37/48
Twelve years after his escape, professional criminal Trojan returns to Berlin. A valuable painting is about to be stolen in the city. But the meticulously planned robbery soon spirals out of control. Im Schatten (2010) follows. During the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin, the audience was able to see how professional criminal Trojan (Misel MACITEVIC) from IM SCHATTEN (2010) had to leave the capital indefinitely. Trojan still operates in a rather analogous way: he commits crimes in the old-fashioned way, such as stealing tangible objects such as watches, cash and paintings. Without connections to a mafia or clan structure, a lone fighter, only occasionally and out of necessity on the team! When a coup in the Ruhr region does not go according to plan, Trojan has to return to Berlin to draw on old contacts (Marie-Lou SELLEM). And indeed: Together with three colleagues (Tim SEYFI, Marie LEUENBERGER, Bilge BINGÜL), Trojan succeeds in stealing a valuable painting by Caspar David FRIEDRICH. But then the real problems begin with the mysterious client Viktor (Alexander FEHLING)… At the BERLINALE 2010, IM SCHATTEN by Braunschweig-born director Thomas ARSLAN was a long-awaited genre hit. A gripping genre film made in Germany, told through the cinematic means of the Berlin School. Extremely exciting, with sparse dialogue and explosive moments of violence! ARSLAN follows up with BURNT EARTH without any problems. Gangster films are still a rarity in German cinema. With cold precision, the images of cameraman Reinhold VORSCHNEIDER (also IM SCHATTEN) tell of people living in a dark version of Germany. Dark places, in the shadow of nearby sights and yet far from the perception of the police and the normal population. Berlin appears as a co-player and opponent of the film’s protagonists. The discreet music by Norwegian composer Ola FLOTTUM (THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD, 2021) contributes a lot to this tense atmosphere. It shows a capital that you know and yet you don’t. Many viewers will be able to recognize this urban sprawl with all its thoroughfares from their own surroundings. Ghostly places very close to us: scorched earth in the shadows! Misel MATICEVIC (BEFORE CRIME / BABYLON BERLIN) is again very convincing in the role of Trojan, of whom we will probably see more (Thomas ARSLAN is planning a kind of Trojan trilogy). GERMAN FILM PRIZE nominee Marie Lou SELLEM (nominated for KNOCHEN UND NAMEN / BONES AND NAMES in 2024) is there as the ice-cold mediator. But GERMAN FILM PRIZE winner Alexander FEHLING (2019 winner for DAS ENDE DER WAHRHEIT / THE END OF TRUTH) is terrifyingly good and doesn’t really have to hide from classic villains like Klaus KINSKI and Michael FASSBENDER. Thomas ARSLAN doesn’t have to hide from classic villains. He doesn’t want to spend as much time on the third film in his Trojan trilogy as he did between 2010 and 2024. It’s still exciting!
