The Free Will (2006) Der freie Wille (original title)

Director:

Matthias Glasner

Writers:

Matthias Glasner
Jürgen Vogel
(more)

Release Date:

24 August 2006 (Germany)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

A man is released from a mental institution after serving 9 years for multiple rape.

Plot Keywords:

Rape | Guilt | Rape Victim | Masturbation | Sex Offender

Awards:

5 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Jürgen Vogel	...	Theo Stoer
Sabine Timoteo	...	Netti Engelbrecht
André Hennicke	...	Sascha
Manfred Zapatka	...	Netti's father Claus Engelbrecht
Judith Engel	...	Anja Schattschneider
Anna Brass	...	Raped woman in the dunes
Anne-Kathrin Golinsky	...	Seller in department store
Maya Bothe	...	Sybille
Frank Wickermann	...	Michael
Anna De Carlo	...	Waitress
Bernadette Büllmann	...	Singer of "Ave Maria"
Andreas Laurenz Maier	...	Marius (as Andreas L. Maier)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marcel Batangtaris	...	Toni

Directed by
Matthias Glasner

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Judith Angerbauer
Matthias Glasner
Jürgen Vogel

Produced by
Frank Döhmann	....	producer
Matthias Glasner	....	co-producer
Christian Granderath	....	producer
Andrea Hanke	....	producer: WDR
Pit Krause	....	line producer
Markéta Polednová	....	junior producer
Andreas Schreitmüller	....	producer: Arte
Jürgen Vogel	....	co-producer

Cinematography by
Matthias Glasner
Ingo Scheel

Film Editing by
Mona Bräuer
Matthias Glasner
Julia Wiedwald

Casting by
Simone Bär

Production Design by
Tom Hornig
Conny Kotte		(as Conni Kotte)

Costume Design by
Sabine Keller

Makeup Department
Irene Rossi	....	special makeup effects artist

Production Management
Martin Kopischke	....	production manager
Kathrin Laugalies	....	unit manager
Thomas Padre Kürsten	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sarah Altmann	....	assistant director

Art Department
Lutz Hornig	....	prop assistant
Andi Kunze	....	assistant production designer

Sound Department
Hubert Bartholomae	....	sound mixer
Michael Müller	....	foley editor
Jörn Poetzl	....	foley artist (as Joern Poetzl)
Claudia Schuhmacher	....	sound assistant (as Claudia Schumacher)
Philipp Sellier	....	foley recordist
Stefan Soltau	....	sound
Stefan Soltau	....	supervising sound editor
Tini Tüllmann	....	sound assistant
Björn Wiese	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Karl-Heinz Bochnig	....	special effects
Volker Lorig	....	special effects
Niklas Voigt	....	special effects supervisor

Visual Effects by
Wolf Bosse	....	digital intermediate
Lutz Lemke	....	credits
Tony Nitschke	....	dustbuster
Frieda Oberlin	....	digital intermediate supervisor
Philipp Orgassa	....	digital intermediate colorist
Gerhard Spring	....	film recording
Christian Tröger	....	digital intermediate finisher
Ralf Wacker	....	digital intermediate supervisor

Stunts
Jason Oettle	....	assistant stunt coordinator
Steve Thiede	....	stunt performer
Rainer Werner	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Daniel Best	....	lighting assistant
Pit Holleber	....	electrician
Martin Neuse	....	electrician
Ingo Scheel	....	gaffer
Kai Stichel	....	assistant camera

Casting Department
Silvia Davulcu	....	extras casting

Editorial Department
Sergej Range	....	on-line editor
Bianca Stumpf	....	color timer
Adi Wolotzky	....	assistant editor
Silke Zirnité	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Karin Gatzke	....	music consultant
Karin Gatzke	....	music coordinator
Björn Wiese	....	composer: additional music

Transportation Department
Sören Hirtz	....	production driver
Wilm Huygen	....	production driver

Other crew
Vivian Bach	....	production assistant
Salvatore di Franco	....	production accountant
Ralph Djouadi	....	assistant set manager
Dirk Drebelow	....	story editor
Heike Gnida	....	production assistant
Sandra Hofmann	....	set manager
Georg Höss	....	head of legal affairs
Kai Hülsmann	....	location manager
Lutz Lemke	....	title designer
Carla Schoenfelder	....	production assistant
Nadja Tausch	....	location manager: Berlin
Geraldine Voss	....	assistant to producer
Roberto Walter	....	location manager
Jan Zillmann	....	location manager
Jan Zillmann	....	set manager

Production Companies

• Colonia Media
• Label 131
• Schwarzweiss Filmproduktion

Distributors

• Atlantic Film (2006) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Festive Films (2006) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Golden Village Entertainment (2006) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Jour2Fête (2008) (France) (theatrical)
• Kinowelt Filmverleih (2006) (Germany) (theatrical)
• 2-1-0 Films (2006) (Greece) (all media)
• Benten Films (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Future Film (2008) (Finland) (DVD)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2007) (Germany) (DVD)

Special Effects

• CFX Spezialeffekte

Other Companies

• Pictorion_das Werk  digital laboratory
• SGO / Mistika  digital equipment
• Sonoton Musik-Verlag  music

Also Known As:

"Der freie Wille" - Germany (original title)

Runtime:

Germany:163 min (Berlin International Film Festival) | Argentina:163 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Germany:16 | Argentina:16 | Singapore:R21 (cut) | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | France:-16 | Finland:K-18

Filming Locations:

Belgium

Company:

Colonia Media

Goofs:

Continuity: (at around 1h 08 mins) When Theo brings Sascha to the train station, the approaching train on the track is an Intercity Express (ICE). In the next shot, the train that is actually stopping at the platform is NOT an ICE, but an Intercity (IC) train, which can be identified by different windows and the gray rooftop.

Good Portrayal, Few Explanations

I saw this at the German Film Festival in San Francisco, and having been to a few of these before, I was prepared for a depressing experience. What's with these Germans? Anyway . . . this is a brutal, thorough, carefully crafted portrayal of the tortured life of what Americans call with politically correct blandness a "sex offender." Our protagonist, Theo, is raping his third victim when we meet him. He is a smoldering, violent thug. We next encounter him, 9 years later, as he is released from a mental hospital into a supervised residential setting. He is a broken man. He is riding a beast he hates, and he has no idea when the beast will bite again.

As a portrayal of psychology, angst, subtlety of emotion, and real human relations, I would give this film a 10. The sparring session between Theo, and his budding girlfriend Nettie, is a brilliant display of the subtle forces which are torturing the both of them. The fact that these two people have the sparsest dialog in the history of cinema may not be realistically correct, but it is an excellent artistic way of turning the focus to their inner emotions. This film is art, after all -- not a documentary.

The only reason I didn't go for 10 stars is that I had a persistent feeling that something was missing. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I would have liked some back story about Theo's youth, something that would make him a whole person. The film does work without that, but it is a lack that a writer and director of such brilliance could somehow have remedied.

This is not a feel good, date movie.