Unter dem Eis (2005) Reviews

• How far will you go to protect your child?

  lcremers2007-06-13

  "Unter dem Eis", or "Under The Ice" is a disturbing psycho thriller from Germany that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The director is obviously inspired by the works of Michael Hanneke in Funny Games and Benny's video. The story evolves around a mother who discovers that her young son has killed his playmate. Oblivious to the signs that there is something fundamentally wrong with her child she gives in to her motherly instinct. She does everything in her power to protect her child and hide the truth from everyone, including her husband who happens to be the investigating officer. Strong cast, chilling story. The film is very powerful and feels shockingly real. Michael Hanneke must be proud. If you like his work, you'll love this movie.

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• Good and intelligent.

  mplaza2008-04-27

  Well paced and built, though it is to be expected it won't go down in the history of movie-making as a masterpiece, but it is in general more than worthwhile watching. A rather droll mother-son relationship, well presented and above all, acted by mother and child. The husband character is rather stereotyped, but in a way unless he were some kind of mind reader he could not have an idea of what actually happened until events led him to it, and the neighbors, parents of the missing child could have been more developed by the script writers and the director. I wouldn't expect the mother-son clothing changing scene in a movie made this, generally more prudish, side of the Atlantic but it only goes to show how healthier mainstream continental European attitude towards nudity is.

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• Bad, pathetic, ridiculous

  casperado2007-07-13

  ***Spoilers*** ( (even though this junk can be hardly spoiled) "Mother"'s acting was unbearable - her smile always had a touch of severe suffering even before anything happened. Her actions in the film were also absolutely incomprehensible. She doesn't tell her husband anything, when their 7 y.o. son accidentally kills a neighbor girl (even though her husband is an investigator in this case and could easily fix everything up if he knew what had happened). "Father" is a total idiot, and you can see it clearly at the end of the film, as he actually wants to bring his son and wife to the police, when he finds out about everything... Maybe it was a propaganda for a perfect-clerk who carries out his duty, even if he has to sacrifice his own family for it. I don't know. An average father would normally try to protect his family, regardless of what happens. In Germany it's obviously exactly the other way round. I honestly even don't know why i'm writing about this horrible piece of trash. It was a totally boring movie, with some pseudo-ethical dilemmas. God, even if it was the last movie left on the planet I would burn it without a regret. Avoid at any cost!

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