Die Jäger

This is a strange little movie. It is set in and around a hunting lodge in the Tatra mountains, where a group of well-to-do Germans go to hunt for fowl, hares, even bears. Of course there is a tricky triangle involved, between Dr. Matthiesen, German ambassador to Czechoslovakia, his wife, and local hunter Boris. A dark secret in the background..

I didn't find the human relations convincing (maybe partly because of the bad German dubbing), especially how the women acted. There is one good suspenseful moment between Matthiesen and Boris, and a very flat climax between Mrs M. and Boris. For those who care, a bit of frontal and lateral nudity is thrown in as well. What I liked was the depiction of hunting and its rituals. The amazing mountain scenery could have been featured more.. in fact, the scenes that I instantly enjoyed were people walking in the fresh snow. But besides... I can't say that I was very thrilled.

On the plus side, the German DVD by KSM is extremely well equipped with bonus material. Interviews with producer and line producer, 20 years later, give good insights into how this movie came to be, across the Iron Curtain of that time. The promotional materials for theatrical showing are documented, and even the US video version (quality as from aged video tape, still German but with English subtitles, probably cut in nude scenes). Great that they provide so much material for in-depth study... pity that it wasn't for a more deserving movie.