Schramm
Director: Jörg Buttgereit
Writer: Jörg Buttgereit, Franz Rodenkirchen
Cast: Florian Koerner von Gustorf, Monika M., Micha Brendel, Carolina Harnisch, Xaver Schwarzenberger, Gerd Horvath, Michael Brynntrup
Part of: /slash Filmfestival
Seen on: 29./30.4.2015

Plot:
Lothar Schramm (Florian Koerner von Gustorf) is a normal cab driver on the surface. But underneath that surface is a deeply deranged serial killer for whom reality and fantasy are not easily distinguishable. As that line gets more and more blurred, it becomes clear that he is heading toward some kind of climax.

Of the three Buttgereit films that were shown at the /slash Filmfestival, I liked Schramm the best (though it’s not that far from Final Girl). It’s tense and cringeworthy, but not without a sense of humor.

Much like with the other two Buttgereit movies, Schramm is a look from a very male perspective: not only the obsession with his own dick (that gets quite mangled in the process), but also the fact that all the women in it are either scary, almost alien creatures that Schramm really doesn’t know what to do with; or reduced to boobs.

And if you allow me another comparison: Although both Nekromantik and Schramm are fucked up films, it’s Schramm that makes that fucked-up-ness really felt. Probably because the humor (that is still there – for example with the Jehovah’s witnesses) feels more like an afterthought, something that also happened, instead of a giant wink that is present in every scene.

Florian Koerner von Gustorf is fantastic in the role. His performance together with the confusion through the time jumps (that take some getting used to) and Schramm’s lack of grasp on reality, the film stays firmly rooted in his point of view.

Which means that there is a real sense of sadness and loneliness in the film, that corresponds very well with what Schramm must be feeling. That is not always a comfortable place to be and sometimes you might even feel too much compassion for this fucked-up serial killer, but it is always interesting.

Summarizing: Really interesting.