It's been quite a while since we've seen a pregnant policewoman on the cinema screen. Since 1996 to be exact, when Frances McDormand played the slow but efficient crime-solver Marge Gunderson in Fargo.
Jana Gläser, the pregnant policewoman in Das Letzte Schweigen (The Last Silence), unfortunately is not as efficient as Marge. At one point, she looks the killer in the eye, holds the evidence in her hand, asks the right questions, but nevertheless lets him go. Not because she doesn't do a good job, but because the circumstances work against her.
This German film, about the killing of a little girl on the exact same spot where 23 years before another girl was raped and killed, is not a classic whodunit. We know who committed the crime. What the film maker shows us, is how this new killing opens old wounds that were not really healed after the first one. A retired police officer tries to solve the case because he failed the first time. The mother of the first victim has to live through the whole thing once again, because she gets involved in solving the new crime. And, most intriguing, the accomplice of the first killer gets emotionally shocked by this new and almost identical crime.
Apart from the very good script, this film stands out because of the original cinematography. There are beautiful shots and original camera angles throughout the film. Just an example: when the first killers drive their car out of the garage, this is shown with an aerial shot of almost geometrical quality. Near the end of the film, we see almost the same shot when the killer drives his car into the garage. Another beautiful shot, full of suspense, is the one where we see the car of the killers back up on the road when they see the little girl ride her bike on a dirt road in the woods.
The film is shot in Bavaria. The brightly coloured shots of spotless streets and lush landscapes contrast with the inner feelings of the characters. Almost every one of them has some sort of problem. This creates an atmosphere of uneasiness, which is emphasized by repeated fast- motion shots of rolling clouds. Das Letzte Schweigen is an original crime thriller, with lots of extra qualities to make it stand out above the average.
Jana Gläser, the pregnant policewoman in Das Letzte Schweigen (The Last Silence), unfortunately is not as efficient as Marge. At one point, she looks the killer in the eye, holds the evidence in her hand, asks the right questions, but nevertheless lets him go. Not because she doesn't do a good job, but because the circumstances work against her.
This German film, about the killing of a little girl on the exact same spot where 23 years before another girl was raped and killed, is not a classic whodunit. We know who committed the crime. What the film maker shows us, is how this new killing opens old wounds that were not really healed after the first one. A retired police officer tries to solve the case because he failed the first time. The mother of the first victim has to live through the whole thing once again, because she gets involved in solving the new crime. And, most intriguing, the accomplice of the first killer gets emotionally shocked by this new and almost identical crime.
Apart from the very good script, this film stands out because of the original cinematography. There are beautiful shots and original camera angles throughout the film. Just an example: when the first killers drive their car out of the garage, this is shown with an aerial shot of almost geometrical quality. Near the end of the film, we see almost the same shot when the killer drives his car into the garage. Another beautiful shot, full of suspense, is the one where we see the car of the killers back up on the road when they see the little girl ride her bike on a dirt road in the woods.
The film is shot in Bavaria. The brightly coloured shots of spotless streets and lush landscapes contrast with the inner feelings of the characters. Almost every one of them has some sort of problem. This creates an atmosphere of uneasiness, which is emphasized by repeated fast- motion shots of rolling clouds. Das Letzte Schweigen is an original crime thriller, with lots of extra qualities to make it stand out above the average.