Iceman

Over 5,000 years ago, the Stone Age man Kelab (Jürgen Vorgel) lived peacefully with his family and tribe in the Ötztal Alps. When he returns from hunting one day, he discovers that his settlement has been attacked and the entire tribe, including his wife (Susanne Wüst) and son, have been murdered - even the community's shrine has been stolen. Driven by pain and rage, Kelab has only one goal - revenge! Kelab follows the trail of the perpetrators. On his odyssey through the mountains, he is exposed to the dangers of nature. In the end, Kelab not only has to face the murderers of his family, but also himself. Will he give in to his urge for revenge and become the perpetrator himself? Or will he succeed in breaking the eternal cycle of violence? “The sets, make-up and costumes are simply magnificent and create a dense, harmonious atmosphere; cinematographer Jakub Bejnarowicz captures the Ötztal valley in spectacular, albeit very pale images. Another bold move is that the film manages entirely without comprehensible language: when it is spoken, it is in an old form of Rhaetian - there are no subtitles. This exciting idea works brilliantly and fortunately never seems silly; on the contrary, it saves the film from making the mistake of putting words into the mouths of characters from such a strange, prehistoric time. A cameo by the legendary Django actor Franco Nero shows that the structural proximity to the western is entirely intentional. The brute revenge and survival story is highly entertaining, but also seems a little strange in view of the film's historically authentic claim. The adventurous mixture of genre film and anthropological exploration will irritate purists of both camps. Everyone else can have great fun with this furious journey through time.” (Tim Lindemann, on: epd-film.de)