27/25
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 quickly spirals out of control. Followed by Im Schatten (2010). At the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin, viewers were able to see how professional criminal Trojan (Misel MATICEVIC) from IM SCHATTEN (2010) had to leave the capital for an indefinite period. Trojan still operates in a fairly analog way: old-fashioned crimes such as the theft of tangible objects such as watches, cash and paintings. No connection to a mafia or clan structure, a lone fighter, only occasionally and out of necessity in the team! When a coup in the Ruhr area does not go as planned, Trojan has to return to Berlin to call on old contacts (Marie-Lou SELLEM). 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 trouble with the mysterious client Viktor (Alexander FEHLING) really begins… At the BERLINALE 2010, IM SCHATTEN by the Brunswick-born director Thomas ARSLAN had the effect of a long-awaited genre bomb. An exciting genre film made in Germany was told with the cinematic means of the Berlin School. Extremely exciting, with sparse dialogues and explosive moments of violence! ARSLAN follows up with VERBRANNTE ERDE in a seemingly fluid manner. Gangster films are still rare in German cinema. With cold precision, the images of cameraman Reinhold VORSCHNEIDER (also IM SCHATTEN) tell of people who live in a ghost version of Germany. Dark places, in the shadow of nearby sights, and yet far from the perception of the police and the normal population. Berlin appears as an actor and adversary of the protagonists of the film. The sober music of the Norwegian composer Ola FLOTTUM (THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD, 2021) contributes greatly to this tense atmosphere. It shows a capital that we know and yet do not know. Many viewers will be able to recognize this urban expanse with all its streets from their own environment. Ghostly places very close to us: a scorched earth in the shadows! Misel MATICEVIC (IN THE FACE OF CRIME / BABYLON BERLIN) is once again very convincing in the role of the Trojan, whom we will probably see again (Thomas ARSLAN is planning a kind of Trojan trilogy). GERMAN FILM PRIZE nominee Marie Lou SELLEM (nominated for KNOCHEN UND NAMEN / BONES AND NAMES in 2024) is there as the icy mediator. But GERMAN FILM PRIZE winner Alexander FEHLING (2019 winner for DAS ENDE DER WAHRHEIT / THE END OF TRUTH) is terribly good and really doesn’t have to hide from classic villains like Klaus KINSKI and Michael FASSBENDER. Thomas ARSLAN doesn’t want to take as long with the third film in his Trojan trilogy as he did between 2010 and 2024. It’s still exciting!