Straszna kobieta

I guess we all know, often from our own experience, how a woman can wrap a man around her finger. Such relationships abound in everyday life. Then it only depends on what a man allows a woman to do. Christian Tafdrup developed this theme to the extreme in A Horrible Woman. The main character Maria pacified her partner Rasmus so much that he lost himself. Even though Rasmus was aware of everything and it was eating him up inside, it was too late to turn back. (75%) (03.10.2021)

Very interesting relationship drama from Denmark, which probably won't leave most viewers indifferent. I kept wondering throughout what the male and female perspective on this film would be. Without wanting to take sides, it seemed to me too unbalanced because few could root for Maria. However, I realized that it was not about looking at the relationship of two people, which goes through the classic stages from beautiful beginnings to critical phases, but about how the dominant lady meets the submissive gentleman. It might be beneficial to follow a parallel relationship where roles are reversed. But still, I am satisfied, it is definitely a film that can provoke a stimulating discussion among movie fans. (05.01.2019)

Dude Lebowski vs. a fifty-foot-tall woman, with Bruce Lee subtly hinting that the dragon and the big boss are coming. The Danish version of Seth Green's friend tells him in the film not to go into battles that are already lost. But what if he wants to lose them to achieve peace? Aside from two breaking-the-fourth-wall moments after capturing a bird, it’s a down-to-earth relationship film about the ways of dividing into winners and losers, and also about how gray is the theory of submissiveness and the toxic green tree of life. Is there any final lesson? Everyone gets what they deserve. (31.07.2024)

A Horrible Woman is an authentic and deeply felt film depicting relatable situations in the type of relationship that leads to a man’s death. (05.02.2018)

If I were the dramaturgist of the film, I would ask the director why he brings a baroque undertone (which I would understand) and a double look of the great Amanda Collin into the camera into his civil, almost improvisationally fluent and realistic method. At that moment, the film feels misogynist, when it otherwise trivializes the relatively ambiguous figure of the "monster". Well-observed situations and a strictly intimate framework help a lot. The name gives it a perhaps unnecessarily clear message - the indecisive and uncertain masculine character brings doubts to this equation of manipulation. It's the story of two people who can't be without each other, but they also can't be together at all. But also a portrait of a man for whom a dominant and manipulative partner is at least an anchor. It’s too bad that this obviously was too little for Tafdrup. Therefore, he added a cheap "devilish" motif. But I do appreciate the observed details and the familiarity. (11.12.2017)