Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck on ‘Never Look Away’

Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck lived the dream of any first time director when his deeply felt 2006 debut feature, ‘The Lives of Others,’ won the Oscar for best foreign language film. Von Donnersmarck followed with the much lighter, and much more expensive studio film ‘The Tourist,’ starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. On Rotten Tomatoes, ‘The Lives of Others’ is at 92% fresh, and ‘The Tourist?’  It’s a splat at 20%.

Now, nine years after ‘The Tourist,’ von Donnersmarck has returned to his home country to make ‘Never Look Away,’ a sweeping historical drama based on the life of painter Gerhard Richter. The film has von Donnersmarck competing for the best foreign language Oscar again. He tells us about his newest movie and some of his ups and downs in the industry.