Given his current output of grade-Z, direct-to-video schlock, it's pretty easy to be taken aback by Ulli Lommel's "Tenderness of the Wolves," a 1973 effort that, dare I say, shows all the signs of a competent--even promising--filmmaker. That being said, this effort isn't perfect. The story (apparently inspired by Fritz Lang's "M") is spare and nihilistic, and functions more as a vague exploration of one man's madness: Fritz Haarman (Kurt Raab) is a black-market butcher in economically impoverished 1920s Germany; due to his links to low-level criminals (his best 'friend'/lover is an unfaithful, zoot-suited pimp), the police agree to ignore his transgressions if he goes undercover to deliver the dirt on his fellow degenerates. But as irony would have it, Fritz is the most degenerate of all--a child murderer who cannibalizes his victims (and sells hocks of meat to a nearby restaurant) under the guise of helping transient youth. Lommel's stylistic approach is one of dreary subtlety--he evokes a downtrodden, pre-World War II Germany so convincingly that it is suggested (but never claimed or condoned) that serial murder and loose sex may be the only way of curbing one's madness. Yet while Lommel's direction is adept at revealing the unspoken nuances of Haarman, Raab's script ultimately left me wishing he had given us a few more insights into the character. Still, the film runs an economical 82 minutes and will provide viewers with a disturbing, yet surprisingly compelling experience. Those who think Lommel hasn't directed a decent film would be wise to check out "Tenderness of the Wolves."
6.5 out of 10
6.5 out of 10