The Robber (2011)
Average Rating: 7.2/10
Reviews Counted: 26
Fresh: 20 | Rotten: 6
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 7.1/10
Critic Reviews: 11
Fresh: 9 | Rotten: 2
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 612
My Rating
Movie Info
Directed by Benjamin Heisenberg (Sleeper) and starring established actor Andreas Lust (Revanche), The Robber is slated to open in New York City on April 29, 2011, at the Lincoln Plaza and Cinema Village. The film will expand to other US and Canadian markets during the spring and summer of 2011. Based on a novel by the Austrian author Martin Prinz, and shot on location in Vienna, The Robber was one of the most critically acclaimed films featured at last year's New York Film Festival. The film was
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Cast
-
Andreas Lust
Johann Rettenberger -
Franziska Weisz
Erika -
Markus Schleinzer
Probation Officer -
Roman Kettner
Hostel clerk -
Hannelore Klauber-Laursen
Bank Cashier -
Tabea Werich
Young Girl in the Super... -
Nina Steiner
Labour Exchange Student -
Wolfgang Petrik
Erika's Client -
Florian Wotruba
Erika's Client -
Johannes Handler
Physiotherapist -
Katharina Hülle
Sports doctor -
Tony Nagy
Shoe Salesman -
Michaela Christl
Kidnapped Woman -
Georg Mlynek
Jogger -
Alexander E. Fennon
Stolen car owner -
Alex Scheurer
Strong-room employee -
Friedrich Stindl
Strong-room employee -
Walter Huber
Chasier -
Leopold Böhm
Treasurer with weak att... -
Gerda Drabek
Switchboard operator wi... -
Marcus Bauer
Man at cash dispenser -
Hannes Ipirotis
Police Unit -
Robert Müllner
Police Unit -
Christian Buchmayr
Police unit -
Martin Prinz
Leading Marathon Runner -
Jürgen Köllner
Nurse -
Karin Köllner
First Aid Attendant -
Michael Steinbrecher
Fireman -
Johann Bednar
Commissioner Lukac -
Max Edelbacher
Commissioner Seidl -
Cobra
Cobra-Application Force... -
Michael Welz
Commissioner Welz -
Erwin Reichel
Policeman in the Woods -
Peter Vilnai
Older Man -
Bernd-Christian Althoff
Man at Roadside Parking -
Swintha Gersthofer
Woman at Roadside Parki...
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All Critics (26) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (20) | Rotten (7) | DVD (1)
Here is a well-made movie with insufficient interest in its hero.
Top CriticThe film boasts several turbocharged chase-and-escape sequences, alongside understated character analysis.
The Robber is powerful stuff.
"The Robber" is one of the most abstemious thrillers in recent memory.
Armed with a screenplay adapted from a Martin Prinz novel based on a true story, writer-director Benjamin Heisenberg has crafted something as serious, quietly determined, and surprisingly compelling as his criminal protagonist.
This story of real-life Austrian criminal Johann Kastenberger is both tranquil and gripping.
Bleak and yet exciting, a fascinating character study built around a pretty unpleasant "hero." If Hollywood could find a star willing to get in spectacular cardio-vascular shape, a lean-mean running machine, I could certainly see a remake...
The Robber isn't all it could be, but there's a kernel of a great film in it.
"The Robber" is artfully done but emotionally remote.
Even if you think you don't like foreign-language films, I bet you'll like this one.
Johann operates with rules of the onscreen gangster ... [Yet he] is a noir protagonist, trapped and doomed by his past.
With his taut rhythms, poetic imagery, and assaultive action, Heisenberg transforms the thrills of the genre into an existential fable worthy of Camus.
... the remarkable story of an amazing enigma of a man who gives you no reason to be sympatric toward him but you do, in the end, anyway.
This may be the first art house film that's literally fashioned as a 'roller coaster ride.'
The Robber's race to mediocrity ends with a dying phone call, which among other things is the death of inspiration.
A long slog to a poor payoff.
To make a protagonist this blank engaging, a filmmaker needs the artistry of Jean-Pierre Melville, or the kineticism of William Friedkin. The Robber's writer-director, Benjamin Heisenberg, has neither.
Audience Reviews for The Robber
Super Reviewer
Tells the true story of Johann Rettenberger, a marathon athlete who developed robbing banks as a hobby.
REVIEW
Johann is neither a likable person nor is a crazed criminal psychopath which leads the viewer to a unusual predicament in that you start to almost barrack for him. He never hurts anyone, just robs banks and in the interim goes running in marathons. In his face mask and plain clothes, he doesn't even look like he'd hurt a fly. Of course things turn nasty and caught up in the picture is a woman Erika, she, like the audience as events get worse are left with the moral dilemma of choosing an outcome for Johann. Should he get away with it or be caught and serve time? Johann himself never really expresses any real emotion so there is little to understand why he should do what he does, but this adds to the film as it gives the audience more intrigue without throwing in too many questions.
Stylishly the film looks great, some beautiful scenery during one of the marathons are great. And then there are the running sequences, Johann runs a lot, to bank robberies, from robberies and then just for the hell of it. Director Benjamin Heisenberg uses some great camera work to follow Johann on these runs and in one sequence when he is chased by a cop car through a car park, the editing is effective enough to create a tense exciting sequence. The films ends with quietly, in some ways rather sadly, but others may find it a little too predictable. However the film is a great piece of work that makes the audience question itself and it's attitude towards others.
Super Reviewer
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April 28, 2011:
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Foreign Titles
- Der Räuber (DE)
- The Robber (Der Rauber) (UK)
The Robber may sound like a standard bank robbery/action film from the title and the plot summary, but it is anything but that. For the most part, this is an extremely quiet and slow moving Austrian film. A lot of the runtime is filled watching Johann do different things. He may be training, he may be sitting, he may be "talking" with someone. The film isn't the exciting adrenaline rush you may think it is.
The Robber follows Johann who is recently released from prison where he was for trying to rob a bank. He's also a runner. He was training the whole time he was in prison. When he gets out, he does marathons and he robs banks. There are some good chase sequences, but they aren't what I'd call "exciting" or "pulse pounding."
Johann actually quite a boring character. He barely speaks, and when he does it is very dull. Since Johann is our character, who the whole movie is based around; the movie comes off as dull because of that. Now I don't want you to get to much of a wrong impression. The film is pretty well made. It's smart and the ending is extremely well done. I just can't get over the fact that the movie was really, really dull. I was bored basically the whole movie. There are interesting parts, like the chases and like the robberies; but in between is boredom. The relationship between Johann and Erika is poorly done. Erika is also nearly as dull as Johann.
This is a decent little film that should have been lightyears better. It could and should have been great, but it wasted a lot of its potential. I'm not saying I needed it to be a standard action film, but if you're not going for action, go for something. Nothing is explored here all that much. It's lacking in plot, character, and just about everything else. Yet, it has a watchability factor to it and it is well made, technically speaking. I guess I'm trying to say it is okay, but still a disappointment.