GUN-SHY aka SCHUSSANGST

Year: 2003
UK: German Film Festival
Cast: Fabian Hinrichs, Johan Leysen, Lena Stolze, Christoph Waltz, Ingeborg Westphal, Lavinia Wilson, Rudolf W Marnitz
Director: Dito Tsintsadze
Country: Germany
Language: German (English subtitles)
UK: 105 mins
UK Release Date: 3 December 2003 (Limited Release - London)

German Film Festival

Synopsis

Dito Tsintsadze's third feature GUN-SHY is a shockingly poetic thriller. Lukas (Fabian Hinrichs), a pacifist who refused to join the army, is doing compulsory Civil Service, delivering 'meals on wheels' to the old and sick. He is alone in a new city, has no friends and is surrounded by an eclectic mix of lonely and eccentric neighbours. His only pastime is his nightly outing rowing down the river. When he meets the mysterious Isabella (Lavinia Wilson), who drops a note saying "Help Me" into his lap, Lukas' life takes on a whole new dimension. Isabella is everything Lukas could wish for: she is exciting and ethereal, beautiful and sad. When he discovers that she is in an abusive relationship with her stepfather, a seed is planted in Lukas' mind and a plan develops almost of its own accord.