The Bone Man ( Der Knochenmann )

The Bone Man (DVD) (*)

~~$24.99~~ $21.98

Original Title: Der Knochenmann
Screened, competed or awarded at:
Berlin International Film Festival

Language Selections:
English ( Subtitles )
German ( Dolby Digital 5.1 )
German ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
Germany ( PAL/Region 0 )

Running Time:
121 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (1.85:1)

Special Features:
Commentary
Deleted Scenes
Featurette
Interactive Menu
Making Of
Music Video
Scene Access
Trailer(s)

Movie filmed in 2009 and produced in:
Austria ( Germany, Central Europe )

Directed By:
Wolfgang Murnberger

Written By:
Wolf Haas

Actors:
Josef Hader ..... Brenner
Josef Bierbichler ..... Löschenkohl
Birgit Minichmayr ..... Birgit
Christoph Luser ..... Porsche Pauli
Pia Hierzegger ..... Herr Alexandra Horvath
Simon Schwarz ..... Berti
Dorka Gryllus ..... Valeria
Stipe Erceg ..... Evgenjev
Ivan Shvedoff ..... Igor
Edita Malovcic ..... Anna
Gerti Drassl ..... Junge Frau mit Kind
Oliver Stern ..... Polizeikommandant
Petr Meissel ..... Slowakischer Polizist
Kathrin Resetarits ..... Kellnerin
Christian Pogats ..... Sänger / Play Boys

Synopsis:

Something just happened again?. Ex-detective Brenner (Josef Hader) faces the challenges of a bizarre country inn. The dangers lurking there are deadly; the young landlady turns his head so much, he is lucky it remains stuck to his neck. After Come, Sweet Death and Silentium here is the third outing for the successful Hader/Murnberger/Haas trio. Cryptic cinematic entertainment at its very best. Private Investigator Brenner is handling a case at the grill-station 'Löschenkohl'. There he finds - besides some chicken - also other meat...that doesn't belong in a good meal.

A shambling flatfoot uncovers mordantly funny goings-on deep in the countryside in 'The Bone Man.' Third outing by Austrian standup comedian Josef Hader and helmer Wolfgang Murnberger, adapting the cult novels of Wolf Haas ('Come Sweet Death,' 'Silentium'), is well up to par, though Hader himself sometimes seems more like a guest star in his own movie, up against Josef Bierbichler's powerful playing as the chicken-grinder of the title. Outside German-speaking territories, this could reap some modest coin in European abattoirs. Reluctantly accepting an assignment from his pushy friend Berti (Simon Schwarz), Brenner (Hader) sets off to recover a car, leased by a certain Horvath, on which the final installment hasn't been paid. The trail quickly leads to a famous roast-chicken supplier-cum-restaurant deep in the sticks, where Brenner's inquiries are met with rustic sullenness, especially by the portly owner, Loeschenkohl (Bierbichler), and the morose barmaid, Alex (Pia Hierzegger). Horvath himself has vanished. Just when it looks as though he can go back to Vienna, Brenner is asked by Loeschenkohl's son, Porsche Pauli (Christoph Luser), to help him find out where all his father's money actually goes. As Brenner finds himself getting involved in a murky tale of a Russian pimp, a Bratislavan hooker, a covered-up crime and a bone-grinding machine that may have been used for more than just chicken remains, he also starts falling for Pauli's wife, Birgit (Birgit Minichmayr), who manages the kitchen. Though it's a tad overlong at two hours, the film does finally deliver on the suspense front in a blackly comic sequence set in the restaurant's basement grindery. By then, pic has spun a complex web of mystery and false trails in which Loeschenkohl looms large as a possible serial killer and Brenner stumbles from pillar to post as the hapless investigator who receives more than his fair share of knocks. Minichmayr holds her own against Hader and Bierbichler as the trashy Birgit, who may know more than she gives away, and other roles are well limned. Surprise solution to the original case is believable, given a clever piece of casting, though by then, Horvath's disappearance has become a side issue. Peter von Haller's saturated interior lensing and bright, snow-filled exteriors complement the pro technical package.

Private detective Brenner mounts an investigation in the countryside, where a famous grill station consumes thousands of chickens every week, leaving the boney remains to be ground down for chicken feed. Eventually, Brenner finds himself caught up in this cannibalistic cycle of eating and being eaten.

This product was added to our catalog on Monday 28 December, 2009.

Customers who bought this product also purchased

Carol of the Bells (Blu-Ray)	Adam and Paul (DVD)	The Complete Brenner Box 4-Disc Box Set (Blu-Ray)
Love Is in the Air (DVD)	The Night Is My Kingdom (1951) (Blu-Ray)	Heaven or Hell / For God and Country (DVD)