28/21
Twelve years after his escape, professional criminal Trojan returns to Berlin. A valuable painting is about to be stolen in the city. But the meticulously planned robbery soon gets out of control… Next up is Im Schatten (2010). During the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin, the audience was able to see how professional criminal Trojan (Michel MATICEVICH) from IM SCHATTEN (2010) had to leave the capital for an indefinite period. Trojan still works in a very similar way: old-fashioned crimes such as stealing material objects such as watches, money and paintings. Without any ties to the mafia or clan structure, a lone fighter, only occasionally and by necessity in the team! When the coup in the Ruhr area does not go according to plan, Trojan must return to Berlin to touch old contacts (Marie-Lou SELEM). And indeed: Together with three comrades (Tim SEYFI, Marie LEUENBERGER, Bilge BINGÜL), Trojan manages to steal a valuable painting by Caspar David FRIEDRICH. But then the problems with the mysterious client Viktor (Alexander FELLING) really begin… At the BERLINALE 2010, IM SCHATTEN by Braunschweig-born director Thomas ARSLAN hit like a long-awaited genre bomb. An exciting genre film made in Germany is told with the cinematic means of the Berlin School. Extremely exciting, with sparse dialogue and explosive moments of violence! ARSLAN follows this with VERBRANNTE ERDE seemingly without a hitch. Gangster films are still a rarity in German cinema. With great precision, the images of cinematographer Reinhold VORSCHNEIDER (also IM SCHATTEN) tell the story of people who live in a shadowy version of Germany. Dark places, in the shadow of nearby landmarks, but far from the perception of the police and the normal population. Berlin appears as a teammate and opponent of the film’s main characters. The restrained music of the Norwegian composer Ola FLOTTUM (THE WORTH PERSON IN THE WORLD, 2021) contributes a lot to this tense atmosphere. It shows a capital that you know, but you don’t. Many viewers will be able to recognize this urban space with all its roads from their own environment. Ghostly places very close to us: scorched earth in the shadows! Michel MATICEVIC (IN FRONT OF THE FACE OF CRIME / BABYLON BERLIN) is again very convincing in the role of Troyan, whom we will probably see more of (Thomas ARSLAN is planning an appearance in the Troyan trilogy). GERMAN FILM AWARD nominee Marie Lou SELEM (nominated for KNOCHEN UND NAMEN / BONES AND NAMES in 2024) is there as an ice-cold mediator. But GERMAN FILM AWARD winner Alexander FELLING (2019 for DAS ENDE DER WAHRHEIT / THE END OF THE TRUTH) is frighteningly good and really doesn’t have to hide from classic villains like Klaus KINSKI and Michael FASSBENDER. Thomas ARSLAN does it; I don’t want to spend as much time with the third film in his Trojan trilogy as he did between 2010 and 2024. It remains exciting!
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13/11