my Best Fiend

Kopfrkingl enjoys his job at a crematorium in Czechoslovakia in the late 1930s. He likes reading the Tibetan book of the dead, and espouses the view that cremation relieves earthly suffering. At a reception, he meets Reineke, with whom he fought for Austria in the first World War. Reineke convinces Kopfrkingl to emphasize his supposedly German heritage, including sending his timid son to the German school. Reineke then suggests that Kopfrkingl's half-Jewish wife is holding back his advancement in his job.

Skip Woods made his directorial debut with this film, caught in a crossfire between thriller and comedy. After violence is unleashed in the opening sequence, the story settles on former L.A. drug dealer Casey Wells (Thomas Jane), now a Houston architect living with his attractive wife Christine (Paula Marshall). When past partner Nick (Aaron Eckhart) arrives out of the blue on a Thursday, asking for a place to stay for a few days, Casey invites him in but later gets curious about Nick's briefcase. After he opens it to find a huge helping of heroin, panic sets in, and he flushes it all away – setting the stage for a variety of hoods and hitmen to turn up on Casey's suburban doorstep. Shown at the 1998 Toronto World Festival.