Hagen - Im Tal der Nibelungen

This movie is far better than presented in imdb (even the plot summary is plainly wrong). For centuries-literally centuries-Hagen von Tronje has been the villain of Germany's most famous saga (yes, Wagner and all that). This movie retells the saga from a different perspective-an apology for Hagen-that alters some details, omits certain parts, and adds others. What you get is still a saga (they travel to Iceland in what may be a 15th-century carrack, 400 years before the Vikings dared cross the gap between Sweden and England), but it all comes together coherently.

It's also well-crafted from a technical standpoint, with good visuals and entertaining scenes. It never felt "long." I believe it's solid if you don't know the story, but if you do, it's at least very good.

Kriemhild isn't a main character, nor is Brunhild or the women's quarrel; it might seem that both characters seem a bit one-dimensional. However, I'd call this a deliberate technique to clarify that the story isn't about them for viewers who might expect otherwise. Alberich the dwarf plays a larger role, and boy-they are properly creepy.

All in all, if you know the book (yes, the old one!), "Hagen" will create a tension between the adaptation and the original. This allows you to better observe themes like "old world heroics versus courtliness", "individual glory versus greater good", and "who's at fault versus who's at shame." These themes are already present in the 13th-century book but are now brought into the spotlight for discussion.

The film is said to have cost 40 million euros. (There will also be a TV series made of the movie, or it was filmed simultaneously. ). Anyway, the result is just sad and embarrassing.

First mistake. Boring as hell of screenplay.

Second mistake: Boring actors, or rather, what are they supposed to play given such a lousy script? The box office in Germany was a disaster. Not even 200,000 viewers in theaters. Not to be recommended at all. No TV series with X to Z episodes will fix that either.

Maybe the filmmakers should have just watched Game of Thrones or one of the really good Viking series to see how to entertain in an exciting way.

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?)

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.

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.