Johann Kastenberger (Andreas Lust), real life bank robber, would have been considered just another thief but for his second interest -- marathon running. He was still an interesting conundrum as a bank robber, though, in that he never spent any of his ill gained cash. He couldn't put it in a bank, not even a Swiss one, for fear of detection. He couldn't get it out of the country. He didn't seem to want to buy anything anyway. So, it just stayed in a bag under his bed -- not really the best plan for hiding money. We never really find out why he had this compulsion to rob banks, and in the process steal getaway cars. He just did it, and it didn't even seem to make him happy. There was nothing about Johann that expressed happiness, not even his relationship with his girlfriend, Erika (Franzeska Weisz). But what made him a biopic worthy character was his other compulsion -- to run. He was a champion marathon runner who while even in prison, maintained his training regime running circles in the yard and using his own treadmill in his tiny prison cell. When asked by a prison official how his life would change when he got out, he said, 'I won't have to run in circles anymore.'
This was a man with double mindedness, and his running was a necessary adjunct to his thievery in evading police while satisfying his bank heist compulsion. He was a driven man who let no one get in his way, and he suffered no annoying interruptions to his goals by those who would steer him away from his fruitless life of crime. I end up with more questions than answers about the man behind the mask and hoodie who runs from bank to bank, from marathon to marathon, away from police, but seemingly in circles. It would appear that the stone-faced Lust portraying the obsessive Kastenberger needed more skill in running than acting, though upon closer inspection one can see the subtle nuances of emotion cross the fugitive's face. Dialogue is sparse, so subtitles to this German language film is easy to keep up with. Kastenberger and other characters say only the few necessary words to aim the audience onward in his incessant race with fate.
The Robber (Der Räuber)
Director: Benjamin Heisenberg
Writer:Benjamin Heisengerg, Martin Prinz from the novel by Martin Prinz
Cast: Andreas Lust, Franzeska Weisz, Florian Wotruba, Johann Badnar
Time: 90 min.
Opening on April 29 in a Landmark Theatre in San Francisco
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