Probably the surprise package of the film festival I attended, and it was originally at the bottom of my list to see. A gut-punching, and slickly crafted German/Austrian serial-killer crossed neo-noir thriller with ingrained giallo cues, religious motivations, political red tape, telling social/cultural themes and a no-holds-barred, headstrong central performance from the excellent Violetta Schurawlow as a Turkish immigrant, Özge, trying to make a life for herself in her adoptive Vienna.
She's a quiet, stubborn individual who works a taxi driver, attends evening classes and puts in the hard work training as a Thai-boxer. Don't get on her bad side, as she takes no bull from anyone and she'll let you know what real pain is! Also battling through persistent racism and sexism, the latter, includes from her own family. She shuts herself away, only really confiding with her similar aged cousin and young daughter. One night after returning home after a bruising session, looking out the window she discovers a dead body in the neighboring building. The killer, standing in the shadows, sees her and is convinced she has seen him too. This begins a life-and-death strugggle between the two, as the killer goes about trying to rid his witness unbeknown to him she can't identify him. Özge feels like she's all alone, but she won't go down without a fight and finds unexpected solace with the investigative detective.
When it came to the thrilling action scenes, from the vicious fight choreography through to the destructive vehicle chases/and stunts... what a rush! I was clenching my teeth, because of just how aggressive and brutal the carnage can be. When the focus centred on the cat-and-mouse element; talk about vigorous... like the first encounter in the taxi car. How it was edited and photographed; full of energy and verve without messily overdoing it, made it hard not to get swept up in it. The direction, camerawork along with Schurawlow's pyshical commitment really do make these scenes click.
The drama comes on large, as we start to see Ozge's character beats, especially her aloof nature around people and generally her own family. Things are hinted - deeper issues, but never really discussed, especially her toxic relationship with her father. But here, actions speak a lot more than words. As for the serial killer, he's archetypically portrayed as a deranged, but strategic killer targeting Muslim hookers. Other than that, which we learn from the detectives, little else is known. We only see him when he's about to attack someone (namely Özge) and this time he underestimated his next target.
I do find the first half to be gripping, but by the midway point the killer goes MIA and procedural groundwork falls to the background. There the story becomes loose and it begins the lull in its formulaic script. In particular when the narrative shifts to the melodramatic, even humorous interactions between the lead detective and Özge, as she seeks shelter under his roof along with his dementa affected father. At this stage of the story, it does display some candid laughs and touching moments, by presenting two very broken individuals hiding behind thick skins. Both not wanting to back down on their stance, but eventually the walls come down and respect it gained.
So by the third act, it turns it up a notch, ridiculously so and the hustle returns. The police finally come face-to-face with their prime suspect, and things go from bad to worse putting loved ones in a dangerous predicament. Just means the director wants to take you on another ride. So when it wants to thrill you, like before, it hits you like a tonne of bricks. What happens at the backend might be predictably written and stretching creditability, after a sobering drop in pace. Nonetheless we want to see Özge bust up this radical fanatic, no matter how over-the-top, and the suspenseful climax delivers on the promise.
She's a quiet, stubborn individual who works a taxi driver, attends evening classes and puts in the hard work training as a Thai-boxer. Don't get on her bad side, as she takes no bull from anyone and she'll let you know what real pain is! Also battling through persistent racism and sexism, the latter, includes from her own family. She shuts herself away, only really confiding with her similar aged cousin and young daughter. One night after returning home after a bruising session, looking out the window she discovers a dead body in the neighboring building. The killer, standing in the shadows, sees her and is convinced she has seen him too. This begins a life-and-death strugggle between the two, as the killer goes about trying to rid his witness unbeknown to him she can't identify him. Özge feels like she's all alone, but she won't go down without a fight and finds unexpected solace with the investigative detective.
When it came to the thrilling action scenes, from the vicious fight choreography through to the destructive vehicle chases/and stunts... what a rush! I was clenching my teeth, because of just how aggressive and brutal the carnage can be. When the focus centred on the cat-and-mouse element; talk about vigorous... like the first encounter in the taxi car. How it was edited and photographed; full of energy and verve without messily overdoing it, made it hard not to get swept up in it. The direction, camerawork along with Schurawlow's pyshical commitment really do make these scenes click.
The drama comes on large, as we start to see Ozge's character beats, especially her aloof nature around people and generally her own family. Things are hinted - deeper issues, but never really discussed, especially her toxic relationship with her father. But here, actions speak a lot more than words. As for the serial killer, he's archetypically portrayed as a deranged, but strategic killer targeting Muslim hookers. Other than that, which we learn from the detectives, little else is known. We only see him when he's about to attack someone (namely Özge) and this time he underestimated his next target.
I do find the first half to be gripping, but by the midway point the killer goes MIA and procedural groundwork falls to the background. There the story becomes loose and it begins the lull in its formulaic script. In particular when the narrative shifts to the melodramatic, even humorous interactions between the lead detective and Özge, as she seeks shelter under his roof along with his dementa affected father. At this stage of the story, it does display some candid laughs and touching moments, by presenting two very broken individuals hiding behind thick skins. Both not wanting to back down on their stance, but eventually the walls come down and respect it gained.
So by the third act, it turns it up a notch, ridiculously so and the hustle returns. The police finally come face-to-face with their prime suspect, and things go from bad to worse putting loved ones in a dangerous predicament. Just means the director wants to take you on another ride. So when it wants to thrill you, like before, it hits you like a tonne of bricks. What happens at the backend might be predictably written and stretching creditability, after a sobering drop in pace. Nonetheless we want to see Özge bust up this radical fanatic, no matter how over-the-top, and the suspenseful climax delivers on the promise.