Hagen - Im Tal der Nibelungen

I had low expectations to begin with, perhaps that made me a tad too grateful, but the film was a nice evening at the cinema - not something we get very often. Nice visuals, costumes and set are overall immersive, the music is good.

It has weak points and material was obviously cut down, giving us some loose ends and lacking a little substance at times.

On top of some scenes that just don't convince the viewer of characters' traits, making them feel rather shallow, there are a few awkward lines in some dialogues.

Keeping this in mind, provided you are able to separate this from the traditional story, Hagen is an interesting, even rare character - who is humble and loyal, despite being competent.

The anti-hero trope has been done to death, this isn't any such story, whatever the synopsis tries to tell you. I would have loved a longer, more in-depth character study, but Hagen himself was intriguing.

A good film, I would alter some things, but will definitely use the main character as inspiration for some project.

As someone who grew up reading the source material and especially the interpretation by Hohlbein from the POV of Hagen, i have been waiting for a state of the art adaption of Song of the Nibelungs ever since I saw my first Lord of the Rings Movie. I never had high hopes it would get made because despite being one of the most influential historical epics of all time, hollywood has always been blissfully ignorant.

Now a european production has finally stepped in, and i am here for it!

The filmmaking is superb. The visuals are stunning. Everything looks realistic yet stylish, and the sword fights are down to earth yet filmed in a way that makes you feel the weight and impact of each strike.

Qualitiy of performances varies, but the main characters all deliver. Everyone has botteled up emotions to deal with, you know what they feel by looking in their eyes, everything is handled with a minimum of dialogue and a maximum of context to make you understand the driving forces behind each character. It does not feel like just another fantasy film, but more like a dark, tragic saga that hints but never 100% commits to the supernatural elements of its plot, similar to projects like "The Northman" by Robert Eggers or the "Hellblade" video game.

If you are into sagas and gritty medieval dramas, or if you are a fan of the source material like i am, this one is for you!

German fantasy productions have become rare, so I was glad someone decided to once again use the Song of the Nibelungs, the classic German hero tale, as a source for inspiration - even if the movie itself is based on a book by Wolgang Hohlbein.

Visually this is an impressive looking production, with lush setdesign and inspiring costumes.

But the acting is wooden - all around, I'd say. Main protagonist Hagen f.e. Never goes on any kind of classic "Hero's Journey". He just stays his stoic, usual self throughout the entire film, often coming off as a person looking "into the film", while more interesting stuff happens to other characters.

It also can't seem to answer its own question whether or not to lean into the really outlandish fantasy elements of the story it is based on. That must explain why I never could shake the feeling off that entire scenes were simply missing, especially in the first act, because the film does a horrible job introducing characters and story. You'd be lost without at least basic knowledge of the Nibelungs.

See it for the visuals. Otherwise there's nothing really memorable here.

I loved it! The movie had all that is needed to be epic. Intriguing characters, a strong storyline, astonishing settings and of course a lot of Hagen. Although I imagined him being more talkative instead of being a german version of Ned Stark, I loved it anyway. It is an experience in cinema, that shouldn't be missed. The must-see movie of the year. A tribute to the old tale of the Nibelungen and a rare pearl within the German movie landscape. It's love story breaks with old stereotypes. It is not full of unnecessary sex scenes and the fight scenes are well shot. I cannot wait to see this movie again.

A poetic homage to an immortal epic for ages retold.

Siegfried the Hero and Hagen the murderer (which is no spoilers, the story was known to us over 900 years).

The battle scenes are epic, the dialogue is a bit shakespearean, hence i can understand that the modern audience (i hate to use the word zoomers so i wont) will find it dull (i loved it: macbeth flashbacks).

I found it refreshing overall.

All classical characters of Nibelungenlied are in the movie and they are loyal to their characters in a range of extend

This one explores the psychological motives behind the characters, their endeavours and the tragic result. (or was is tragic?)