Totschlag

Manslaughter is not a fun and certainly not a pleasant film. It is cold and almost Scandinavian austere. It is not even brilliantly shot, the acting performances or the directing are not what would make this work stand out in film history. The script could have also been improved, as I can imagine that this topic could have been addressed in greater depth. On the other hand, Manslaughter is thematically a very impressive drama as a confrontation of guilt, responsibility, and ideals. The film combines the motif of a typical midlife crisis of a man who seeks escape from a fading marital relationship to a young attractive girl, as well as the motif of political engagement, where social protest and provocation lead to the death of an intervening police officer. It turns out that the responsibility for saving the world does not necessarily equal responsibility for one's own actions and failures. Overall impression: 75%. I had a bit of a problem identifying with the actions of the film characters - not so much with the main protagonist and his chosen one, but rather with their surroundings. The callously kicked-out wife and similarly pushed-away friend show too much tolerance for a selfish person who subordinates everything to his feelings (08.02.2010)

Properly gloomy Denmark, starring a perfect Jesper Christensen portraying a character who messes up his own life so bad that nothing can save him. It has the right kind of depressing atmosphere, but unfortunately an unremarkable ending. Otherwise, I would’ve given it the full number of stars. (20.04.2020)