Angst (1983)

directed by Gerald Kargl
Austria
87 minutes
4.5 stars out of 5
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Belonging to the category of "German-language films that make us uncomfortable", this movie is well-known for being extremely effective in depicting a serial killer from the inside out, with narration switching back and forth between a separate cold, clinical voice explaining the backstory and previous doings of the killer and his own inner monologue, similarly cold and clinical in locution.

The opening scene is a stark look at the killer doing his thing, and I noticed that the actor seemed to be wearing some kind of steadicam rig. I noted this but didn't think anything of it until he said to his first victim "I'm shooting now", and I thought "huh". Because to me, the actor supporting his own camera rig and then his character saying that he was shooting- that felt like a double metaphor, like an acknowledgement of the fourth wall. He's shooting a gun / he's shooting a movie. This, of course, could be a completely moot point depending on whether or not the German language uses the same word "shoot" to refer both to shooting a gun and shooting film, which for all I know it might not, I'm just going off of subtitles here. Whether or not that specific instance was meant to brush up against the fourth wall, this is certainly a film that draws the viewer into it and makes sure you can't ignore a single thing that's going on.

The one element of this that I couldn't figure out, by which I mean I personally enjoyed it greatly but didn't understand why it had been included in the film, was that there's a little dog who stays around for a very long time. I immediately got bad vibes when they showed the dog, because considering that it's mentioned many times that the main character has tortured animals, I was sure the dog was eventually going to get done in. But it never does! It's just there, and they kept showing it running back and forth between places and barking at the murderer, which was honestly really funny and it's a testament to how otherwise disturbing this movie is that having a little dachshund named Kubo running around didn't bring down its disturbing nature at all.

Overall this is just a really well-made film that does a lot with no embellishment. I was disappointed in its assertion that childhood trauma can cause a person to grow up into a monster, but I suppose in 1983 that notion may not have been challenged as much as it is today. The main actor is perfect and probably the reason so much of this works so well. He was in Das Boot, too! I'm not sure why I find that amusing.