IN THE FADE: HOME GROWN TERRORISTS

Let me start off by saying this film is not about terrorists striking here in the US but about home grown terrorist in Germany, specifically Hamburg. It is there that Katja (Diane Kruger) is married to Kurdish immigrant Nuri Sekerci (Numan Acar). The pair also have a 5 year old son named Rocco. Nuri runs a business that helps new immigrants translate various documents to help them and one day Katja drops off their son there while she visits with one of her friends. As she leaves she bumps into a young woman who left her bike nearby unchained.

As she returns home that evening she finds the road she takes past the office blocked off and flashing police lights illuminating the buildings. Stopping she gets out of the car and runs to find the office building blown apart. Someone has exploded a bomb outside and both Nuri and Rocco were instantly killed.

Katja is torn by the event and is doing all she can not to lose control. Her friend and parents come to stay with her and keep an eye on her. Going out one night she contacts her friend and lawyer and he provides her with drugs she takes to deal with her inner pain, drugs one of his clients left. The lawyer worked for both her and Nuri, helping when years before when Nuri was a drug dealer. Having a child changed all that and Nuri and Katja had remained clean for years.

She tells the police all about the girl she saw and the investigation moves forward. But rather than dig for the truth the police seem more focused on Nuri as an immigrant and potential terrorists himself. Noting his past record they check the house out and find her drugs but the officer in charge lets her off the hook. Still, their focus remains on Islamic terrorists ignoring the description of the girl she gave them. Until someone else gives her up.

It turns out the pair responsible for the bombing were neo-Nazis, André (Ulrich Brandhoff) and Edda Möller (Hanna Hilsdorf). With evidence in hand the prosecutor charges them and the trial proceeds. This becomes a fascinating part of the film showing how differently the cases are handled there than here. Each day Katja must face the discussion of the deaths of her loved ones, certain in her own mind that these were the two that destroyed her family.

The question rises as the trial progresses just how far the defense is willing to go. All of the past is brought up to steer the focus away from the defendants. The defense also makes an attempt at discounting the evidence that was found in the home of André’s father, the man responsible for calling in the police and leading to their arrest. It isn’t certain whether this line of defense will play out in favor of the defendants or in favor of Katja. But finding justice and finding revenge are two different things to consider.

The movie is well made and acted with Kruger turning in yet another great performance. She is center stage here from start to finish, the entire film revolving are her character. This is a complex character not prone to hysterics all the time but unraveling due to her circumstances as the film progresses. Kruger makes her believable and the pain she releases is tangible at times.

The movie is definitely a depressing tale to follow and it moves along with ups and downs as it moves forward. And while Kruger does a tremendous job I felt it difficult to get involved too deep with the character and her predicament. Still it was an interesting film to watch and worth taking a look at.

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