The Collini Case, directed by Marco Kreuzpaintner, accompanies Caspar (played by Elyas M’Barek), a lawyer defending Fabrizio Collini (played by Franco Nero), accused of an apparent meaningless murder.
The Collini Case has a very emotional and engaging story. It starts a little annoying with Fabrizio refusing to say anything. It’s when Caspar starts to be proactive about the case that things start to move.
The whole movie is more on the somber side, but there is space for some comic relief here and there, what makes the experience more palatable.
Even though I think things would unfold differently in reality, the ending was really satisfactory. It offered a positive and heart-warming message.
A lot of the emotional moments I mentioned are driven by the excellent acting of the film. Elyas M’Barek and Franco Nero with the most prominence, and as a runner-up, Stefano Cassetti (who plays Nicola, Fabrizio’s father).
The best character by far was Caspar, he is the driving force of the movie. The lawyer didn’t give up until everything was solved, despite his client’s apathy towards the case.
Fabrizio Collini is pretty annoying in the beginning, and his attitude really puts us off. It’s only later, when Caspar advances the case without his help, that the Italian starts to cooperate with the lawyer.
Other characters I like include Nina (played by Pia Stutzenstein) and Caspar’s father (played by Peter Prager).
Johanna (played by Alexandra Maria Lara) is a very unpleasant woman, I disliked her even before she went full Nazi.
Then there’s Richard Mattinger, the arrogant professor and lawyer defending the interests of the Meyer family in the courts.
He’s a very believable character, full of himself for his accomplishments and skills as a lawyer. He’s also a believer in the laws and the constitution, which ends up being naive, despite his self-aggrandizing.
I think this character is the perfect cue for the next phase of the review. So, let’s go.
From now on, I’ll spoil the s__t out of this movie. So, be warned.
The IMDb and Netflix synopsis of The Collini Case, mentioning a conspiracy, doesn’t make any sense. There’s no such thing in the whole film. I’ll summarize the movie first, and we’ll analyze it later.
Italian rebels explode some Nazis, so a Nazi officer, Hans Meyer (played by Jannis Niewöhner when young). select 20 random civilians to kill. One of these civilians is Fabrizio Collini’s father, and the young boy is forced to watch the mass murder.
Years later, Fabrizio and his sister try to report Hans Meyer (played by Manfred Zapatka, when older) to the authorities, but due to a law created by former Nazis, they can’t. So, after his sister’s death, Fabrizio serves justice with his own hands.
After proving all of this, Caspar wins the case in the courts.
The movie portrays how post-war West Germany was plagued by former Nazis in the justice system, a reality shown by studies. The links will be available in the description box below.
From 1949 to 1973, 90 of 170 leading judges and lawyers in the West German Justice Ministry were a member of the Nazi party. These fascists were the majority until 1972 and the last one only left in 1992, after the unification.
I reiterate this is NOT a conspiracy. That’s just how these countries that most people call “democracies” constitute their justice systems.
That is, motherf__kers created laws and s__t to serve themselves and those they consider equal, not for us, common people.
Now, I invite you to reflect. With more than 40 years of Nazis on the justice system, 24 of these years with a vast majority, do you think they didn’t pass their ideology for the next generations, implicitly or not?!
The Collini Case is an excellent movie overall. The story, characters, and technical aspects are great, and for those who want a little bit more, there’s the commentary on the justice system. I’ll give The Collini Case 8 Moons!
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Dos Ratos 