The Killing of a Journalist

Although you may think you know the whole story from the media, the documentary The Killing of a Journalist very skillfully puts the crucial information into a comprehensive context and neatly translates it, along with many surprises, for the viewer, who then has no choice but to shake their head at how "fucked up" the situation in Slovakia really was (or still is; will be). It is good to be reminded of that, to have an active conversation about it, and to not turn a blind eye to it. What else can I say? It was really strong. [KVIFF 2022] (07/10/2022)

The big advantage is the perspective of a personally uninterested Danish director, thanks to which we have the opportunity to gain a fairly compact overview of the whole problem with a somewhat cynical distance. The labeling of the film as a story of hope in the ongoing struggle for justice in a country that is currently at an absolute moral and ethical low (with what language and with what arguments did the garbage evaluations arrive here?) then seems almost comical. The comic relief is provided by Kočner's eager lawyer, who seizes every shred of uncertainty from which he could make a big argument for the client's innocence, and in his relentless effort to convince us that he believes it himself, he seems on the verge of bursting out laughing at any moment. The strongest impact is undoubtedly in the scenes where we recognize the banality of evil during the reconstruction of the murder itself through its perpetrator. (06/23/2023)