“we got the right guy. we did.”
relentless and brutal. reminiscent of memories of murder in just how bleak it is, focusing less on the detective work and more on the ways in which these senseless tragedies tear apart the communities they happen to.
a lot of german films, at least modern ones that i’ve seen, have this air of residual, communal guilt built into them. there’s this sense of trauma that seems to be constantly rippling under the surface, wounds unhealed and ready to pop at any moment. when the cyclical nature of violence rears it’s head again, somethings just can’t be forgotten.
the character of timo was by far the most interesting one to me. while the movie makes no excuses for who and what he is, there’s this air of discomfort that follows him everywhere. maybe it’s because he knows what he is, and it makes him feel gross. he’s uncomfortable in his own skin and he should be. the movie poses a very interesting moral dilemma early on about whether timo would have ever acted upon his impulses had he not met sommer. clearly, he never gave in to the darker side of his urges. yet still, there’s a part of him that disgusts him, a part of himself he can’t get rid of. it’s something he struggles with seemingly his whole life.
sommer on the other hand is a vile man. he has no reservations about what he is or what he wants to do. the only other motivating factor in his life is that, as is opined in the film, is that pedophilia is a lonely. it’s not enough for sommer to give in to his proclivities. he needs someone else to participate in it with him. someone to bear the sin with.
there’s very sparse language in here. so many of the moments are spent watching the way these people live in and around their trauma, too afraid to confront it, too comfortable with being silent in the face of their problems. unfortunately, silence in itself is complicity.
the ending of this film is really difficult to stomach, but unfortunately based in reality. sometimes the bad guy gets away with it. the tireless detective will remain tireless, unable to stop chasing the ghosts. families remain torn apart and can only hope that the pieces they try to mash together hold some form of what was.
heavy on the soul filmmaking.
“we got the right guy. we did.”
relentless and brutal. reminiscent of memories of murder in just how bleak it is, focusing less on the detective work and more on the ways in which these senseless tragedies tear apart the communities they happen to.
a lot of german films, at least modern ones that i’ve seen, have this air of residual, communal guilt built into them. there’s this sense of trauma that seems to be constantly rippling under the surface, wounds unhealed and ready to pop at any moment. when the cyclical nature of violence rears it’s head again, somethings just can’t be forgotten.
the character of timo was by far the most interesting one to me. while the movie makes no excuses for who and what he is, there’s this air of discomfort that follows him everywhere. maybe it’s because he knows what he is, and it makes him feel gross. he’s uncomfortable in his own skin and he should be. the movie poses a very interesting moral dilemma early on about whether timo would have ever acted upon his impulses had he not met sommer. clearly, he never gave in to the darker side of his urges. yet still, there’s a part of him that disgusts him, a part of himself he can’t get rid of. it’s something he struggles with seemingly his whole life.
sommer on the other hand is a vile man. he has no reservations about what he is or what he wants to do. the only other motivating factor in his life is that, as is opined in the film, is that pedophilia is a lonely. it’s not enough for sommer to give in to his proclivities. he needs someone else to participate in it with him. someone to bear the sin with.
there’s very sparse language in here. so many of the moments are spent watching the way these people live in and around their trauma, too afraid to confront it, too comfortable with being silent in the face of their problems. unfortunately, silence in itself is complicity.
the ending of this film is really difficult to stomach, but unfortunately based in reality. sometimes the bad guy gets away with it. the tireless detective will remain tireless, unable to stop chasing the ghosts. families remain torn apart and can only hope that the pieces they try to mash together hold some form of what was.
heavy on the soul filmmaking.
