Rohtenburg

I can't help but wonder, after reading so many negative reviews, if people really got this movie. Yes, it is a commentary on a depraved culture. But, as the narration points out, the important things are not what makes us different from people like cannibal Oliver Hartwin, but what makes us the same.

As Hartwin, Thomas Kretschmann does a great job in a role that can be described in a mastery of understatement as "difficult." He plays a man who fantasizes about eating human flesh. He finds the yin to his yang in Simon Groembeck (Thomas Huber, equally superb), a man who's veritable truckload of I.S.S.U.E.S. see him abandoning his GQ model boyfriend to be eaten by a guy with a Herman Munster haircut and a predilection for beige. Go figure. They hook up over that great haven for all the demented and depraved - the Internet. Go team!

Kerri Russell narrates the film in a somewhat unnecessary framing device. Quite frankly, what I found most irritating about the film were the most over obvious attempts to sell it internationally - Russell is the known "face" but the majority of the cast is comprised of German actors. Why not film it in German? Why not drop Russell altogether and instead focus on the relationship between the two men? A relationship which is, in its own way, oddly affecting. For as the title implies...this is a love story.

Well, come on. How many movies does Hollywood churn out annually based on the central premise of a woman (once upon a time Meg Ryan, lately her mini-me Reese Witherspoon) and a man (preferably Hugh Jackman but Mark Ruffalo or one of the Wilson brothers in a pinch) who are made for each other? When you really examine it, this film is based around the same premise. These are two men who are, in Russell's own words as she drably narrates, a perfect match. Far too much screen time is given to Russell poking around Hartwin's farm house and looking generally freaked out, at the expense of the developing of the relationship between two true oddballs. This is not monster and victim - these are two lonely men who have found each other, and not nearly enough time is devoted to the why of it all.

In it's look, the film very much honors it's subject matter, to great effect. It is shot mostly in muted tones, yet avoids the trap similar films have fallen into - namely looking too dark and leaving the audience wondering if they need to turn the contrast on their TV up. Very much a 1970s horror movie feel. Clever tricks abound - we see a grisly horror film being enjoyed by Hartwin reflected on his eyeball in an extreme close up, while in an earlier flashback the camera travels under the sheets to watch him reading under his bedclothes as a child. The running time is concise, a mere hour and a half, with the majority of the film's most difficult to watch scenes occurring in the final twenty minutes. There is the odd unexpected moment of black humor - yes, you feel guilty for chuckling - while the bare bones script is stripped of exposition and all the better for it. On the whole it is a well made movie, not what you'd call entertaining, but a worthy watch none the less.

Both this film and Marian Dora's "Cannibal" were inspired by the unbelievably inhuman yet real-life horror case of Armin "The Rohtenburg Cannibal" Meiwes. Meiwes was a lonely and introvert homosexual who placed an internet add, looking for volunteers to get slaughtered and consumed by him. It didn't take that long before he got a response from Bernd Jürgen Brandes, another homosexual who treasured a life-long dream of having his penis chopped off and eaten. Like the script states at several occasions: these two formed a perfect match. Even though both films remain faithful to the grueling and sickening facts, they are two completely different viewing experiences. This film is more like a 'light' version of the facts (but, mind you, still shocking enough to upset people with a weak stomach), whereas "Cannibal" is a downright brutal and uncompromising film. "Grimm Love" supposedly takes place after the facts and the story is re-enacted via the research and profiling of an American psychology student (Keri Russell) residing in Germany to work on her thesis. This wraparound story is actually rather redundant, since Russell only appears on screen in order to link together all the flashbacks that build up towards the two men's fatal cannibalistic meeting. Unlike "Cannibal", this film dedicates a large amount of time digging up the men's backgrounds and illustrating their personalities. The voluntary victim Bernd Jürgen Brandes (renamed Simon Grombeck) forcefully hated the reproduction organ between his legs and apparently blamed himself for his mother's suicide, because she once caught him and another boy playing doctor. Armin Meiwes (renamed Oliver Hartwin) had issues with his mother as well, but she was more of a dominant and overly protective type. He developed cannibalistic tendencies after she died and eventually the endless opportunities of the almighty internet brought these wandering souls together. I find it praiseworthy that both films, especially considering the gruesome themes, succeed in clarifying to the audiences that this is, in fact, primarily an (unusual) love story rather than a gratuitous exploitation flick. It's a portrait of two men who're social outcasts due to their unacceptable sexual desires. This was even clearer in "Cannibal", since the two men shared all the screen time together as from the opening sequence, but even "Grimm Love" successfully reflects the affectionate and deeper relationship between the two 'monsters'. However, this movie suffers from a handful of dreadfully tedious moments and it sadly remains too vague about the disturbing things that happened after the castration. Meiwes stored Brandes' corpse on a meat hook in his basement and continued to eat his pal for several more months after the actual killing. This film only briefly mentions this little detail somewhere at the beginning. The cinematography is pleasingly dark and depressing, and the slow pacing and grim set-pieces contribute to the building up of an overall uncanny atmosphere as well. Martin Weisz' direction is subtly creepy and he clearly doesn't aim for sensationalism here. The German actors are very competent as well, even though they are for some reason forced to speak their lines in hesitant English… My main complaint regarding this production, as stated by other reviewers already as well, is the international character of the film. Why the involvement of a fictionalized American student character working on a psychology thesis? Why narrate the story through flashbacks, for that matter? Russell's role is entirely redundant and her character isn't even plausible anyway. For someone who has been obsessed and fascinated with the case for more than 3 years, she really sucks at watching graphic cannibalism on tape.

I have to say that this film caught me by complete surprise. I expected it to be a typical "Hostel" kind of horror movie. But the opposite was the case. Rohtenburg is an incredible shot film that draws you into a personal story and guides you slowly into the darkness of a disturbed mind. Against all odds i was pleasantly surprised about this film. I do understand though that this film will raise a lot of controversy and have people not understand it or love or hate it. This film has no grey area, it is hate or love for sure, since it doesn't slumber through the mediocre horror genre formulas and has very little blood for the die hard horror fans. It works on a psychological level and goes way deeper than i expected, actually giving me sleep trouble for two nights.

This is a very different film. I don't think i have ever seen anything like it. I would recommend it.

"Rohtenburg" by Martin Weisz is based on a true crime case of German cannibal Armin Meiwes,who butchered and cannibalized computer programmer Bernd-Jurgen Brandes after putting on necrobabes.com an advertisement "I'm looking for a normally built young man between 18 and 25 years for a real slaughter and consumption".It was ultimately banned in Germany due to a lawsuit in which Meiwes successfully argued that the film slandered his deeds and made him look bad.As a person who is really interested in the darkest human deeds I had to watch it.The performances by Thomas Huber as Simon and particularly Thomas Kretschmann as Oliver are very strong,but the film lacks gore and horrifying images of "Cannibal".I also think that Keri Russel's character is completely bland and unnecessary.The film would be better without it.Overall,this film left me a little bit disappointed.Check out Marian Dora's "Cannibal" or horrifying documentary "The Man Who Ate His Lover" for much better understanding of this fascinating case.

I wanted to look away, I tried to walk away, and yet I found myself watching intently. The grisly story unfolds as Russells character investigates a serial killer for her thesis. The more she finds out the more she seems to want to know and the audience is brought along with her. I will not giveaway anything because it would ruin it for anyone. Having never heard of the film I mostly watched it since it was endorsed by Fangoria Magazine and admittedly after watching its obvious why. There is no bright spot in this dark, chilling tale, somewhere halfway thinking how can I continue watching I don't want to know the truth was I did want to know, maybe this frightened me more than the tale itself. Towards the end I was the so engrossed I couldn't stop and had to finish it, and like characters final reaction so was mine.