Tenderness of the Wolves (1973)*** (out of 4)Homosexual serial killer Fritz Haarmann (Kurt Raab) stalks the young boys and men of Germany as he lures them back to his apartment. If they're lucky it's just a sexual thing but for dozens of young people they were lured back to Haarmann's apartment where they were murdered and eaten.Ulli Lommel's TENDERNESS OF THE WOLVES certainly isn't a film that's going to appeal to many for a number of reasons. For starters, if you're expecting a horror film then you're barking up the wrong tree. I guess you could call this a crime picture with horror elements but if you're wanting the gory kind of story then you'll be disappointed because this is one of the most laid back thrillers that you'll ever see. Of course, the subject matter itself is another thing that is going to keep most people away.Lommel certainly deserves a lot of credit for not delivering your average crime picture but instead he goes for more of a bizarre atmosphere. What's so strange about this picture is that you're watching a monster who murders and eats children yet you don't ever really hate him. What I liked about the movie is that it's really not that judgmental on its subject as it doesn't try to make him a villain, a misunderstood psycho or anything else. Lommel basically just tells us the story and he really keeps all emotion out of the picture.Technically speaking this is an extremely well-made movie. The camera-work is wonderful and there's no doubt that the director builds up a rather eerie atmosphere with ease. The subject matter is a very dark one yet Lommel never sends the material over-the-top or into a graphic area. It should go without saying but the biggest reason the film works so well is due to the performance by Raab. He's rather remarkable at how good he is in the role and not for a second do you ever feel as if you're watching an actor. You really do feel as if you're watching a troubled mind work his way into the trust of these victims.TENDERNESS OF THE WOLVES has a lot of similarities with Fritz Lang's M, another German movie about a serial killer. While this film doesn't reach the same levels of that one, this Lommel picture certainly deserves to be better known than it is.

One thing I try to strive for is to watch as many movies from as wide a variety of sources and styles as possible. In doing so I might not like all of them but at least I've left myself open to seeing things outside of my comfort zone and exposed myself to things I might miss that are great and some that are the worst things imaginable.With that in mind I just watched TENDERNESS OF THE WOLVES, a 1973 movie directed by UIli Lommell. Lommell was a protégé of Rainer Werner Fassbinder and a part of the New German Cinema movement that ran during the early 70s. His career has gone up and down and he's delivered fairly mainstream films like THE BOOGEYMAN as well as several films that could be called "art films" before finally making his way to made for DVD movies that haven't fared that well. But there is always the possibility of his rising once more.TENDERNESS focuses on the true story of Fritz Haarmann, a German serial killer who did most of his nefarious deeds right after WWI. As played by Kurt Raab, Haarmann comes off as one of the most chilling murderers seen on screen. An out of the closet homosexual who preyed on young boys that he then murdered, Haarmann then went on to cut up his victims and sell their bodies as meat to friends who were in need of fresh meat. While that alone might make for a terrifying killer there is more behind the man to make him even more horrific.Raab plays Haarmann as a slightly shy yet smooth talking con man who convinces friends to ignore his odd behavior from time to time. Not only does he get them to ignore it, he talks his way out of an arrest by offering his services to the local police in helping them ferret out other criminals. With a fake badge in pocket he uses his influence to not only pass along information about his criminal competition, he also uses it to persuade young runaway boys to his apartment where he beds and then kills them. Raab has chosen a bald headed look that at times reminds us of Max Schreck as Nosferatu, a good comparison as Haarmann was also known as the vampire of Hanover due to his biting some of his victims on the neck.The movie takes on an odd feel for a number of reasons besides the pedophile serial killer at the center of it all. The people Haarmann associates with may belong to the lower criminal class but they are also seen as struggling to survive after their country has been beaten in war. There is a certain amount of sympathy to be felt for them and Lommell depicts that in subtle ways. The movie also has a bombed out feel in it's of settings and style of being filmed. The filmed world of Haarmann is a gray one lacking of color and life, much as that Germany would have been at the time. The few glimpses of color involve either his associations in a local bar or during the murder sequences.The life and times of Haarmann are seen here in the latter part of his life rather than attempting to cover his entire career. In the end the number of murders he committed with his lover Hans Grans has been listed as anywhere between 24 and 50 people. That many are not seen here. He isn't depicted as a raging lunatic but as I stated earlier, as a subtle and manipulative sort that isn't seen killing in the most brutal fashion of some movie killers but still in perhaps some of the most twisted ways.For a film coming out of the seventies it offers more full frontal nudity than most as well as touching on homosexuality that was still fairly taboo at the time. It doesn't condone or condemn the topic but instead uses it to develop its central character. If you find this offensive then the movie will do just that. I mention it so that those who might be are aware.In the end the movie is one I may have to watch a second time to fully understand or appreciate. While the story itself is interesting (enough so that another more famous movie, M, was based on this same tale), I found the pacing of the film to be slow and in trying to keep up with the translation of dialogue with what I was watching made me unable to fully appreciate what was on the screen at times. As a single viewing experience it was just so so for me. Perhaps my opinion will change the second time around. What I did find was an experience of watching a film from another country that didn't fit the Hollywood mold. That doesn't make it a good experience, just a different one.For the average viewer I'm not sure I would suggest watching this. For foreign film fans you will love it. For fans of Lommell and Fassbinder I have little doubt you will add it to your collection. For me, on the whole, it was interesting but nothing stupendous.

Tenderness of the Wolf (1973) is an excellent film about a serial killer living in war torn Germany. Fritz Haarman was a pedophile psychopath who lived during WWI Germany (the time period in the movie was moved up to WWII). Ulli Lommel's style of directing was a nod to Fritz Lang and the other German expressionist filmmakers of the the 20's and 30's. Beware, I must warn you that this film has some strong adult content matter that most people will find repulsing. But those who are open minded will find this movie an interesting and honest portrait of a madman. Lommel and Kurt Raab (who also wrote the screenplay) portray Fritz Haarman as a tortured soul who can never truly express himself or convey his emotions. In his twisted mind he sees no harm in what he does. Several Fassbinder stock players have supporting and minor roles in this picture including Fassbinder (he cameos as a real shady slug). Kurt Raab does an excellent character study of one of Germany's most notorious serial killers.Highly recommended (if you can stomach the content).

Well, for starters, it's 1970s German cinema, the deepest pit in movie hell. Second, the dynamic story story of Fritz Haarmann is made completely artsily boring, as only the Europeans can do.Anyone who has studied the Haarmann/Grans case knows that the performances and attitudes of the actors are completely wrong. And someone mind telling me what time period this movie is supposed to be set in? Anyone with half a clue, please e-mail me.Oh, I almost forgot. It's a 1970s German movie. So, of course, there is going to be graphic graphic homosexual activity. Bring the kids.