Review of The Last Execution (2021)
Seen in 2024.
A fictionalized account of the life of Werner Teske, the last man to be executed in East Germany. Ultra-heavy on bokeh, beige and boredom, but mostly in a good way, appropriately cutting the glamour out of the main character’s life as a Stasi spy. The authentic Stasi environments and techniques are fun to see in such a realistic light, but the funniest thing about the film is that the main character is only ever seen working on one case, and it’s absolutely pathetic from start to finish: A football player is making the DDR “look bad” by his not playing for it. The story beats are otherwise predictable.