Len9876
From the start of the film, the audience knows that this is going to be a complex, and not a simple who-dun-it. The audience is enlightened by the completely truthful depiction of rape as violent. Beyond lust or sexual molestation, rape is brutal and violent. It is not at all uncommon for the victim to wish the rapist(s), and any accomplices, dead. To survive, the victim must initially fantasize a murder of the perpetrator(s), and holds on to a strong feeling of revenge.There is the wealth and power of the Birk family, who maintains a 'we against them' philosophy to cover-up any corruption, and to protect each member of the immediate family. A strong matriarch and patriarch holds the family together, no matter what. Somehow, I think the entire family knew about the evil deeds of the son, but protects him anyway, with the help of corporate lawyer with a track record of winning most, if not all, of his cases. The son engages in blackmail, to selfishly hold onto the Birk fortune (he covets wealth, at any cost). Things get so chaotic and heated that, towards the end of the film, the daughter is pitted against the son, even after he is sexually violated (here, one of the victims gets her moments of revenge), and shot to death. But, has justice been served?I will not give any more details because I do not ruin the excitement and thrills of the film. If you are like me, the film will hold you on the edge of your seat. The film is riveting.I was disappointed that the film has a rather bittersweet ending. I so much prefer happy endings. But, the film is true to life. Yes, life does have its compensations. Unfortunately, however, there may be some harsh realities and shattered dreams. In the end, do the victims win? And, will the perpetrator(s) be brought to justice? Is there equality and fairness in the judgments made? Does life go on after injustice and rape? Find out the answers, to at least some of these questions, by seeing this very worthwhile film, which really makes you think about the issues surrounding corporate power, cover-ups and corruption, the judicial system, ethics, morality, rape, status and wealth, etcetera.This film is a must-see, and I rank it a 10 out of 10. The ensemble cast is superb, as is the direction and writing by Reto Salimbeni. The editing is well executed, and the music aptly adds to the film's mystery, suspense and tension--which constantly builds and increases the tautness of the spellbinding thrills of this crime drama. I hope that we will see more of these fine actors, including Eric Roberts.
honigbaer
I've read several reviews prior to watching the film and I really was afraid I could waste a lot of time with it and although I don't believe too much in reviews I was shocked about how bad they said the film was. However, before I read them I saw the trailer somewhere on the internet and I liked it. That's why I dared watching the movie and was rather pleasantly surprised with it. It's certainly no blockbuster but it's good entertainment and keeps interesting until the end. Especially since I'm German I'm proud of how good a German production can be nowadays compared to Hollywood movies (keep in mind the $7 million budget). Some said they considered the general as ridiculous, but he is a part of Angelina's psyche and I think it's rather obvious that victims of certain brutal crimes develop a psychic illness of some kind to bear with what they have experienced. So the biggest weakness, in my opinion, is the clearly audible German accent of Til Schweiger, but I rather smiled about it and had a good time nonetheless.
Yva-Laz-Vegas
I'm afraid this film is rather bad. I just went to see it yesterday and was surprised it was given a cinema release.I am a strong supporter of independent film and especially of Swiss directors, but this film sadly never gets out of C-Movie territory. The story itself has the makings of a fantastic movie, the themes of violence against women, betrayal and revenge are topics of enduring interest.I am normally delighted to see European (in this case German) actors participating in international films which will showcase them to a wider audience. I'm well acquainted with Til Schweigers work, but I thought his acting was awful in this film, full of clichés and hamminess. He was even better in King Arthur (another bad film) where he only had a few sentences of dialogue. Even though he was typecast as a villain in that one, his acting was miles better than in this latest offering.The supporting cast were also pretty bad in this film, especially the guys who played the boss of the advertising agency and his son, they were just awful.The filming of the violent attacks were needlessly graphic in this case and did not lend to the gravitas of the film. Other films have done this in a much more poignant(or relevant) manner e.g. Lilja-4-Ever, The Accused, Boys Don't Cry, Irreversible...etc. etc.The whole concept of the victim introducing an imaginary hero to help her cope with the trauma of rape didn't work at all in this instance and I thought this was a very weak point in the script and it's direction.The plot of the film is actually very interesting material, and if worked with in another way, could have been great. I intend no disrespect towards the makers of this film, as releases like these are normally a labour of love and an awful lot of very hard work goes into them, but i cannot give this film a good rating as it simply badly executed.
Jaikov
Very strong & deep movie. As obsessed moviegoer, I rarely give 10 points. But this time I just can't find anything to deduct. Story, cast of characters, camera work, music, locations etc. everything was simply excellent. Be prepared, that the beginning of the film is somewhat shocking. But this scene plays an important role to understand the psychological factors of the development of the plot and its main characters. This film does not only play at the surface on perpetual themes of life, it's far going beyond. A felicitous mixture of love & hate, power & justice, confidence & friendship, cohesion & extortion are the successful recipes for this extraordinary script.