By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Ulrike Tony Vahl
Starring: Clemens Schick | Frida-Lovisa Hamann | Jella Haase | Lukas Miko | Martin Wuttke
Year: 2026
Running time: 100
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16358308/
Val says: “Tony Vahl’s first feature is a dark, disturbing, gorgeous triumph. She explains that when she was young, her grandmother told her about people from villages around East Germany that ‘went into the water’ right as Germany was about to lose World War II. As an adult, Vahl explored the truth behind those words and uncovers stories of mass suicides across Germany, precipitated by instructions sent across radio waves from Hitler and the third reich directed towards their own people. ‘Leave no German alive’ for the victorious foreign troops to find as they sweep through border lands. Krux brings all the horror of this moment to bear in its brutal, dark depiction of a small village unravelling and destroying itself out of fear of a worse fate. It treats its Nazi-supporting characters with nuance that I didn’t expect to embrace – you feel a real sense of empathy for the women and children that have been bombarded with propaganda and lost loved ones to war. You are left with complex feelings about the men who have been left behind as Vahl leads you into their internal struggle as they succomb to fear. One of the strongest parts of this film is Vahl’s use of metaphor, chiefly through animals, to help the audience form a context for the villagers. It’s a tragedy, and a horror, that leaves you with a small sense of hope. Jella Haase gives a great anchoring performance as the film’s lead, and Clemens Schick is a standout as the conflicted schoolteacher. His physicality in the role is the best embodiment of the collective emotion of the village as he unravels in front of the camera. 4.5 cats.”