Name: Ein tödliches Wochenende
Genre: Thriller
Released: 2001-03-07
Duration: 1 h 30 min
Rating: 6.3
Cast: Andrea Sawatzki, Dominique Horwitz, Nele Mueller-Stöfen

"Ein Tödliches Wochenende" or "A Deadly Weekend" as it might be called in English is a German TV-movie that tries to analyze the human psyche in different ways. "How do people react in crisis situations" is the main idea behind this movie and even though it isn't the best example of German cinema, that still makes it worth watching for all people, like for instance me, who are interested to see how people act and react...

What you'll see is a group of people who come together in a farm on the countryside, where they will attend a group therapy session. Each individual has his or her own problems and here they will try to solve them as good or as bad as they can, sometimes driving each other to pure explosions of anger or anxiety. But one of these people has a terrible secret. On the way to the farm he/she has hit a young child with his/her car and instead of helping him, he/she has driven away as fast as possible, leaving the child to die next to the road. When the father finds out what has happened he's so furious that he wants to kill the one who did it with his own bare hands, helped by a group of local inhabitants and not stopped by the local policeman who is afraid to lose respect. How will the group react when they find out? Will they help the person who did it? Will they send him into the hands of the angry mob or are they all prepared to die for an incident they don't have anything to do with? 

I guess no-one will be surprised if I tell you that I haven't heard of any of the actors before. Most of them haven't played in anything else but German TV-movies and series and that's not exactly the kind of programs on television that I watch very often. Still, I must admit that they did a pretty good job. It was never excellent, but at least it was a lot better than the acting in the average (German) soap opera. The story on itself isn't bad either, but the main problem that I had with this movie was the fact that there were so many characters with each so many different problems. I know this had to feel like a very heterogeneous group, but now it was sometimes difficult to keep everybody apart and to stay focused. Sometimes I found myself wondering why this or that person was exactly acting the way he or she did and that's never a good thing.

Overall this is an enjoyable thriller. It certainly isn't the best example of German cinema, but considering the fact that this is a TV-movie, written and directed by people who aren't used to work for the big silver screen and made with actors who only work for the TV, this certainly isn't bad. I give this movie a 7/10.

German cinema is famous for its historical depth, expressionist aesthetics, and social-political engagement. It has moved from Expressionism to political reckoning, from New German Cinema's raw realism to contemporary genre experiments. Its legacy lies in both technical innovation and deep explorations of history, morality, and philosophy.

The thriller genre features suspense, tension, and excitement. These stories are known for keeping audiences on the edge of their seats and delivering intense emotional experiences by revolving around high-stakes situations, dangerous conflicts, and the constant anticipation of unexpected events.

They work through their mental deficits in a self-help group: Ute, Julius and other fellow sufferers. Then suddenly Farmer Menzel arrives. One of the participants accidentally ran over his son on the way to therapy.

Jürgen Hentsch and Nele Mueller-Stöfen in Ein tödliches Wochenende (2001)

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Thomas Kretschmann and Andrea Sawatzki in Ein tödliches Wochenende (2001)

Jochen Nickel and Dominique Horwitz in Ein tödliches Wochenende (2001)

Ein tödliches Wochenende

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