Den du frygter

Der Nachgeschmack des ansonsten kultivierten Films ist bitter. Das Thema voller Emotionen, Fragezeichen und Wendungen, kling in der frostigen Atmosphäre des Bildes mit, bis es verloren geht. Die Zuschauer haben keinen Zugang zum Inneren der Ereignisse gewährt, geben sich jedoch mit einer kalten analytischen Interpretation des Bösen im Menschen nicht zufrieden. Auf der Skala zwischen Lars von Triers emotionaler Manipulation einerseits und Michael Hanekes wissenschaftlicher Analyse andererseits platzierte ich Levring irgendwo in der Grauzone an, wo erschütternde Motive scharfe Kanten verlieren und aufgeweckte Figuren durch die expressive Umgebung der dänischen Landschaft umherlaufen. Obwohl der Filmemacher dem Selbstzweck sowie der Sinnlosigkeit erfolgreich ausgewichen ist, blieb hinter der hochglazpolierten Glasscheibe seines Films gefangen. (24.07.2010)

Both the screenwriter and director try to deceive the viewer and present them with false clues to understand the motivation of the main character. In principle, it is one of the forms of the disease called the mid-life crisis. The awareness that life is slipping through your fingers, gnawing at you from a wrong life choice, bitterness, and the inability to get out of the programmed ride can gradually lead to hatred and becoming short-circuited. Mikael may not have achieved what Michael Douglas did in Falling Down within a few hours, but his gradual descent into damnation is possibly even more chilling. Kristian Levring plays with changing moods and heads toward increasingly oppressive positions, and Ulrich Thomsen excels in one of his typical roles, and he undoubtedly has a talent for similar dark and destructive characters. Overall impression: 75%. (07.10.2015)

A hell of a psychological movie. There’s no other way to put it. For a long time, I thought about whether I should give the movie a four-star review, but in the end I went with five stars because this movie will have you thinking – and not only for a couple of minutes or hours. I’ve been thinking about the movie ever since I saw it a couple of days ago. It’s crazy – the power an ordinary word can have over the psyche of each and every one of us. Ulrich Thomsen did a really good job portraying his character. He was a bit weird already at the beginning of the movie. A bit quiet, but he was a more or less nice guy. But then an absolute psychological terror breaks out and you won’t feel very good. Towards the end you will get one shock and then another one at the very end. The ending at the Prague Main Train Station will then be accepted by my compatriots with joy because there is nothing else left at that point. Are we living real lives, the lives we want to live, or are we locked in a bubble that surrounded us through our acceptance of various facts that came to pass and that we would rather accept than confront? (05.10.2014)