Kriegerin

There are movies worth seeing and movies which need to be seen. This is both. It's a brilliant piece of acting by the whole cast, with a stellar performance from Alina levshin, and an understated but efficient directing from David Wnendt. But it is also a frighteningly cold and accurate view of neo nazism. The routine violence and hate carried by these young individuals echoes of all the fanaticism that surrounds us today. It is a very disturbing depiction of how society is step by step going to waste, turning back to tribal models.

Despite the fact that the movie gets watched without any slowing down or loss of interest, even if it can make one feel a little voyeuristic at times, this is no easy viewing, don't expect to come out of the theater with anything resembling a smile on your face. But at lest you'll be sure to have food for thought and both a new director/writer and actress whose careers you'll want to keep following.

I'm certain this is going to be Germany's nominee for the Oscars.

The auteur, David Wnendt, seems to have collected a lot of true stories and pieced them together into a fast-paced, very violent, often harrowing and quite unpredictable plot.

Most of you don't know the East German neo-nazi scene. You'll ask yourself if this is really how these people live and talk. Believe me, it is. This movie is so close to reality it often feels like a documentary. I expected to sit in the cinema nitpicking, counting mistakes. I found just one. (A license plate with an "88" in it. The German license plate office doesn't allow that.) All the actors are unknowns and few of them get to shine. All the adults in this story are wooden and almost all the teenagers are idiots. Their main job is to convey total ignorance about the extent of their ignorance. They do that well. Jella Haase is very good.

But Alina Levshin is the one who's superstar material. This is her movie, and it will be remembered as her breakthrough. Two of the movie's most memorable scenes are long uncut closeups of her face, not speaking, and they're some of the best acting I've seen, ever.

Do see it. Just don't expect to sleep easily the night after.

Stunning representation of the Neo-Nazi community, and the trauma they impose upon people

Even though many films have brilliantly shown the topic of neo- Nazism and its rise in contemporary society, Kriegerin ("Combat girls") focuses on the role of women in this environment. In the core of a strongly misogynistic ideology, women have to be twice as violent to impose themselves and find their own place. But it is not this exacerbate violence or hatred (even if it is realistic) that constitutes the strength of the movie, but the slowly change that takes place in Marisa thanks to an Afghan teen who she will help without really knowing why. Located in a cold economically fragile Germany, the boy will turn Marisa's life outside down. The symbolism of "a life lost is a life gained" is strong and the characters are colourful. The coup de grâce of the film comes from its poetry that is well-paced distilled and, between one aggression and another, manage to break through the film's cold colours, making it even more beautiful. Full review on our blog : https://losindiscretos.org/english/combat-girls-2011-david-wnendt

I heard someone say that the movie can be educational? The truth is that I would not watch this movie for educational purposes and not even with children under 18 years of age.

The morality is clear and that is why the movie does not emphasize on certain things. I didn't like this approach at all!, it is too black and white, and too much violence.

It's not just racism, it's the way of treating it, racism with violence, the worst there is. This is a hateful group of young people lost in life, whose brain has been spinned and they have no way out, the only thing that makes sense to them is violence, and on top of that they look for it, violence, and provoke it, it is the only way to feel power for them. But what do they care? They have weapons and explode at the slightest, everyone fears them, and rightly so. It would scare me too, a lot! Even the parents and grandfather scare me!

What I found even more racist and frustrating is treating a young man from Pakistan like a real idiot, for seeking help from the person who hates him and has tried to kill him.

The acting is good and realistic and this is the most positive thing I can add. Even the music seemed terrible to my taste.

The movie will not resolve everything or not in a satisfying kind of way. At the contrary, it lacks a sense of justice in one way or another, big time!

As I say, I still can't believe I've seen the entire movie. If you can stand it this story has the ability to drag you in by the very rough and emotional violent ride.

During the first few minutes I sat with my heart racing wanting to kill them all! Judge for yourself.