Anatomie 2 (2003)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

Stefan Ruzowitzky

Writer:

Stefan Ruzowitzky (writer)

Release Date:

6 February 2003 (Germany)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

A new experiment in terror...

Plot:

The doctor and soccer player in the leisure time Jo Hauser (Barnaby Metschurat) decides to move to Berlin and be an intern in a famous clinic...

Plot Keywords:

Surgery | Hospital | Gore | Suture | Death

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Ariane Schnug	...	Junge Kellerin
August Diehl	...	Benjamin 'Benny' Sachs
Herbert Knaup	...	Prof. Charles Müller-LaRousse
Birgit von Rönn	...	Referentin
Klaus Schindler	...	Senator
Barnaby Metschurat	...	Joachim Hauser
Hanno Koffler	...	Willi Hauser
Beate Abraham	...	Mutter Hauser
Oliver Kraatz	...	Reisender
Rosie Alvarez	...	Lee
Chimeta Reinemann	...	Philippinische Schwester
Rosalinda Nolasco-Jacht	...	Philippinische Schwester
Josie Thamm	...	Philippinische Schwester
Maria Dolores Schramm	...	Philippinische Schwester
Monika May Villanueva	...	Philippinische Schwester

Also Known As:

Anatomy 2 (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, language, some sexuality and drug use.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:K-15 | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Canada:18A (Ontario) | Denmark:15 | Germany:16 | Iceland:16 | South Korea:18 (DVD rating) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company:

Deutsche Columbia TriStar Filmproduktion

Goofs:

Continuity: In the last scene in the Hospital where Jo is in a wheelchair you see him already holding a glass with aspirin before his girlfriend and nurse bends over him and gives him the glass.

Movie Connections:

Follows Anatomie (2000)

Soundtrack:

22nd Floor

promising start but too many clichés

From Dr. Frankenstein to Dr. Mengele, Germany has developed quite a reputation for…hmm.. how shall we put it?…"unconventional" men of science.

It's appropriate, then, that the German film "Anatomy 2" should be a brave-new-world sci-fi thriller that deals with the issues of biomedical ethics and just how far science should be allowed to go in trying to "improve" on Mother Nature.

Professor Muller-LaRousse is a world famous neurosurgeon who has been covertly conducting questionable experiments, implanting synthetic muscles into perfectly healthy young men and women (who also happen to be his devoted interns). Even though a disturbing number of these "guinea pigs" have died as a result of the procedures, LaRousse forges on, undeterred and undaunted, convinced - as any mad scientist worth his salt would be - that scientific advancement cannot be allowed to run aground on the shoals of a few trivial dead bodies. His plan is to create some sort of "master race" of invincible semi-humans. Jo Hauser is a promising young doctor who has come to Berlin to work and study under LaRousse, confident that he will be able to make a real difference not only in the lives of others but particularly in the life of his younger brother who has fallen victim to a degenerative neurological disorder. Filled with idealism, Jo allows himself to be pulled into LaRousse's group of sycophantic acolytes, perhaps to his everlasting regret.

The film is obviously intended as a modern day allegory of Nazism - what with its emphasis on group-think, unethical medical experimentation and talk about creating a "master race" - but the movie feels just too much like other - and better - dystopian sci-fi fantasies to be very effective. The intriguing medical ethics issues are eventually shunted aside for a series of protracted action scenes overflowing with typical mad scientist malarkey and man-on-the-run clichés.

That's a shame because the movie starts off with a better-than-average premise that promises a thoughtful re-examination of an age-old theme. However, "Anatomy 2" just winds up being silly where it most desperately needs to be serious.