The Robber

According to the reviewer blurb slapped across the cover, this movie from German director Benjamin Heisenberg contains “Chase Sequences to Outdo Hollywood’s Finest.” Well, don’t believe the hype from the Village Voice. The chase scenes in The Robber are actually pretty tame by any standards, but that’s what makes it work. The film tells the story of Johann Rettenberger (Andreas Lust), a marathon athlete who makes a living by robbing banks. Stealing is more than a job, though. It’s a compulsion as strong as his need to train. The disdain with which he hides the cash in his room shows how little he thinks of the spoils of his crime sprees. He robs banks for the thrill, to get his adrenaline pumping. The fact that he’s so good at both only fuels his determination to run more marathons and rob more banks. It’s only when he starts sharing his lonely life with another human (Franziska Weisz) that Rettenberger stumbles.