Matthieu Carriere, who once starred in German director Volkor Schlondorff's breakthrough film Young Torless, turns director himself for Fool's Mate. Michael Marwitz plays a once-famous concert pianist and chess whiz. He compromises his talents by casting his lot with a group of self-destructive druggies and gamblers. Marwitz' new circle of friends effectively ruins his marriage to Victoria Tennant, an English architect. Fool's Mate makes no effort to cheer up its audience, but this sort of fare apparently is what the European film-festival circuit thrives on.
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Cast
14 people
Victoria Tennant
Alice Gordon
Known for
L.A. Story
All of Me
Michael Marwitz
Lucas Tillman
Also in
Death in Shallow Water
Morti's Law
Udo Heiland
Also in
Der Spot oder Fast eine Karriere
Stuart Wilson
Nikos Mitradis
Known for
The Mask of Zorro
Lethal Weapon 3
María Barranco
Teresa
Joachim von Vietinghoff
Also in
Advertising Rules!
Mareike Carrière
Judy Miller
Known for
A Dangerous Method
Mareike Carriere
Judy Miller
Peter Sattmann
Hausemann
Known for
Bandits
Anatoli Karpov
Chess player
Also in
Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine
Park of the Soviet Period
Mathieu Carrière
Known for
The Tunnel
Young Törless
Harry Baer
Known for
The Third Generation
Fox and His Friends
Mathieu Carrière Director · Rolf Liccini Cinematographer Galip Iyitanir Editor
First release May 20, 1989 · Produced in Germany, France · Production Von Vietinghoff Filmproduktion, Jupiter Communications
Production
ZDF
Production
Von Vietinghoff Filmproduktion
Production
Jupiter Communications
Production
Germany · France
Produced in
Languages
Original title
Zugzwang
Original language
German
Spoken on screen
German
Release dates
France · May 20, 1989
Cannes Film Festival - Un Certain Regard
Germany · August 31, 1989
Theatrical
No release date listed for United States.
Some details come from TheTVDB.