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phazonfreak
Reviews
Nachruf auf eine Bestie (1985)
Sober and insightful documentary about a "beast", who is murderer and victim at the same time
This documentary is a contemplative analysis of Jürgen Bartsch, who was convicted of several counts of child torture and murder in the 1960s in the Ruhr area of Germany and died in 1976 from complications during a surgical castration. Instead of lingering on the horrific crimes and the vehemence with which they were processed in the public mind, we get to know about Jürgen Bartsch through interviews that were conducted during the early 1980s with people that knew him, including nurses, neighbours, acquaintances, victims, policemen, lawyers, journalists and psychiatrists.
What sets this approach apart from similar endeavours is that we also get to hear the inside perspective from Jürgen Bartsch himself in the form of several audio recordings that were taped in prison. He is extremely eloquent in his self-reflections, which makes listening to his descriptions a rather unique experience.
It is utterly fascinating and chilling to hear him speak about his volatile upbringing and his feelings. About his emotionally distant adoptive parents that isolated him during the first few years of his life and about their morbid cleanliness and austerity. About his experiences of getting constantly bullied by classmates in school and his developing fantasies of revenge. About his time in a strict catholic boarding school that felt more like a religious prison than an institution of learning to him. About his internalized teachings that sex and intimacy equals sin and shame. About his desire to get close to other boys and his fits of jealousy-induced rage. About his ever growing compulsion to unleash his inner beast onto his young victims. And finally, about his regrets and clear realization that he needs help to become "normal" again.
Another compelling aspect of the documentary is its illumination of the change within the field of criminal psychology in Germany during the late 1960s and early 70s on the basis of this case. The social environment that has shaped the perpetrator became much more important next to any genetic predispositions and physiological deformities in order to explain the crimes and to determine the form of punishment and the possibilities of rehabilitation.
While this documentary might be of special interest to German-speaking audiences because of the audio recordings of Jürgen Bartsch, I would definitely recommend it to non-German speakers as well, if they can find a copy with subtitles and if they want to take a deep dive into the psychology of a so-called "beast" in his own words.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021)
Shades of grey
I enjoyed this show overall and the final episode is a satisfactory conclusion to the theme of global politics in a world that is still reeling from the aftermath of the fight with Thanos in the movies. I also have to give credit to Marvel regarding their well written inclusion of race politics and our very own perception of the society we live in. It infuses the show with a lot of relatability and makes the journey of Sam Wilson all the more poignant. His last speech, however, seemed a little too preachy moralistic to me and even made me cringe a little. It is an odd speech considering the intention of the show to leave absolute light and absolute dark behind and show us a lot of grey area.
I did enjoy seeing the growing relationship between Sam and Bucky, even though I feel that Bucky got the short end of the stick when it comes to character development. It is obvious that he is not treated as an equal in that regard, which led to a lackluster and rushed final scene that was wholly disappointing. On the plus side, all the other small scenes that he had over the course of the show keep confirming me that Sebastian Stan is a fantastic actor when he gets the right material.
Daniel Brühl as Zemo is top notch, but Daniel Brühl as an actor is always top notch. I am not really into all the memes that have flooded the internet, though, and I think they slightly take away from the impact he is supposed to have on the strong convictions of Sam and Bucky.
Karli Morgenthau and her Flag Smashers never really grabbed me. Their motivations seem very muddled and Karli as a character remains completely flat and one-dimensional. This might not be entirely the fault of the writers or the actors, because there was supposed to be a major sub plot that had to be removed due to current events in the real world. Regardless, they don't really work in this series as a relatable foil for the downtrodden people on the planet.
Sharon Carter is... not Sharon Carter anymore. They completely changed her character from the movies and while that change might be understandable from a world-building perspective, it remains to be seen whether it leads to anything worthwhile when she shows up again in future Marvel projects.
The big standout of this entire show is John Walker, played brilliantly by Wyatt Russell. Instead of giving him the lazy antagonistic role to Sam Wilson that everyone expected, the writers decided to make him an extremely interesting character. Capable but flawed, good intentions but questionable executions. He surpasses all the typical super hero and super villain tropes that we are used to by now and I can't applaud Wyatt Russell enough for the way he plays that character. He is the greatest takeaway from this show and I am looking forward to seeing him again in the future.