The Calendar Killer

It's a pretty boring drama thriller in which an ostensible good samaritan is drawn into a domestic tragedy, but all is not what it seems. And all is not what it seems because of an accretion of confluences, contrivances and just plain dumb coincidences that strand the lackluster plot somewhere between incompetent and incoherent. I'm sure the people behind this dross thought they had something important to say about domestic violence. They didn't. Their feeble attempt to squeeze some profundity out of this trainwreck only makes it more insulting. And even putting the hammy sanctimony aside, this dumb diversion still fails as a thriller, mystery or drama.

A good German film directed by Adolfo J. Kolmerer that tells the story of a woman (Klara) victim of domestic and sexual violence who receives a message from the famous calendar killer who warns her that on December 6 she or her husband will die. In all this, Klara remains in touch with a hotline for women who return home alone. The film deals with very sensitive issues ranging from domestic violence to suicide and often talk about it is not easy but in this case the message of the film (although there are things that I think are absurd) is understood loud and clear. This important message is often suppressed by this story of the killer that until 5 minutes from the end does not serve much, I think the film would have made sense even without the story of the calendar killer also because, Again, until 5 minutes from the end it goes into the background but at the same time in the end this killer is the "key" of this film but not as a character but as a psychological concept, is as if it represents the subconscious or at least the less reasonable part of the reason of the victims of violence who may seek revenge. The message but in general the concept of the film is really very deep not only for the characters and scenes but more than anything else for the concepts that are behind it and that fully represent the world we live in where we need a telephone line to go home our. Unfortunately the world is not a safe one and if you want to see naked and raw violence watch this film because it will make you think long.

Klara has an abusive marriage to Martin, but Martin holds something over her. She had mental problems, and was sent to a less than ideal place, so he holds it over her. If she disobeys, he will send her back. And he justifies his abuse in that she accepts it. She has a daughter Amelie that she is very protective of. Jules is working a help line. He used to be in the fire service handling calls, but had a terrible experience, so now is on a help line. His help is to stay with the person who calls for help until the danger has passed, such as when they are walking home at night. One night he gets a call from Klara, who has gotten a message from the Calendar Killer. Either she or her husband will be killed by midnight. For a good part of the movie, one sees how Jules is trying to help her. She knows her husband is very abusive, but she cannot leave him. And many critics simply do not understand what that is all about. Where the movie fails is towards the end, with the twist it takes. And that is unfortunate, as until then, a fairly compelling story, with lots of tension, is presented.

"The Calendar Killer" wants to be something different. From the title alone, it projects a sense of self-righteousness, an air of significance. I wanted to buy in - I really did. The dark, moody atmosphere, the German dialogue that demands full attention. It had promise. But as the mystery unfolds, so do its flaws, unraveling in ways that feel less like a carefully plotted puzzle and more like a slow descent into absurdity.

The protagonist is sympathetic enough, the kind of character you're supposed to root for. And at first, I did. But then she makes choices - bewildering, frustrating choices - that seem completely divorced from reality. The kind that pull you out of the story rather than deeper into it. The film wades into sensitive territory, clearly aiming for depth, but it never quite lands the punch. Instead, it fumbles its message, leaving the protagonist delivering a speech that should resonate, should mean something. Instead, it frustrates.

That's when it lost me. I can suspend disbelief when a story earns it, when the logic of its world holds together. But here? Here, the cracks are too big, the missteps too frequent. And for a film that wants you to think, to reflect, to feel something meaningful - it instead achieves something else entirely. An eye roll.

And there it is again, and it bothers me as a German viewer especially, the well-known problem of German film: this extreme artificiality. People act and talk according to a script, but not the way they would in real life. Actors act in front of the camera as if they were on a theater stage. The camera is 10 cm in front of their face, but they act as if this were an evening for the 10th row in the 2nd tier. And when you add to that such a thin plot that makes me wonder who didn't notice the huge gaps, the result just can't be good. And it isn't. The movie suffers from many things at once and suffocates from its clichés.