Films like Angst and Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer exist in that niche bubble of brilliant filmmaking and uncomfortable, harrowing viewing experiences based on serial killers that left an indelible mark on history. Their unflinching examinations of these killers and their crimes have left audiences shaken to their cores for decades. Now, a new contender enters the ring that rivals the two reigning champs of this particular subgenre. Hailing from Germany, The Golden Glove presents one stomach-churning watch based on notorious German serial killer Fritz Honka, as impressive as it is in its unwavering goal to force its viewer to confront the darkest corners of humanity.
Written and directed by Fatih Akin, based on the novel Der Goldene Handschuh by Heinz Strunk, The Golden Glove uses the bar from which the film takes its title as the main hub to tell this gruesome tale. Nestled in the red light district of Hamburg, set during the ‘70s, Honka (Jonas Dassler) is a socially awkward loner that spends most of his evenings getting drunk at the Golden Glove, a local watering hole that serves as a second home to all sorts of strange, quirky characters. Aside from using the bar as means to feed his alcoholism, he frequently scours the bar for vulnerable patrons to take home and abuse. Or worse. It’s often much, much worse.
Unlike Angst and Henry, Akin is interested in bringing a level of humanity to every character we meet. The central character is Honka, but Akin makes sure we get to know his victims too. Honka’s victims of choice are lonely, elderly women, the destitute and down on their luck. Women unable to fight back as hard, or who have been so drunk or beaten down by life to resist Honka in a way that most would. In getting more acquainted with his victims, what happens to them becomes all the more heartbreaking and bleak. At the forefront is a character study; not so much what makes Honka tick, but a strange and visceral depiction of how he fumbled his way through his crimes by impulse. But more so, Akin is interested in exploring how someone like Honka so easily fell through the cracks. That stark truth enhances the horror.
When The Golden Glove released in its native country, critics initially recoiled in repulsion. Reviews ripped it to shreds, and “vile” was the oft most word to summarize the film. The knee jerk reaction of being confronted with something so profoundly upsetting makes sense, but The Golden Glove is a marvel of technical filmmaking. The brilliant editing and cutaways enhance Honka’s violence. The production design, the makeup department that transformed Dassler from heartthrob to monster, Dassler’s commanding performance, and Akin’s masterful direction all culminate in Oscar-worthy material. Though, it’s hard to conceive of any award committee overlooking the depraved narrative content.
It feels inaccurate to say that you’ll “enjoy” The Golden Glove. This subject matter is of the heaviest variety, and its central character not one you’re supposed to like. But it is a story with immense artistic merit and a new angle of this subgenre with something important to say. It’s bleak, dour, and often tough to watch. And oh so compelling. If you can stomach the more extreme offerings of cinema, one that happens to be based on a nasty figure in German history, then I urge you to seek this one out.
The Golden Glove releases on digital on September 27.
