Der axtschwingende Anhalter

This documentary is heartbreaking and deeply disturbing to watch, but certainly not in the ways that it was intended to be. It was clear from the get-go that Kai was delusional and needed psychological help. Instead, the media sharks descended upon him and took advantage of him because they thought they could make money off of him.

What if they had looked at him as a human being with a horrendous childhood who was desperately in need of help, instead of only seeing him as their next cash cow? Would things have ended differently? They had an opportunity to really make a difference in this kid's life and they squandered it.

This isn't an indictment of Kai so much as it is an indictment of the bloodthirsty media who exploited him. And this documentary doesn't even have the self awareness to see that. Shame on every single person who chose to ignore the warning signs because they were so focused on the dollar signs! Disgusting!

When I first started watching this, I thought it might be a Mockumentary. It was all over the place and I found it obnoxious. As it progressed, it got better.

This story has few conclusions and leaves you with a lot of questions. I'm wondering if this guy got by being a hustler then snapped at one of his johns.

It is sad to see all the people who had no interest in him except when they thought they could make money off of him. I don't think any of them wanted to improve his lot in life or to get him psychological help. Granted, he did come across as a free spirit who could take care of himself, but when disturbing behavior came out, they all fled.

You want to feel sorry for him, but once a person hurts another in such a vicious way, I lose all empathy.

A decent and engaging documentary about a truly bizarre story. This one ties in viral videos and media sensationalism as Kai, the axe wielding hitchhiker turns from hero and media sweetheart to something very, very different. It is a real reminder to us that what we see on social media and instagram is a polaroid photo of someone's lie, not their life. Kai became a sensation for using his axe to save a victim of road rage and talking to the news in his candid self. As exposure to him increases there is more revealed about his nature-perhaps the nature that lead to him being homeless in the first place as a musically talented, funny hero. When someone talks in streams of consciousness are they brilliant or insane? I often complain that Netflix takes a good documentary story and drags it into 2 or 3 parts unnecessarily, but this one is tightly contained to 1 episode and that is a plus.

I'm not sure I knew about Kai before watching this. It's a watchable documentary but the participants in it make all sorts of irritating biased claims that suit their angle. To begin with I personally did not think of Kai's behavior as heroic even for a split second. He seemed chaotic in his speaking, was showing how he hammered the other person with way too much enthusiasm and just showed signs immediately that he's someone to beware of. The fact that so many wanted to see him as a hero (and are still speaking as though he had that great charisma factor) and how the media sensationalized him should be a deeply disturbing commentary on the state of what society values at any time and how media plays a role. Since the story is real and interviews are somewhat interesting it was watchable. But unlike many other documentaries, I don't see much of a lesson learned or any critical discussion to stimulate ideas that are useful. The underexplored murder also cast a shadow on the elderly victim, and I felt that the victim may be victimized again. I don't know what happened but we're only hearing the side of the murderer. Not the best doc. And certainly a real story that none should be proud of particularly the media. Face up to the consequences of your decisions.

This is so disturbing. My focus for this review is on the mother. Yes the "powers" of media, took advantage of this young man and then dropped him at the first sign of trouble. One look at this "mother" tells you the true story. The mere fact that when she was informed of his arrest for murder, she smirked and gave a chuckle , enough said. Abuse. It's very clear all the way through this documentary that Kai was sexually abused at one point is his life. With a detached abusive mother and no support, his mental health is not surprising. Everyone ignored this kid. His suffering is obvious. He's muti-generational Canadian First Nation, already at a disadvantage.

There is mention of how good this lawyer "gentleman" was.... no talk of really how much a predator this lawyer was. The murder of him was not ok for sure but for Kai to rot in prison as the sole perpetrator in this disastrous life is not the answer. The depiction of Kai's life in this film is deeply disturbing. He didn't stand a chance.