The Legend of Kaspar Hauser (2012) Poster

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8/10
A bizarre movie that you might enjoy
zelenizmaj13 February 2017
Warning: Spoilers
La leggenda di Kaspar Hauser is surreal movie about newcomer to an unspecified island in Italy. It is based on the Kaspar Hauser, a real person who appeared in early 19th century in a small Bavarian city.

The event was thoroughly documented, that is why we know that much about Kaspar as we do. There is also a movie of the similar name by Herzog, that is produced in a more documentarian style.

Ultimately, this movie is about second coming of Christ, with all packed up in a brilliant setup that will make you think.

Kaspar in this movie is actually portrayed by woman, which is not at all obvious at any point in the movie. The Kaspar represents a blend of a man and a woman in one body, an universal being, who incidentally likes to listen to Vitalic music (Rave).

Another great movie in this geist is "The Limits Of Control."
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9/10
very unusual look
shono14 August 2012
I liked this movie so much! Here, in St.Petersburg, Russia, it was shown on wide screen in cinema on main street of the city and there was 10 people in big hall, but no one left and in the end we all were applauding.

For me base of the structure of this movie is witty bound between XIX century strange story of a young man Kaspar Hauser and nowadays realities, digital music in particular. Director Davide Manuli tried to explain some details of Hauser's biography and his personality if it would happened in our modern times. I'm highly enjoyed the multiple compares and allusions between acid DJ (played by woman, which I realised at once) and prophet/messiah/heir/epileptic etc. Also this funny experience decorated with awesome soundtrack and aesthetic black'n'white cinematography.

I wouldn't recommend it to usual pop-corn watcher, but for Alejandro Jodorowsky's fans or other curious indie cinema watchers it's highly recommended.
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recommended rather for Vitalic fans
micada21 July 2012
I wouldn't recommend this black and white movie to anyone who doesn't like electro music. Moreover, well made energetic soundtrack from DJ Vitalic is in my opinion the strongest part of The Legend of Kaspar Hauser.

There isn't much of a plot to speak but it's not a disadvantage. The movie itself is surreal, often funny, sometimes tedious (as some sequences are a little bit too long).

I found Manuli's vision fresh but it certainly won't reach all of the viewers.

6-7 out of 10
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4/10
whatever the intention of this version, it suffers from being BORING
phesboy12 November 2012
Half decent soundtrack with a couple of beautiful tracks hiding among several less exciting numbers. To be honest though, the music probably benefited from TLOKH being so outrageously boring. Every time a tune kicked in it was a welcome relief.

It took every ounce of diet pepsi and will power to stay awake and present.

There's nothing entertaining or imaginative here in the script and acting to keep you engaged. Scenes are too long and sparse and repetitive dialogue serves to be little more than tiresome and frustrating. This Kasper probably ought to have been put down immediately for everyone's good. The film would have been far more entertaining and surreal had it been 10 minutes long.
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9/10
A magical experience.
psbzu11 March 2016
I found this movie after watching a clip taken from it, apart from Vicent Gallo (kind of a fetish actor for me), i didn't knew anything from it so it was a very surprising and pleasant experience for me.

This is not the usual mainstream movie nor even your usual arty stuff. To me it was more of a whimsical movie where you need to fill the empty spaces with your own personal experiences.

Electronic music, Vitalic OST is almost perfect (too repetitive but that it's needed to stress the message), but there's always a fight between Analogic/Real vs Digital/Surreal going on.

The movie is made of archetypes but we have the power to decide which is what.

The camera work is dated, reminding me of post II War Italian movies, that when contrast with the up to date musical references made my brain twitch.

Sorry for the digressive review but this is a perfect movie for me because lingers for ever.

Essential viewing in my opinion.
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2/10
a mule could have done better
farippo1 August 2016
The idea behind the movie is interesting, an innocent man unable even to speak is founded on a shore of a mysterious island and then educated to life, but the result is terribly boring and without any ideas both visually and in meaning. the visual setting of the film is clearly derivative of Ciprì and Maresco, particularly Paviglianiti, but the vulgar here is only hinted at by the figure of the dwarf and the donkey driver, and remains very little to counteract the characters that should be elevated as the Sheriff and the Countess with the rest. Terrible even from the technical point of view, with dialogues sometimes incomprehensible due to the bad sound. I save only the music.
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10/10
Young Kasper Hauser arrives to an unknown island with a very limited population. His 'way to be' heavily impacts every character in the story differently.
mfernandadromundo22 July 2016
I totally loved this movie. It is surreal, entertaining and leaves the viewer with a couple things to think about. It is a great reflection of our era. La Leggenda di Kasper Hauser will allow you to find its meaning for yourself. Silvia Calderoni's acting is completely out of this world; it was even scary at some points. She was able to create a character which will completely blow your mind. I assure you that you will be left wishing for Kasper Hauser to be real (Or is he already?) This movie has probably replaced The Tree of Life as my all-time favourite movie. The music in is this film is also great! For every music-enthusiast out there: You will feel very empathetic with the so-called Kasper Hauser. Please watch this movie with something in mind: it is nothing like you have watched before.
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1/10
Horrible.
verbal_6663 May 2020
I like non-sense movies, maybe something like Terry Gilliam does. I came from viewing Parasite (great movie, grotesque and deep), and after 15 minutes of this horrible trash (that's not non-sense, that's empty-sense), i thought what's wrong with italian director? Why this terrible trash? Take soundtrack (great tracks from Vitalic), take the prologue scene (great... and that's the only only scene!!!) and throw all the rest.
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