Directed by Matthias Drawe Written by Matthias Drawe Director Matthias Drawe Cinematography Thorsten Schneider | Produced by Muavin Film Berlin Edited by Matthias Drawe Running time 1h 20m Cast Matthias Drawe | |
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Starring Matthias Drawe
Maren Lass
Rasit Tuncay Music by de:Tilman Schade
Rainer Vierkötter | ||
The Ivory Tower (German: Der Elfenbeinturm) is a 1993 German film by Matthias Drawe set in Berlin-Kreuzberg, and the surrounding forests of Brandenburg.
Contents
Plot summary
M. works as a cook in a trendy Berlin restaurant. To say that his kitchen is busy like hell would be an understatement. Barely past thirty he suffers a mild heart attack, which gives him the scare of his life. Entering into a premature midlife crisis, he decides to turn his life around and write the great novel that he always felt inside him.
He packs a little bundle with his bare necessities, puts on his feathered hat and ventures out into woods of Brandenburg. When he discovers an old abandoned water tower in the middle of nowhere, he knows immediately that this is what he was looking for: his Ivory Tower, the ideal place to finally nail down his novel.
After a few promising pages, though, M. enters into a severe case of writer's block. In order to trigger inspiration, he tries several classic home remedies: a good bottle of Whiskey and a cigar, "Kneipp style" water treading in an ice-cold creek and balancing an egg on his head while standing on a ladder - unfortunately all to no avail.
To make matters worse: He is far from alone in his retreat. First, he runs into a whacky birdwatcher, then he discovers a domesticated rabbit that seems to have been abandoned in the wild, and to top it all off there is the beautiful country girl L. collecting wild berries in the forest. In addition, his best friend, Turkish waiter R., who is the only one knowing M.'s whereabouts, has given away the fairytale location to his city friends who suddenly show up unannounced to throw a wild party.
Nurturing a severe hangover, M. wanders through the woods and discovers the country girl bathing naked in a lake. To his surprise, she invites him in.
Realizing that his novel might not been ripe, yet, M. decides to return to the city on a bike. Passing his Ivory Tower for one last time, the country girl suddenly walks out of the woodwork and hops on the bike.
Cast
Matthias Drawe as Cook M.
Maren Lass as Country girl L.
Rasit Tuncay as Waiter R.
Frank Lucas as the Birdwatcher
Irma Handwerker as Party guest no. 1
Thornton Jacobs as Party guest no. 2
Gisela Marks as Party guest no. 3
K.D. Krause as Party guest no. 4