Straszna kobieta

I guess we all know, often from our own experience, how a woman can wrap a man around her finger. Such relationships abound in everyday life. Then it only depends on what a man allows a woman to do. Christian Tafdrup developed this theme to the extreme in A Horrible Woman. The main character Maria pacified her partner Rasmus so much that he lost himself. Even though Rasmus was aware of everything and it was eating him up inside, it was too late to turn back. (75%) (03.10.2021)

If I were the dramaturgist of the film, I would ask the director why he brings a baroque undertone (which I would understand) and a double look of the great Amanda Collin into the camera into his civil, almost improvisationally fluent and realistic method. At that moment, the film feels misogynist, when it otherwise trivializes the relatively ambiguous figure of the "monster". Well-observed situations and a strictly intimate framework help a lot. The name gives it a perhaps unnecessarily clear message - the indecisive and uncertain masculine character brings doubts to this equation of manipulation. It's the story of two people who can't be without each other, but they also can't be together at all. But also a portrait of a man for whom a dominant and manipulative partner is at least an anchor. It’s too bad that this obviously was too little for Tafdrup. Therefore, he added a cheap "devilish" motif. But I do appreciate the observed details and the familiarity. (11.12.2017)

A Horrible Woman is an authentic and deeply felt film depicting relatable situations in the type of relationship that leads to a man’s death. (05.02.2018)