I had to search to find a summary for this movie and the word cryptic says it all.Mainly the story has a aim of getting back two horses in good shape.Certainly not something to start a war over!!!! A lawyer or such tells Kohlhaas that the court was corrupt after he made a legitimate complaint for redress of the horses and mutilation of his friend.There was a aristocratic bias that changed owing to the death of an elder nobleman at the beginning.The princess and baron were in cahoots and both were criminals.Both should have been exiled or put in prison for what they did to Kohlhaas.The initial incident at the bridge was hard to understand.Why didn't Kohlhaas pay the permit fee outright instead of using the horses for collateral?? Were they so sophisticated that money was considered an affront?? The Priest at the end convinces Kohlhaas not to go forward with his revolt and that was a huge mistake.His wife gets murdered for which there is no retribution or explanation.His horses nearly are murdered as well.His best friend is killed in battle after being mutilated by the barons vicious dogs.The entire population was up in arms supporting Kohlhass.This type of loyalty or support doesn't just happen.They all had an ax to grind.Its inexplicable why Kohlhaas desisted in his attempt to overthrow the ruling class there.He certainly had plenty of reason to die in the attempt.It doesn't add up that he should die at the behest of two criminals to play by someone else's crooked rules.All the pieces do not fit.However it is a well acted,photographed and intriguing movie.

like a clock. precision, strange beauty, delicate mechanism. the acting, the landscape, the script. as pillars of an admirable work who remains the novel by Kleist but it has the gift to be more than an inspired adaptation. a film about justice and sin. and a splendid role for Mads Mikkelsen who gives to his character not only the traits of the novel but something special, powerful, entire convincing. the grace to use the nuances of Michael Kohlhaas, the wise manner to use the silences, the force of gestures, the beautiful measure who discover the essence of tragedy, the presence of Roxane Duran who reminds, in same measure, Elisabeth I and the young Elisabeth II, the performance of Melusine Mayance, the speech of Denis Levant who remains the perfect definition of the root of tragedy are the details who transforms an adaptation in useful support for reflection about great themes.

The above summary was provided by my lovely wife as she watched the movie with me. While I wouldn't have exactly phrased it that way, it is to the point and I cannot deny this does, in an odd way, encapsulate what the movie "Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas" is for the average viewer. It's a shame, because I had expected more from this film since it stars a very exciting actor, the Danish man of many talents, Mads Mikkelsen--a guy you probably recognize but whose name you might not.Mikkelsen has received a lot of attention in the States lately with his performance as the lead in the TV series "Hannibal". His portrayal of the serial killer is far different from earlier ones--with a much more thoughtful and sophisticated persona than other Hannibals. Before this, he received a lot of publicity as one of James Bond's villains in "Casino Royale". However, I have known about him long before this, as he's been a star in Danish films for some time--and I really love Danish movies. Interestingly, here in "Age of Uprising", Mikkelsen speaks French--not English or Danish. My daughter (a HUGE fan of "Hannibal"") did some research for me about this and found that the actor also speaks German and Russian! Wow...he certainly isn't a dumb guy! But, he's simply done many better films than this particular one.The film is based on the true story of Hans Kohlhase---a 16th century rebel who, for a time, plagued Germany. His life was the basis of a novel by the German author Heinrich von Kleist and the story was first brought to film in 1969 as "Michael Kohlhaas--der Rebell" (starring the British actor David Warner).When the story begins, a nobleman seizes some horses belonging to the merchant, Michael Kohlhaas. He had no legal basis for doing this but to make matters worse, he savagely sent his dogs on Kohlhaas' servant and then mistreated the horses severely. In response, Kohlhaas sued the nobleman. Unfortunately, back in the day, life wasn't necessarily fair- -and Kohlhaas' case was thrown out of court. Soon, Kohlhaas' wife is murdered in retribution for the lawsuit. With no other apparent choices other than to just accept this injustice, Kohlhaas and his men go on a vigilante crusade--dispensing their form of justice through the countryside. What's next? Well, you could watch the film...or just read Wikipedia. Unfortunately, I'd recommend the latter. Why? Because the story IS an interesting case of class warfare and should have been exciting--sort of like a German version of "Braveheart". Unfortunately, it's not. The film is tedious and extremely bereft of life when it should have been inspiring and exciting. The musical score is extremely stark and minimalistic--adding to the tedium that you see on the screen. The movie manages to make the least of the great source material.The bottom line is that I loved Mads Mikkelsen's work...just not this particular film. My advice is to try watching his best films--such as his Oscar-nominated movies "The Hunt" and "After the Wedding" as well as "Flame and Citron". These are truly exceptional and show off Mikkelsen's immense talents to their fullest.

Stubborn people will love this movie! Kohlhaas is a great reinforcement for the beliefs of stubborn yet principled people. I enjoyed this movie as I enjoy the sublime acting of Mads. I think he should do more historical pieces like this one as he is very comfortable and believable in the roll.If you enjoy historical movies you will like this one. Even more so if you speak French I'm sure.I did not, however, feel his "righteous" indignation and could never fully get behind his rebellion. Especially when by his own words it was "Not about the horses, nor his wife's death" either of which would not have justified his bloody rampage anyway.The movie redeems itself through Kohlhaas himself who is taught and eventually understands the purpose, reason and power of forgiveness. Although too late. His ending is sad and tragic, even pathetic as he is set up to be betrayed so obviously. You can't help but feel that he is one of those doomed souls who, if he had the chance to do it all over again differently, he would.This movie made me sad and angry. I am like his daughter who wants to get away at the end because it's all just so stupid.