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The question is just who's setting up whom in this stylish crime drama from Germany. A woman named Melody (Nicolette Krebitz) is making a drug buy when to the surprise of the dealers, she pulls a gun and police burst into the room. Despite outward appearances, Melody is not a cop -- she's being blackmailed by Kahnitz (Dietrich Hollinderbaumer), a police chief who uses her as a decoy for various assignments. Ben (Marc Hosemann), a safecracker, is about to be released from jail, and Kahnitz wants to tie him to another crime involving Ben and his partner Dennis (Martin Gladde), who was in on the job that sent Ben to prison but managed to avoid capture. Claiming to be a friend of Dennis, Melody (under Kahnitz's instructions) meets Ben shortly after he hits the street and tries to encourage him to pull another job. She also seduces Ben and introduces him to Percy (Axel Milberg) and Aurelia (Sunnyi Melles), a couple who have their own ties to the crimes. Long Hello and Short Goodbye was adapted from a screenplay by American writer Jeff Vintar -- perhaps appropriate, given the frequent comparisons made between director Rainer Kaufmann's work and that of American filmmaker Brian DePalma.