Just what I expected

A Major Disappointment

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Though this movie does have more than passing similarities to David Fincher's SE7EN, I feel that comparing the two is unfair and, in my opinion, downright unwise. It is true that TATTOO unfolds in an ever rainy cityscape; follows the lives of two police detectives (with a vast generation and experience gap) while they chase a killer. And yes, it plays its drama out amidst a seedy German underworldHowever, what transpires amidst this spectacularly visualized tapestry full of rave parties, torture chambers, skin rooms, and body modification cliques willing to sell the tattoos off their body for quick cash, is vastly different in tone and theme from Fincher's 'who done it, and why' police procedural. Here the characters are not shown as black and white, but rather in shades of gray. Their lives, their dilemmas, are the real story. Even the reasons for the killings are presented in such a way that makes you understand, if not empathize, with those that a standard Hollywood picture would casually demonize. This element of moral ambiguity, under the remarkably controlled direction of Schwentke, creates a dark, cold, and subtly stylized world, that surprisingly plays as very very real. It is encouraging to see a European film with the refined sensibility of European cinema combined so adeptly with a genre so intrinsically American. It is also hard to believe that this is Schwentke's directorial debut. (I for one will keep my eye on him.)It's a remarkable film, and I certainly hope it blows the doors open for other genre films shot in Germany, and in Europe as a whole. Not since viewing Spoorloos (The Vanishing) have I been so impressed. If you have a chance, don't hesitate to catch it on the big screen. It's gorgeous, it's ballsy, and it's worth it.

I saw this movie and was fascinated of the courage od these German film makers. Such a provoking movie is rare in our cinemas and therefore very important. Maybe, Tattoo will change the German market toward American standards. But in my opinion the movie was too hard for people under the age of 16.Because I was overwhelmed of this new direction in Germany, i give the film 9 out of 10. Great entertainment á la "Se7en" and "Licence of the Lambs".

If David Fincher's SE7EN was a mystery shot through the prism of 70s American crime films, then Robert Schwentke's TATTOO is a mystery shot through the prism of 70's European art films. The comparisons are inescapable, it shares SE7EN's dark look, dual detectives, mid-point chase and "something in a box" as well as its meticulous, exacting direction, but it is a very different film with very different thematic agendas. This German film about a secret market in skin and its thematic concerns of guilt, conformity, identity, violence and heritage suggest obvious connections to the Third Reich and the current crisis of east/west reintegration of culture. This rich thematic tapestry is held together by one of the most precise, stylish and icily dreamlike directorial debuts to be seen in decades. Shades of Antonioni and Cronenberg, as well as Tourneur and Hitchcock inform a style which is never imitative and truly hypnotic. Strong, understated performances ground the film, which stumbles only in a pre-climax exposition scene that feels shoe-horned in, for until that point, every piece of information is earned and visually realized. Schwentke is a director to watch; provocative, thoughtful and clearly in love with the art of cinema.

Well, I generally don't have a very high opinion about German movies. This movie I just saw because it happened to be the Sneak Preview movie of the week.I was not totally disappointed. The movie tells an interesting serial murder mystery and succeeds in thrilling the viewer with a lot of well done cinematographic tricks. But let's be honest: Se7en certainly comes to mind every minute during the whole movie.What do we have here? We have a young detective at the murder department, August Diehl is the German version of Brad Pitt. He certainly does a good job there.Then we have the grumpy old Morgan Freeman character, Pitts, pardon, Diehls partner.We have the setting: An ugly collection of dark and gritty rooms, followed by ugly suburbian areas followed by rainy night scenes followed be ugly dark rooms again. Message to all foreigners: It's NOT raining all the time in Germany - but of course it's raining all the time in Se7en too :-)Further Se7en elements: The serial murder plot, the special delivery to one of the detectives, the (not too) surprising solution and the huge amount of blood and gore.Oh, but we have no Gwyneth Paltrow here and instead of the seven mortal sins the focus of the story is on splendid tattoos.