''Der bewegte Mann'' (international title: ''The Most Desired Man'', U.S. title: ''Maybe ... Maybe Not'') is a 1994 German

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

film directed by Sönke Wortmann and starring

Til Schweiger Tilman Valentin Schweiger (; born 19 December 1963) is a German actor and filmmaker. He became known in the 1990s for films such as '' Manta, Manta'', '' Der bewegte Mann'' and '' Knockin' on Heaven's Door''. He went on to star in international ...

Rufus Beck Rufus Beck (born 23 July 1957) is a German theater, film, and voice actor. Besides his work on stage, on film, and on television, Beck is also a well known reader of audiobooks, having worked as the narrator of the German translations of the H ...

Joachim Król Joachim Król (, born 17 June 1957 in Herne, West Germany) is a German actor, known for his appearances in the films ''Run Lola Run'', '' Maybe, Maybe Not'', and '' Anne Frank: The Whole Story''. Early life and education Król was born in He ...

and

Katja Riemann Katja Hannchen Leni Riemann (, born 1 November 1963) is a German actress. The daughter of two teachers, Riemann grew up in Weyhe, near Bremen. After high school she went to Hamburg to study music and theater. She is the mother of actress Paula ...

. The film developed from the comics "Der bewegte Mann" and "Pretty Baby" by

Ralf König Ralf König (born 8 August 1960) is one of the best known and most commercially successful German comic book creators. His books have been translated into many languages. He has resided in Soest, Dortmund and Berlin and now lives in Cologne. ...

Plot

After she caught him cheating on her on a public toilet, Axel (played by

) has just been dumped by his girlfriend Doro (

), and needs to find a new place to live. He meets Walter a.k.a. Waltraud (

), a transvestite who is participating in a heterosexual men's group to provide a gay man's perspective. Walter talks Axel into joining him and some friends at a gay party afterwards, and tries to convince Axel to move in with him. At the party, Axel decides instead to move in with Walter's best friend, Norbert (

), whose boyfriend has just left him. Later, at Axel and Doro's apartment, Norbert tries to seduce Axel while they browse old photos. Just when Norbert has shed all his clothes, Doro shows up at the door, and Axel hastily hides Norbert. Doro explains to Axel that she's expecting his child and wants to give their relationship a second chance. She is not amused to discover a naked man in the wardrobe, but Axel manages to convince her that nothing has happened. Excited about fatherhood and eager to return to Doro, Axel forgets about his new friendship with Norbert. But soon Axel discovers a downside to the pregnancy: he finds that he is extremely adverse to having sex with a pregnant woman, due to an irrational fear of hurting the child. Despite his engagement to her, he decides to stray when he encounters Elke, a former girlfriend. They are trying to find a place to have sex when Axel bumps into Norbert again. At first Norbert is angry with him for having left without a word, but Axel claims it's only because Doro was upset. Axel convinces Norbert to lend his apartment for the tryst with Elke. A few days later at Norbert's apartment, Elke gives Axel a mind-altering drug, and leaves him sitting naked on a table. Meanwhile, Doro has learned that Axel went to Norbert's apartment, and she thinks that Axel is going to have sex with Norbert. She confronts Norbert at his apartment and upon entering, she sees Axel naked and unable to speak and starts to go into labor. In the bathroom Norbert finds Elke and Norbert's not-so-gay boyfriend playing in the tub. As Norbert drives her to the hospital, he attempts to explain everything on the way. Doro forgives Norbert and they become friends, but her relationship with Axel is in question.

Cast

Reception

The film opened on 188 screens on 6 October 1994 and was number one at the German box office. It sold 1 million tickets in its first three weeks generating a gross of $10.3 million. It remained in the top 10 for 24 weeks and went on to become the highest-grossing German film with admissions of over 6 million and a gross of over 60 million

Deutsche Mark The Deutsche Mark (; "German mark (currency), mark"), abbreviated "DM" or "D-Mark" (), was the official currency of West Germany from 1948 until 1990 and later of unified Germany from 1990 until the adoption of the euro in 2002. In English, it ...

($43 million). It was the most popular German film of 1994 with almost 4 million admissions and also in 1995 with over 2 million admissions. It was also a success in Switzerland and Finland. The film was awarded the Golden Shell for best film at the

German Film Award The German Film Award (), also known as Lola after its prize statuette, is the national film award of Germany. It is presented at an annual ceremony honouring cinematic achievements in the Cinema of Germany, German film industry. Besides being ...

s and also won awards for best director (Wortmann) and best actor (Krol).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bewegte Mann 1994 films 1994 comedy films 1994 LGBTQ-related films Films based on German comics Films directed by Sönke Wortmann Films set in Germany Films shot in Cologne Films set in Cologne Gay-related films German comedy films 1990s German-language films German LGBTQ-related films Films produced by Bernd Eichinger Live-action films based on comics Films adapted into television shows LGBTQ-related comedy films 1990s German films German-language comedy films

Plot

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links