(Arnaud des
Pallières/2013/France & Germany)
Hans
Kohlhaas was a merchant who got rightly hacked off, first with a
nobleman and then with the entire judicial system of Saxony, back in
the 16th century after some of his horses were detained as
collateral for a fee to pass through the province. He waged a
campaign of terror against the entire region in pursuit of justice
and ended up being broken on the wheel for his sins. In 1810 Heinrich
von Kleist wrote a novella based on this story as a covert political
statement against dealings between Germany and Napoleon taking place
at the time. The book, stylistically, was before it’s time and has
resonated with many since, most notably Kafka. This film is an
adaptation from the book and does well to build the frustrations of
the horse trader, played by a quietly brooding Mads Mikkelson, as he
methodically and at first calmly seeks recourse for the blatant
provocations of the asshole nobility. Getting nowhere and with a wife
dead at the hands of the court of the princess he musters a posse and
goes on the rampage. It’s a generously paced film, starting slow
and eventually bubbling to the bloody uprising. However once Kohlhaas
gets his way and the story enters its final chapter the film sags
somewhat and takes far too long to close out. This is a minor quibble
though for an otherwise emphatic movie.
(3/5)
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