The Golden Glove
Directed by Fatih Akin
Germany 2019
PLOT
Hamburg, early 70s Fritz Honka is an alcoholic laborer who frequently visits Der Goldenen Handschuh, the pub in his neighborhood. Here, besides getting heavily drunk almost every night, he approaches women and prostitutes, whom he takes back to his home with the intention of having sexual relations. However, due to impotence caused by his alcoholism and the man’s repressed anger, these seduction attempts often end in tragedy.
THOUGHTS
Inspired by the true story of Fritz Honka, a serial killer who murdered four women between 1970 and 1975, Akin’s film is a revolting urban portrait filled with stories and interactions between outcasts. In an atmosphere of profound social decay, we follow the daily life of the killer: a monotony filled with rivers of alcohol, filth, poor health conditions, a lack of resources, and outbursts of anger that lead to the brutality of murder.
Akin guides us through these places, telling us about these shady characters, and his direction immerses the viewer so deeply that at times the stench of corpses, the grime of the neighborhood, and the pub’s walls soaked with smoke, alcohol, and sweat make everything feel tangible and real.
Not even the “almost soft” moment, where the monster stops drinking, changes jobs, and meets the beautiful Helga, diminishes the tone, preparing the viewer for the final catharsis where our protagonist returns “to his normality.”
The director handles this popular madness masterfully, the cinematography is excellent, and everything blends perfectly with the atmosphere of West Germany: traditional German music, the nightlife in neighborhood pubs (especially in the red-light district of St. Pauli), and the variety of characters that animate the pub.
Finally, a special mention to Jonas Dassler, the unrecognizable lead who portrays the killer, heavily made up but fully embodying the role.
His clumsy and twisted Honka kills with violence, driven by alcohol and rage for not being able to complete a sexual act.
The director shows us the many sides of the killer in his entirety: we see him rape and beat women, dismember corpses, cut up bodies, and hide them in his home until they rot and release unbearable gases.
But behind this monstrosity lies vulnerability, loneliness, and the perversion of the human soul—the monster protagonist’s and the people surrounding his miserable life.
PANDEMONIUM MOMENT
Honka takes home a former prostitute from a Nazi concentration camp, but failing to achieve an erection, first beats her to a pulp, then strangles her, and finally cuts her into pieces.
The Golden Glove is not for the faint-hearted.
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