Houston (film)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Houston |
| Original title | Houston |
| Country of production | Germany , USA |
| original language | German , English |
| Publishing year | 2013 |
| length | 107 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Bastian Günther |
| script | Bastian Günther |
| production | Lichtblick Media, SWR , HR , Texas Avenue Films |
| music | Michael Rother |
| camera | Michael Kotschi |
| cut | Anne Fabini |
| occupation | |
| |
Houston is a German-American feature film directed by Bastian Günther from 2013 .
action
The aging headhunter Clemens Trunschka is commissioned by a large German automobile manufacturer to win Steve Ringer, the incumbent CEO of the US oil company Houston Petrol , as the new chairman of the board during a conference in Germany . Trunschka, who is addicted to alcohol and is about to end both professionally and privately, finally sees his dreams within reach and accepts the lucrative assignment.
However, he fails to contact Ringer in time at the conference and has to travel to Houston after him. There at the hotel bar he made the acquaintance of the American businessman Robert Wagner, whose decidedly cheerful, detached manner got on the nerves of the solitary Trunschka from the start.
Over the next few days, all of Trunschka's awkward attempts to get hold of Ringer fail, on the other hand a friendship develops with Wagner, who soon informs him that he is actually divorced and that he can no longer do much with his life. Wagner finally guesses why Trunschka is in Houston and gives him the tip that Ringer has a secret lover. Trunschka succeeds in photographing the two together, but it is only with Wagner's help that he manages to force a meeting with Ringer based on these compromising images.
Trunschka's client, disappointed by the lack of success, withdraws the assignment at that moment. Nevertheless, he drives to the meeting with Ringer, which was agreed upon in a lonely suburb, but throws Wagner, who absolutely wants to go with him, out of the car in a very unfriendly manner. Frustrated that the good impulses come from Wagner and that he no longer has any ideas, Trunschka increasingly loses control of himself.
The meeting turns out to be a trap, Trunschka is brutally beaten by two thugs and left behind. On the way back to Houston, he stops at a motel. There he appears - in a vision - Ringer, who makes it clear to him in the context of a small dialogue that he cannot be threatened or that he is thinking of leaving where he is. Trunschka drives back to Houston and watches the car parade that Wagner has raved about over the past few days. As he disappears into the crowd, the film ends.
background
The film, distributed by farbfilm verleih gmbh , was first shown on January 22, 2013 at the Sundance Film Festival in the USA. In Europe it made its debut at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival on July 1, 2013. In Germany, it was only presented to the public on December 5, 2013. It was first seen on free TV on August 12, 2015 on Das Erste .
The estimated cost of production was $ 3 million. The film was also financially supported with public funds from the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg , the German Film Fund , the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW , the Filmförderungsanstalt and the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media Affairs (BKM).
Filming locations were Cologne, Düsseldorf, Brandenburg and Berlin and Houston ( Texas ).
The film was released on DVD, also in Blu-Ray format.
Reviews
Awards
- German Film Critics' Prize 2013, Best Editing Category (for Anne Fabini )
- Fantasporto , Directors' Week Award , Category Best Actor (for Garret Dillahunt )
Web links
- Houston at the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Houston at filmportal.de (with photo gallery and trailer)
- The film's website
Individual evidence
- ^ Certificate of Release to Houston . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , October 2013 (PDF; test number: 141 230 K).