Hetzjagd - Auf der Spur des Killers

I am not a great fan of serial killers films, but SE7EN, ZODIAC, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS were outstanding material, even for a non fan as me. I must be fair. This one is perfectly in the mood of such scheme and also the Russian society spirit: dark, hopeless, gloomy, desperate, bleak, brutal. Nothing Hollywood like here, you can also think of some South Korean features such as for instance MEMORIES OF MURDER and many more. I prefer this kind of Russian film instead of pure propaganda war movies or lousy, stupid CGI war costume films...This very flick, I repeat, is the just reflection of the modern Russia. Flawless production design, I would only add that the script is maybe confusing, hard to follow. David Fincher's SE7EN and ZODIAC were a bit easier to get watched. Anyway, it's worth the ride.

In the psychopathetic search tomake sadists and psychopaths confess by using the same methods in the investigation as the hudlums use themselves.

An overly dark and gloomy hunt of history youll witness in this bloody and gory story of real life happenings. As vodka and poverty ruled the russian society in the latter years of the cold war, this film reflects loads of socialrealism as it was back then.

Its not a zodiak killer movie, and itss not entertainment for the average audience, its far beyond sanity to become a blockbuster.but for the hardcore psycho viewer and nerdie historians this is raw flesh to devour. The grumpy old man acclaim the use of english cc's, for the rest its slow and all the way too gruesome to enjoy.

Raw panorama, finally a film where he lists the poor landscape, where the poor people live in that grey, dirty and dusty suburbs, with their poor things, shabby clothes and shoes, without any beauty, as are the characters, ugly, dirty and violent, against everything and everyone, the death of the victim is the last link in this chain of violence, and everyone pays, the serial killer, the detectives, the policemen pay, everyone succumbs, the setting is among the poorest and miserable, there is no life, there is no joy, everything is destroyed by madness, by the abandonment of the institutions, here the citizen is alone. The scenography is beautiful, the direction is excellent even if the time jumps create confusion but in the end everything is clear, the actors are excellent, a very beautiful film, worth seeing.

The impressive directorial debut of Lado Kvataniya. The narrative unfolds in a non-linear fashion and regularly jumps between the two timelines (initially ten years apart but gets narrower as we move forward). The frequent switch between the two timelines is used (as a plot device) to move the story forward, generate suspense, and maintain the tension and thrill throughout. A clever plot device that could have been a disaster in the hands of a less capable director, but here, supported by a strong screenplay and intelligent editing, it worked really well.

Costumes and makeup, especially for aging the characters, are carefully done and worth mentioning. Also, the scenes are lit beautifully.

Influences of some of the popular and acclaimed movies in the suspense/thriller genre can be seen, and the director showed his appreciation by pointing (not so subtly) toward a few of them.

Kazn or The Execution, is reminiscent of films like Silence of the Lambs. Not so much in terms of story but overall treatment.

Its grainy, bleak and gloomy, with an equally depressing subject, the search and capture of Russian serial killers. There's a grotesqueness about this film. It does not shy away from the, at times, revolting, world these killers occupy.

Balancing this, is a story of police corruption and scape goating, that's just as troubling.

Unfortunately, in spite of its dark promise, Kazn, is simply too incoherent, as a film to amount to anything meaningful. You really have to pay close attention, to try and bring together the loose strands of this story.

This shortcoming, is not helped by constant leap frogging between earlier periods and 1991, when everything comes to an head.

In summary, a quality production with a strong cast and interesting, if depressing, material. Its let down by excessive complication and a non linear approach, that makes following what is happening, no small task for the viewer.

NOTE: Why can't this title be found easily by searching IMDB?

5/10.