Atomized (Elementarteilchen) (translated)

Oskar Roehler wrote and directed Atomised (Elementarteilchen in German, sometimes called The Elementary Particles), a German drama of 2006 produced by Bernd Eichinger and Oliver Berben. Its starting point, adapted freely, is Michel Houellebecq's much-debated novel of 1998. Roehler moved the story from Paris to Germany, shooting in Berlin and Thuringia. Unlike the book, the film does not make cultural pessimism its main theme, and it ends differently.

It follows two half-brothers, Bruno and Michael, who are nothing alike. After a chaotic childhood with a flighty mother who cared only about her own love affairs, Michael becomes a molecular biologist more interested in genes than in women. Bruno is obsessed with his sexual desires, and his life begins to change when he meets Christiane. Meanwhile Michael meets his youthful love Annabelle again. Moritz Bleibtreu plays Bruno, Christian Ulmen is Michael, Martina Gedeck is Christiane, Franka Potente is Annabelle and Nina Hoss is Jane; Corinna Harfouch and Michael Gwisdek also appear.

The film premiered on 12 February 2006 at the 56th Berlin Film Festival, where Bleibtreu won the Silver Bear for Best Actor. It opened in German cinemas on 23 February 2006, reached Turkish cinemas on 4 May 2007 and first aired on ARD on 27 March 2008.