily lives while expecting a child when the unexpected occurs.

Dogman

Marcello, a small and gentle dog groomer, finds himself involved in a dangerous relationship of subjugation with Simone, a former violent boxer who terrorizes the entire neighborhood. In an effort to reaffirm his dignity, Marcello will submit to an unexpected act of vengeance.

Thou shalt not steal

Lucia, a 16-year-old punk rock fan and singer, lives with her family. When her mother is accused of attempted murder after pushing her step-father down a flight of stairs, Lucia is left in charge of her siblings.

Pray for Us

In a desolate supermarket, a religious woman's peaceful evening is interrupted by the sudden arrival of three punks, who are running away from the police and hiding something much more valuable than money.

Prison Farm

Shirley Ross plays an innocent young girl convicted for complicity in a crime committed by her boy friend (Lloyd Nolan). The male crook is sentence to six months on a prison farm populated by both men and women (segregated, of course). Ross is also incarcerated, suffering the cruelties of the sadistic male and female guards (including J. Carroll Naish and future "Ma Kettle" Marjorie Main!)

Texas

Two Virginians are heading for a new life in Texas when they witness a stagecoach being held up. They decide to rob the robbers and make off with the loot. To escape a posse, they split up and don't see each other again for a long time. When they do meet up again, they find themselves on different sides of the law. This leads to the increasing estrangement of the two men, who once thought of themselves as brothers.

The Proud and Sad Life of Mathias Kneißl

The Robber Mathias Kneißl became a legend in Bavaria. The film is based on the historical criminal case and describes the last year of the rebel and folk hero. At the age of 23, he is released from prison, where he has served an unreasonably harsh six-year sentence. When this becomes known, he loses his job as a carpenter and now wants to emigrate to America with his girlfriend. He hopes to earn the money for the journey by committing crimes. In the process, he fatally wounds a gendarme. Despite this, Mathias Kneißl does not leave the area and stays in the Dachau hinterland. Only when his girlfriend betrays him is he able to find his hiding place. The farm was besieged by 300 police officers for days and then shot up. Kneißl was seriously injured and treated in a clinic in Munich before being beheaded in Augsburg in 1902.

Freedom

Inspired by the true events of one of France's most notorious non-violent robbers, Bruno Sulak, in the 1980s. He led multiple heists, then captured public attention for his many daring escapes from police custody...always to reunite with his beloved lover and accomplice Annie, becoming both France's Public Enemy #1 and an icon of Freedom.