Katja (Diane Kruger) finds it difficult to continue on after her husband (Numan Acar) and son (Rafael Santana) are killed in an explosion. The cops keep pushing her to say that her husband had gone back to dealing drugs, but she believes he was targeted by Neo-Nazis. She had seen a woman (Hanna Hilsdorf) parking a bicycle in front of the shop, minutes before the explosion. But her quest for justice takes her down dark paths.
Kruger is completely spellbinding. If you've only seen her in, like, National Treasure, you will not be prepared. For me, the trial portion in the middle dragged on but she kept it from being boring by sheer force of personality. Katja is going through some shit and Kruger makes sure you feel it.
This was made seven years ago but shines a spotlight on the growing wave of fascism sweeping across Europe and the U.S. in a way that feels disturbingly current. Germans. I guess they Know a Thing or Two Because They've Seen a Thing or Two. Fatih Akin has made several films about the Turkic-German experience in a way that recalls Ranier Warner Fassbinder.
This is streaming for free on Kanopy in case you needed a reminder that it's always moral to punch Nazis.
No comments:
Post a Comment