What hobby would be a useful one for a bank robber? Amateur theater? Sharpshooting? No, it seems training for marathons is the perfect pastime for a man who often needs to be on the run. But is running Johann Rettenberger’s hobby, or is bank robbing? It’s hard to tell in the compulsively watchable German-language flick “The Robber.” It’s not clear which is serving which, and it’s not clear why he does either. No matter. The viewer is left to wonder at Johann’s motivations, while he simply tears up the screen.
As the film opens, Johann (Andreas Lust) is being quizzed by his parole officer (Markus Schleinzer) as he prepares to leave prison after serving a six-year sentence for attempted bank robbery. “What are you most looking forward to?” the officer asks. “Not running around in circles anymore,” the nearly silent Johann responds.
| On screen |
| ‘The Robber’ |
| 3.5 out of 5 stars |
| Stars: Andreas Lust, Franziska Weisz |
| Director: Benjamin Heisenberg |
| Rated: Not rated (nudity) |
| Running time: 97 minutes |
Indeed, Johann is a man of few words (the most common being “This is a holdup”), even with the only person who seems to know him. He spies Erika (a luscious Franziska Weisz) when he’s making the requisite visit to a social worker. She’s working the next desk over, and they obviously have a past. But what about a future? She soon invites Johann to stay, first in her house, then in her bed. But the runner isn’t interested in that kind of happiness — he’s most alive on his way to a robbery, blasting electronic pop in a stolen car.
He doesn’t seem to need the money that badly. He enters his first marathon in Vienna and sets a new national record, winning a rather lot of euros. His parole officer comes to congratulate him and asks how the job applications are going. They “didn’t fit in with my training schedule,” Johann explains. Whether he means he’s training for marathons or robberies, his intense focus on both mean there’s simply no way for him to settle down and have a normal life — despite Erika’s many charms.
A marathon-running thief seems like a great conceit. But “The Robber” is based on the true story of Austrian Johann Kastenberger, who terrorized bank tellers in the 1980s. A Hollywood remake is in the works, but it’s hard to imagine anyone doing a better job than Benjamin Heisenberg has here, with his film as lean as its subject. There’s no need to delve deeply into the psyche of a man who might not even understand himself. Actions, not thoughts, are what make character. And this one — and the film about him — is as agile as they come.
