the fresh films reviews

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Der Unhold (1996)

Director:
Volker Schlöndorff
AKA
Le roi des aulnes
The Ogre

COUNTRY
France/Germany/UK

GENRE
Drama

RUNNING TIME
118 minutes

Producer:
Gebhard Henke
Ingrid Windisch
Screenwriter:
Jean-Claude Carriére
Volker Schlöndorff


Cast includes:

CHARACTER ACTOR/ACTRESS RATING
Abel John Malkovich
Chief Forrester Gottfried John
Mrs. Netta Marianne Sägebrecht
Count von Kaltenborn Armin Mueller-Stahl

 

Review

German filmmaker Volker Schlöndorff is the man behind this misfire, starring John Malkovich in what should have been an ideal part. The film is meant to be a looming thriller and progressive drama, in which Abel's destiny is intertwined with the horrors of war, but the drama falls flat and nothing ever rises to any kind of intensity. Is the script to blame? The editing? Or is Schlöndorff's artsy approach simply without drive and interesting observations? I'll leave that for you to decide.

Copyright © 03.02.2004 Fredrik Gunerius Fevang
(English version: © 15.10.2020 Fredrik Gunerius Fevang)

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