Isenhart: The Hunt Is on for Your Soul (TV Movie 2011) Poster

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5/10
Atmospheric Environment Compartmentalizing A Complex Topic.
Haleyun13 November 2023
"The real world can only be understood by rejecting God as an explanation. Anyone who answers a question by invoking God's will just doesn't know. The way to knowledge is paved by curiosity and inquiry, not by faith and dogma. Inquiry means movement, faith means stagnation, for faith is content with ignorance."
  • 'The Non-Existence of God' by Sydal von Friedberg


"Presenting two extremes as the only two options in a choice is a logical fallacy called a false dilemma. This fallacy misrepresents the issue and excludes any nuance, which just isn't reflective of the way the world works." - Dr. Fran Turek

A tale that unintentionally touches on how the powerful dictated religion, science, and law among the masses, limiting the People's exposure to learn for themselves, what this film has going for it is the historical setting, the somber mood with macabre dealings, and the hint of magical romance. If the same tale were told as a modern story, I think it would alienate and fail, flat out. The anti-faith message starts to get heavy but the actions and dialogue of the skeptics become monstrous and zealous, faithless religious fervor unto itself. The skeptics, even our protagonist, have been conveniently given future eyes, where they have lofty ideas about the advancement of science while everybody else, especially those of faith, are damnedly ignorant.

An interesting tale considering it's German connection. A tale of scientific exploration causing a travesty by murdering innocents to examine their anatomy and their souls. A twisted perception of that which we don't know in God and eternity and the soul. I think the writers wanted to show how faith caused ignorance and death, and science could get you murdered because faith wouldn't let it flourish. This doesn't age well considering the recent abuse of science for politics and pandemics, or as appropriate as ever, the elitist mind set that some deserve knowledge at the expense of most. It's almost like the writers don't remember a tragic World War and it's travesties.

When you look at historical elitist communities, royalties at times, they would decree their laws in the name of God or in the name of their own lineage or in the name of country. This is why many preferred for the masses to not know how to read, or at least not know the language that the Bible was written in. What was also common though, was a man of faith being a man of science. Science was not forbidden to people of faith but education was forbidden for the lowly ones, lest they become smart enough to topple their rulers. This mentality still exists today, where science and faith are pitted against each other to exert control but both are very complimentary of each other for a sincere seeker.

According to this tale, you die by faith, ignorantly, but are murdered for science. And it's faith's fault that science cannot flourish, since science cannot force itself on some to educate others.
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4/10
Really uninspired and forgettable
Horst_In_Translation26 November 2016
Warning: Spoilers
"Isenhart - Die Jagd nach dem Seelenfänger" is a German movie from 2011, so this one has its 5th anniversary this year. The director is Hansjörg Thurn and the writer is Holger Karsten Schmidt and looking at other stuff these two have done in the last decade I am a bit surprised how weak their outcome here turned out to be. These 120 minutes were a production of the ProSieben Sat 1 Media AG and that describes it very well already. Occasionally, these two German television stations show quality films, but when it comes to producing their own movies, they deliver very very rarely only. A perfect example would be the (so far) three "Wanderhure" films that also run for roughly 2 hours each of them, so it is not too incorrect to call this movie the male equivalent to these Alex Neldel films and there are definitely more reasons than the facts that these films were produced by the same companies, they play at times long ago and Bert Tischendorf plays core characters in both films/franchises. Admittedly, this film we have here does not have as many (and as deep) lows as the "Wanderhure" films.

So yeah, if there is any reason to check this film out, then it is maybe the visual side. The cinematography and sets are solid and the costumes and makeup aren't bad either, even if some characters look very similar the way they are displayed in here with their long blonde haircuts and their outfits. Neither the acting nor the story is good however, and with the story, you are almost pretty generous if you call it mediocre. There are almost no interesting characters in here at all and this also applies to the title character which is always a negative deal breaker for a film of course. I did not care about any of the relationships in here, be it friendship or love, or certain characters dying. And the final plot twist about the main antagonist is nothing of value either. I guess they just wanted to shock everybody a bit and they really sacrificed realism for it, not that there was a whole lot of it in the first place. But the good thing is they accepted how forgettable this film turned out and did not make further sequels the way they did with the "Wanderhure" films. But yeah, it is actually pretty tough to find pros about "Isenhart" as there are many more cons for sure. I don't recommend the watch. Thumbs down.
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7/10
A tale with an original plot line.
shide_8521 November 2016
Recommended (be wary slightly slowpaced & relatively low budget)

I exspected a fantasy and got a history/action (possibly slightly sci-fi to it as well).

It's a good watch, it is slow at times, but the story is given time to evolve as it should. The effects are not all there even though costume possibly pulled off an incredible feat (depending on budget). However it still isn't fully enough as some helmets does not suit it's bearer and some extras does not fill the shoes as well as they should. Gore and grit is pretty much there, which is a big plus. The cast is alright, the lead (pretty unknown to me) is alright but does not excell - however does not remove realism from it either which is mostly down to the dialogue (which is well written). The acting overall could be a little better but isn't below average for similar movies, rather slightly above.

Pro's • Script • Dialogue (up and down but mostly solid) • Original plot line (or at least have the feeling thereof) • Costume & scenery • Director (which probably made ends meet)

Con's • Budget (?) - doesn't reach all the way • Some elements are slightly improved upon by modern norms/rationale

End notes: This isn't Braveheart, on the other hand it does not have a white van it in either. I liked it, it shows that you can do quite big historical movies with a relatively small budget. -It's quite well crafted for similar movies and delivers on originality.
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decent
Kirpianuscus27 November 2016
a decent mix of fairy tale and Medieval references. not great but nice. using the knight and his desire of revenge, the science and the magic in smart manner for a comfortable coherence of story. the low budget is its virtue and its weakness source. its virtue because gives the chance to the story to be the most important part. a sin because the acting is only pretty, the dialogues - better by other films from same genre and a drop of realism could save many not the most inspired details. but it is a pretty film. not original but reasonable in the way to send its message. and this is a good thing. in same measure, the androgen aspect of the lead actor could be a virtue for the atmosphere.so, a decent work.
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good intentions
Vincentiu22 May 2014
complicated theme, delicate subject, great ambitions. a film who has its precise public despite the desire to seems more than a not very inspired exercise to explore forbidden subject. because the ambition to be more than a film with Middle Age scenes, few cultural/historical references falls in the search to mix Walter Scott with Umberto Eco. the way is interesting but risky if the desire remains to seem be a profound movie without the chance to really be. but, ignoring this detail, it is a beautiful film about knights, heroic facts and justice. sure, not remarkable but that is not a sin.to discover a mixture between history and fairy tale is always useful after a difficult work day. in this case, the things are easy - young men, beautiful girls, the ambiguous evil and fight scenes. all in nice package.
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