Atomised (Elementarteilchen) (Elementary Particles) (2006)
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100% of critics liked it
(7 reviews) -
64% of users liked it
(2,994 ratings)
With his bittersweet, German-language tragicomedy The Elementary Particles, writer-director Oskar Roehler brings to the screen Michel Houellebecq's popular seriocomic novel of two ill-adjusted siblings. Christian Ullmen and Moritz Bleibtreu portray, respectively, Michael and Bruno, half brothers… More With his bittersweet, German-language tragicomedy The Elementary Particles, writer-director Oskar Roehler brings to the screen Michel Houellebecq's popular seriocomic novel of two ill-adjusted siblings. Christian Ullmen and Moritz Bleibtreu portray, respectively, Michael and Bruno, half brothers who have each adjusted poorly to adult life, thanks in no small part to a cracked upbringing by their eccentric, social dropout mother. As the story opens, each brother experiences a personal crisis. Geneticist Michael returns to his work in cloning after an extended period away from his Irish laboratory, but suffers in quiet desperation from his intense inner loneliness; he must soon leave the lab once again and head back to his hometown, where his grandmother's corpse is being disinterred from a cemetery. Upon arrival, he reencounters Annabelle (Franka Potente of Run Lola Run), an adolescent crush to whom he was never before able to express his romantic yearnings; they consummate an intense erotic affair, and remain together, but a troubled pregnancy renders her infertile and makes family conception an utter impossibility. Meanwhile, high school teacher Bruno (a married husband and father) is driven completely around the bend by sexual yearnings for his female students, and consequently suffers from a nervous breakdown; he checks himself into a sanitarium, then heads off on a bender at a swingers' retreat with a new lover, Christiane (Martina Gedeck) - but their pleasure is all too short-lived. Nina Hoss and Uwe Ochsenknecht co-star. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Directed By
- Oskar Roehler
- Genres
- Drama, Romance, Comedy
- In Theaters
- Feb 23, 2006 Wide
- Studio
- Medienfonds GFP
Critic Reviews
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Ryan Cracknell, Calgary Movies
A depressing thinker of a film that also offers a little nostalgia to boot.
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Anton Bitel, musicOMH.com
a hybrid of the morbid and the mordant, the decadent and the darkly delicious, which will not necessarily make you happy, but will certainly leave you satisfied.
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Harry Guerin, RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland)
Grim, funny, moving and thought-provoking, Roehler's film will find some people who will rank it as one of their films of the year and others who will say that he has ruined Houellebecq's book.
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Matthew Turner, ViewLondon
Beautifully shot and impressively acted, this is an evocative and frequently moving film, though it's often hard to engage with its unlikeable characters.
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Boyd van Hoeij, european-films.net
I want your (sanitized) sex -- and a happy ending.
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Cast
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Moritz Bleibtreu
as Bruno
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Christian Ulmen
as Michael
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Martina Gedeck
as Christiane
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Franka Potente
as Annabelle
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Nina Hoss
as Jane
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Uwe Ochsenknecht
as Bruno's Father
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Corinna Harfouch
as Dr. Schaefer
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Tom Schilling
as Young Michael
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Thomas Dreschel
as Young Bruno
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Herbert Knaup
as Sollers
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Michael Gwisdek
as Professor FleiÃ?er, Professor Flei??er, ...
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Urike Kreiner
as Annabelle's Mother
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Katharina Palm
as Sister Clara
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Jelena Weber
as Young Annabelle
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Jennifer Ulrich
as Johanna
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Shawn Lawton
as Walser
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Nina Kronjäger
as Katja
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Birgit Stein
as Anne
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Simon Boer
as Jane's Lover
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Franziska Schlattner
as Ellen
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Thorsten Merten
as Hubert
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Deborah Kaufmann
as Hannelore
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Uwe-Dag Berlin
as Annabelle's Doctor
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Wilifried Hochholdinger
as Hospital Doctor
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Dietmar Moessmer
as Gravedrigger
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Hermann Beyer
as Annabelle's Father
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Simon Licht
as Teacher
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Hussi Kutlucan
as Italian
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Joachim Kretzer
as Christoffersen
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Reiner Heise
as Researcher
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Christian Schmidt
as Researcher
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Manfred Möck
as Researcher
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Thomas Huber
as Researcher
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Bernd Stempel
as Man On Housing Estate
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Ingeborg Westphal
as Old Hippe Woman
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Simon Newby
as Hammet
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Ursula Karusseit
as Grandmother
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Tigan Ceesay
as Ben
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Rüdiger Klink
as Uwe
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Susanne Kreckel
as Kate
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Dieter Bach
as Kate's Lover
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Mirko Wendt
as Annabelle's Dancing Partner
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Tyra Misoux
as Swinger Club Waitress
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Dominique von der Heidt
as Swinger Club Barwoman
- Jasmin Tabatabai