Ms. Diamond

Trailer · Background Material · Pictures · Official Site · Flyer [453 KB]
directed by: Michael Karen
produced by: Jan Fantl
starring: Sandra Speichert, Thomas Kretschmann, Udo Kier
92 minutes, Dolby SR

Synopsis:
Incredible! - Diamonds discovered in Germany! - Impossible! They must be fake! - No! The diamonds are real!

The tabloids have a juicy topic to tantalize their readers. The first of the exquisite jewels are to be presented in Cologne. The event draws far more attention than anticipated.

An attempted armored car robbery is foiled at the last minute, and the presentation can go ahead as planned. During the opulent prelude to the first annual jewelry convention in Cologne, Lana is able to sneak her way to the much coveted jewels. The extensive security measures are no match for her cunning and high-tech equipment. While holding one of the stunning jewels in the hands she is forced to make an unexpected run for it. A young insurance agent, Tim, thwarts her plans, and she is caught for the first time in her life.

It turns out that Lana’s booty consists of nothing but worthless fakes. The insurance company and Tim as is representative are faced with a deadline: if they don’t get the real jewels back within 48 hours they will be forced to pay out 21 million marks in insurance money. Lana has her own deadline: she needs to come up with the real jewels within that same amount of time in order to gain her freedom. Her spectacular escape is thwarted despite a death defying flight from the roof of the hotel.

Tim never lets Lana out of her sight, and they are plunged in to one adventure after another, while Lana does nothing other than try to use every opportunity to get away. Over time they learn to respect each others’ skill and determination. Jeromé van Boos, the representative of the diamond organization in Antwerp, is as eager to get his hands on the rocks as Lana for his own reasons. He snares Lana with his charm and is knocked out with the butt of his own gun during a festive soirée on a yacht. The erotic cat-and-mouse game being played in the middle of the Rhine -- over an exquisite candlelight dinner -- is won by Lana.

That very evening, Lana breaks into the convention center’s exhibit halls and, as expected, finds more diamonds. But this time they are real, and Lana’s plan to prove her innocence is foiled. For the first time, she panics and spontaneously decides to run away. A car chase through downtown Cologne ends inside the main train station after a spectacular crash landing. Lana has a tough time convincing a deeply hurt Tim not to hand her over to the police on the spot. Lana secretly lends the real jewels to Jeromé so that he can examine them and find out where they originate from. She again escapes and later breaks in to the mine owned by the Bühler AG. Tim, who has to recover from a poison gas attack meant for Lana and him, continues to follow on Lana’s footsteps.

Lana and Tim awake to find themselves handcuffed in an abandoned underground mine shaft. They have both been caught, and Bühler, the diamond trader and ringleader of the grandiose scam, has decided that the best way to ensure their silence is to do away with them. They watch in horror as a huge tunneling machine grinds its way toward them. In a matter of minutes they will be crushed to bits, their bodies beyond recognition. Their only hope of escaping through a ventilation shaft is by working together... and together they make it out.

They flee from Duisburg’s harbor in a speedboat and barely make it back to Cologne in time to expose Bühler before their time is up. At the convention center, Hartmann is handing over a check for 21 Million marks to Bühler before a large gathering of spectators, Tim and Lana arrive at the last minute to pull the plug on them. Hartmann, who proves to be the biggest crook of all, tries to escape from the convention centre by helicopter. Bühler and Hartmann are clenched in mortal combat: Bühler dies, and Hartmann gets away for the moment. Lana is fast on his heels, pursuing him to a life-and-death struggle in a gondola over the Rhine. Hartmann plunges into the river. Has he escaped once again?

Lana is back battling with her heart, who will it be, Tim or Jeromé? Which of them does her heart belong to?