Der Läufer

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No, we do not find out why a successful Swiss military runner murdered an unknown woman on the street. Director Hannes Baumgartners remarkable first work resists the temptation to understand the crime, and even less to explain it. His protagonist communicates primarely physically – when he looks, withdraws, breathes and above all when he runs. And runs. That his physical exertion is an outlet for childhood experiences that we don't know, for the pain over his brother's suicide, which we only hear about, and for the protagonist's inability to communicate with others - all that becomes immediately clear. We also get to know without saying that the initial, more accidental crimes that escalate to horrific acts are just a desperate struggle against one's own frustration. The film is as sober, disciplined and hermetic as its protagonist. But that's a good thing: The almost uncommented bewilderment is a better approach to actions as the one described above than it would be the more common way of a strong emotionalization.

Hannes Baumgartner liess sich vom Fall des Waffenläufers Mischa Ebner inspirieren, der 2002 in Bern mehrere Frauen brutal angegriffen und eine getötet hatte. Der Regisseur nimmt mit kühlem Blick die Täterpsychologie ins Visier und verzichtet auf Effekte und Thrill. Das ist bedrückend karg und beeindruckend konsequent. Max Hubacher glänzt in der auch physisch anspruchsvollen Rolle.