If you don’t just want to cool down with Twisters, we have an alternative cinema tip for you. It’s about people who are really good at their job, old networks, fraud and big money. We’re talking about Scorched Earth, a Heist thriller about an art theftfull of tough guys and cold-blooded getaway drivers. It won’t be any cooler in the cinema this weekend. And German films have rarely been better this year.
In Scorched Earth, a painting by Caspar David Friedrich is to be stolen
Misel Maticevic plays the main role of the professional criminal Trojan, who returns to Berlin after a long time. Through a friend he gets a promising job: Trojan is said to steal a painting by Caspar David Friedrich and is handsomely rewarded for this by his unknown client. At his side are computer expert Chris (Bilge Bingül), getaway driver Diana (Marie Leuenberger) and his old friend Luca (Tim Seyfi).
Piffl Media
Alexander Fehling as Macher Victor in Scorched Earth
Anyone who has ever seen a heist film like Heat or Rififi will certainly get a stomachache at the sight of Victor (Alexander Fehling). Victor is the henchman of the invisible client and Fehling plays the dude in the leather jacket in a deliciously exaggerated way. Most of the time he speaks in such a hard-boiled way, as if he was nursed with the films of Lino Ventura or Michael Mann. As cold and clear as Scorched Earth often seems, Fehling makes the most of his gangster’s tough exterior – and it is great fun to watch him do it.
The gangster thriller continues a 14-year-old story
This is not the first time that the antagonist Trojan has visited German cinemas. Thomas Arslan’s gangster film In the Shadows was released in 2010, which shows why Trojan had to leave Berlin. The predecessor is not necessary to understand Scorched Earth – but it is better to watch it sooner rather than later. Because Arslan proves in it and in his new film that what German genre cinema can look like: idiosyncratic and yet deeply rooted in the traditions of the genre.
Piffl Media
Misel Maticevic plays Trojan again
With its Berlin setting, bakeries and architectural sins, Scorched Earth sketches out an underworld that lands perfectly in the German metropolis of the present. Someone like Trojan could be sipping a filter coffee next to you at the station snack bar tomorrow.
Despite all its down-to-earth nature, Scorched Earth does not shy away from the visual appeal of the heist thriller, on the contrary: It is a pleasure to watch a meticulously planned robbery or watch a light-heartedly choreographed chase through Berlin. You shouldn’t miss out on this cooling treat.