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World War I

Xmas Gift Book Tip #3 – Historical Fiction Novel “1918 – Wilhelm und Wilson”

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Magnus Buch 012 (1)100 Years Ago the First World War Ended in 1918. What if…?

What if the world had emerged out of devastating World War I with peace negotiations that had helped restore world order, create balance among world powers, and had called for cooperation among nations?

Hitler, Stalin, and WW II might never have happened!

On the basis of real history, Magnus Dellwig is creating a fictional world in his novel “1918 – Wilhelm und Wilson” and imagines a different outcome in the fateful peace negotiations among the world powers at that time. Follow the account of foreign minister Gustav Stresemann and witness through his eyes how (a different) history unfolds…

Magnus Dellwig’s historical fiction novel is packed with the suspense of diplomatic and political drama. As of now, “1918 – Wilhelm und Wilson” is only available in German. Get a taste of the book with the following German synopsis. [Read more…] about Xmas Gift Book Tip #3 – Historical Fiction Novel “1918 – Wilhelm und Wilson”

FRANTZ – Movie Release in Los Angeles – March 24

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FRANTZ, the latest film from renowned filmmaker Francois Ozon, will be released in Los Angeles on March 24 at the Landmark’s Nuart Theatre.

CaliforniaGermans has 2 pairs of movie tickets to give away for March 24 in Los Angeles! If you would like to receive a FREE pair of movie tickets, send us an email here with your full name and mention the movie “FRANTZ”. We will choose and contact 2 lucky movie goers among the first 10 emails we receive.

-FRANTZ –

A haunting tale of love and reconciliation through the eyes of the First World War’s lost generation.

Set in Germany and France in the immediate aftermath of the First World War, (1914-1918), Frantz recalls the mourning period that follows great national tragedies as seen through the eyes of the war’s “lost generation”: Anna (21 year-old Paula Beer in a breakthrough performance), a bereft young German woman whose fiancé, Frantz, was killed during trench warfare, and Adrien (Pierre Niney, Yves Saint Laurent), a French veteran of the war who shows up mysteriously in her town, placing flowers on Frantz’s grave. Adrien’s presence is met with resistance by the small community still reeling from Germany’s defeat, yet Anna gradually gets closer to the handsome and melancholy young man, as she learns of his deep friendship with Frantz, conjured up in evocative flashbacks.

What follows is a surprising exploration of how Ozon’s characters’ wrestle with their conflicting feelings – survivor’s guilt, anger at one’s losses, the overriding desire for happiness despite everything that has come before, and the longing for sexual, romantic and familial attachments.

Inspired by Ernst Lubitsch’s 1932 film Broken Lullaby, FRANTZ is an elegant and dramatic love story—both between two individuals and between two nations at the core of the imperiled European Union experiment.

Early Praise for FRANTZ

“Exquisite and haunting…one of the talented director Francois Ozon’s very best films.” -Paper

“A richly imagined and superbly assembled period piece.” -The Hollywood Reporter

“Astonishingly beautiful and inquisitive. It’s impossible to deny the sheer narrative sophistication.” -Indiewire

Run time: 113 minutes, Rating: PG-13, Language: French and German with English subtitles

Credits: MusicBoxFilms

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