MovieChat Forums > Der Räuber (2011) Discussion > The American's older, smarter brother.

The American's older, smarter brother.

posted 13 years ago by Tyler_Seymour_Wallach
4 replies | jump to latest

Both are films about men who have been numbed by societal banality; each man has a specialty crime; both have have romances which aren't really explained whatsoever (female characters with no development); similar directorial decisions (the cinematography is very similar between the two - Corbjin has the red room, though); both end with the lead character being fatally wounded and driving until their demise.

But where I like The American, I loved The Robber. At first, I was feeling out of tune with what this Austrian flick was talking about. Some guy committing robberies for no explicable reason, running and winning races, dealing with a parole officer and shagging some mystery lady. But then it gets much more interesting -- we surmise that he robs banks because nothing else in life stimulates him -- and of course, that final 45 minutes where he's simply trying to evade captivity. What an exhilarating second half; it's some of the best cinema of recent memory.

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[–] m-slovak79 12 years ago

While i like both i thought The American (2010) is much better...

-The American (2010) - 8.5-9/10 (my #1 movie of 2010 and within my Top 31 movies in general.)

-The Robber (2010-2011) - 6/10 (a mild Thumbs Up) (in fact, i just re-watched it for the third time just now on Dec 5th 2016 and while it was a 7/10 on my first couple of viewings it dropped off for me this time around even though i still do mildly like it)

but apparently he craved the rush/excitement of the robbery as it probably made him feel more alive as even in the film his heart rate never jumped up that high besides when he did a robbery as you could see when he connected that device to the computer that showed his heart rate as just running can't get his heart rate elevated to a higher degree like the spike showed which it's safe to assume was the robbery itself that spiked it.

p.s. the lead actress (Franziska Weisz) is quite attractive in The Robber. she needs to be in more movies ;)

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[–] retalato 12 years ago

I loved The Robber as well. I think you need to have some Rettenberger (Kastenberger) in you to truly appreciate the character and the movie. The thought of robbing a bank out of boredom/lack of stimulation/need for excitement is certainly not unique; even though few went as far as Retten/Kastenberger. If you ever had that feeling or a similar one, although perhaps not acting on it - you will understand better what lies or could lie behind such actions.

In a society who isn't utopic there will be antisocial behavior. It's not such a perplexing or new idea that there should be a need for the director to investigate and explain the reasons behind this in great length; for many of us imagination and thought is enough.

[–] georgegates 12 years ago

the mystery lady was probably his highschool sweetheart/first love. What is know is that they have known each other since the age of 6yr, which is revealed at the very end when she holds the photo.

And it was pretty clear from the start that they had been close.

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[–] kissofjudas 12 years ago

really? you thought it was exhilarating? i thought it was flat and empty. my main criticism is that it painted someone who's such an adrenaline junky that he robs banks... but then displayed it in such a mundane/flat tone, the movie might as well been about accounting.