Judging from the name, no one would imagine that this is a revenge film, but as the plot deepens, the element of revenge is not only its focus.
Foreshadowing was laid at the beginning of the film. In a brutal murder case in a hotel in Germany, Koliny shot and killed an entrepreneur Meyer and then voluntarily surrendered.
All the evidence points to Corinne, but no one knows the motive of the crime. He hasn't said a word since he went to jail, and he has no excuse for the crime. Obviously, the murderer was Corinne.
But what is the motive for the crime? There is no evidence that the deceased knew Collinni, but from the autopsy report, this is definitely a crime with personal grievances.
All three shots hit the deceased’s head, the bridge of his nose was broken, and his face was severely disfigured. This shows that the suspect had hit the deceased’s face violently. These actions all demonstrated the fact that he had a deep hatred for the deceased.
At the beginning of the film, the scene of Collinni shooting Meyer is not given, which is a metaphor for this case is not what it appears on the surface, and then the appearance of another protagonist leads the next event.
Casper was appointed to serve as Colinni's defense lawyer. His appearance is not only a lawyer's identity, but also a person who can uncover the mystery of the story.
Taking a very rare pistol as a turning point in the whole story, thus tore open the secret that has been sealed for many years. It turned out that Meyer was a Nazi officer who mercilessly killed 20 civilians including Corinne's father during the war.
However, he escaped legal sanctions, all because of the Dreyer Act promulgated by Germany in 1968, and the prosecution period for Meyer exceeded the statute of limitations.
Therefore, Corinne chose to do it himself.
Obviously, this is a revenge film, but is this really the case?
From the moment Corinne surrendered, he had received justice once, but this justice belonged to him only. He didn't care about his own life or death, he just wanted to understand it quickly.
But the arrival of Casper changed everything. He was obsessed with finding out the truth behind it, and it was his determination that brought Colinni a second justice (true justice).
At the end, Corinne committed suicide. There was no trial or justice, only the truth before him.
For Corinne, seeing the late justice finally arrived was the source of his many years of regret.
For Meyer, when facing Corinne, he knew that the big rock in his heart could finally fall to the ground, so he kneeled in front of Corinne, neither resisted nor escaped.
He used the rest of his life to make up for the mistakes he had committed, which is why in Casper's eyes, Meyer is a very friendly person, just like his father.
Setting the complex relationship between the three of them also makes the film more conflicts, who is protecting whom? This is not only a problem that Casper has to face, it is also a problem that people and governments who have experienced wartimes have to face.
Is a person a war criminal? The law should make the best ruling on him, not only to give an explanation to the family members who have been tortured, but also to maintain the meaning of the existence of the law.
In fact, this is a film reflecting on historical themes. Remembering and making up for it are its themes, because if no one does this, the dead will have no meaning.
The laying and narration of the first part of the film is very rich, but the latter is not strong enough, and a little hasty, leading to top-heavy. The reversal brought by Casper does not match the previous foreshadowing, which is the reason why the suspense color of the front part is too strong and the truth behind it is not matched.
However, it is still a good story.
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