Hard-working German actor Jürgen Vogel plays the serial rapist Theo in Matthias Glasner’s almost unbearably grim The Free Will (Der Freie Wille). When we meet Theo, he’s heavy-set and angry, working at the cafeteria of a seaside youth hostel. Within minutes of the film’s beginning, he spots a potential victim, knocks her off a bicycle [...]
Posts Tagged ‘benten films’
LOL
The prevailing image of Joe Swanberg’s second feature is a pasty-faced young man transfixed by a tiny screen — a cellphone, a laptop, a camcorder, what have you. Often, there’s an adorable young woman with the man, but he’s oblivious to her charms. Talky and mundane but equally fresh and fascinating, LOL won me over [...]
Free Willy
It’s not that I can’t tell a killer whale from a serial rapist — it’s simply that the dumbest puns sometimes amuse most, especially when they offer mild relief for otherwise unbearibly grim tales of doomed love and ill-fated desires. Benten’s fourth DVD release Der Freie Wille (The Free Will) streeted last week (yes, it’s [...]