IN THE FADE

Cert Running time

This clinical, tense and harrowing tragedy examines the circular and self-defeating nature of political violence. If you’ve only seen Diane Kruger as Helen in Brad Pitt’s sword-and-sandal blockbuster Troy, then you’ll be amazed at the range and power of performance she offers here as Katja.

She’s a blonde German married to a reformed Kurdish Muslim drug dealer, whose life is destroyed when he and their young son are blown up by a nail bomb. While she’s convinced that neoNazis are the killers, the police believe the bombing was connected to her husband’s dubious past.

A song by US rockers Queens of the Stone Age provides the title which refers to the legal, religious, moral and political grey area Katja exists in as she tries to bring those responsible to justice.

In equal parts a family drama, courtroom drama and revenge thriller, which although eventually stretches the finely crafted credibility, it does provide a thought-provoking emotional bang.