ANATOMY (ANATOMIE) (director/writer: Stefan Ruzowitky; cinematographer: Peter von Haller; editor: Ueli Christen; music: Marius Ruhland; cast: Franka Potenta (Paula Henning), Benno Fürmann (Hein), Anna Loos (Gretchen Mäollmann), Sebastian Blomberg (Caspar/Oliver Kaufman), Holger Speckhahn (Philip), Traugott Buhre (Professor Dr Rolf Grombeck), Oliver K. Wnuk (Ludwig), Arndt Schwering-Sohnrey (David Rolof), Antonia Cacilia Holfelde (Gabi), Rudiger Vogler (Dr Henning), Werner Dissel (Grandfather Ewald Henning), Barbara-Magdalena Ahren (Frau Henning); Runtime: 103; MPAA Rating: R; producers: Jakob Claussen/Thomas Wöbke; Columbia TriStar Pictures; 2000-Germany-in German-dubbed into English)
“German made horror/slasher pic that rocks, as it makes the viewer uncomfortable.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
German made horror/slasher pic that rocks, as it makes the viewer uncomfortable. The sight of its hall of corpses frozen in plastic, is something to forget. It’s both eerily written and directed by the Austrian-born Stefan Ruzowitky(“The Counterfeiters“/”Lilly the Witch: The Dragon and the Magic Book“/”The Inheritors”). Despite big plot holes, it still is reasonably executed as a flawed minor movie with some entertainment value. Furthermore, its star, Franka Potenta, has offbeat appeal as the damsel in distress.
Brilliant Munich med student Paula Henning (Franka Potenta), the daughter of a doctor who is ambitious to follow in the footsteps of her legendary physician grandfather, is studying anatomy for the summer at the prestigious Heidelberg University after winning a scholarship. On the train ride to the school, Paula agrees to room with the boy-crazy fellow student Gretchen Mäollmann (Anna Loos), who takes up with the prankster student Hein (Benno Fürmann). Paula also helps fellow student David (Arndt Schwering-Sohnrey) recover, after he has a heart attack. Paula is surprised to find the next day in anatomy class that the body of David is the one she’s assigned to work on. When Paula investigates, she suspiciously finds that the vic has been injected with a drug, and that printed on his thigh are the letters AAA. She learns that is the sign for Age Actabile Antihippocrate, a sinister underground society that take pride in performing unethical experiments on subjects without their consent as a way they foolishly think advances medicine better than those who follow the Hippocratic oath. When the evil organization becomes aware of her investigation, her life is threatened. Trouble is the others in the school think she’s merely a worrier and the cops think she is only imagining it. Things get tense when both her roommate Gretchen and the college’s renowned head, Prof. Grombek (Traugott Buhre), vanish, and dissected vics begin popping up.
It’s crudely dubbed into English.
REVIEWED ON 9/3/2014 GRADE: B
Dennis Schwartz: “Ozus’ World Movie Reviews”
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED DENNIS SCHWARTZ