Mads Mikkelsen has one of the most expressive faces in cinema today. Emotional, challenging, demanding and domineering, and this is before he ever bats an eye, furrows his brow or says a word. For these reasons I was able to stay with Michael Kohlhaas for the better part of an hour, but then it began to wear on me, though not in a way that had me giving up on it.
It’s not that the narrative is slow, in fact it’s rather lyrical, but director Arnaud des Pallieres is overly patient, lingering from one scene to the next. Many, if not most, scenes could be chopped down by 10-15 seconds, making room for more story. While des Pallieres is committed to the story of his title character, he forgets to show us more of his actions after a lovely set up, all leading to an emotional conclusion, that would have hit a lot harder had he not seemed so disinterested in his second act.
Set in the 16th century in the Cévennes, Mikkelsen plays the film’s title character, a horse dealer known for the quality of his stock. He lives with his wife Judith (Delphine Chuillot) and daughter Lisbeth (Melusien Mayance) and his life is a simple and happy one. However, when wronged by a local Baron, Michael Kohlhass’ sense of justice kicks into overdrive.
After three attempts with the corrupt court system, Kohlhaas allows Judith to go to the Princess (Roxane Duran) to beg for justice. She comes home beaten and bleeding. Shortly thereafter she dies.
A man of God, Kohlhaas knows his next move is one God would look down on, telling the small army he’s raised, “I pray the Lord will never forgive me as we forgive the young Baron.” The search for political justice has failed Kohlhaas and he believes his only resort is justice through violence. The film aims to follow that journey.
The first hour or so is spent establishing Kohlhaas as a man of honor and righteousness. He loves his wife and daughter, cares for his animals and lives a prosperous life without harming anyone. When the young Baron (a strong but mostly quiet performance from Swann Arlaud) takes two of his strongest horses as collateral for allowing him to use his bridge there’s a moment where Kohlhaas’ strength in character and honor is on display as the Baron aims a gun at him from a distance and Kohlhaas doesn’t budge, integrity intact. If anything, his honor characterizes him more than anything around him and it’s why when the Baron fails to return his horses he is unable to forgive him, more so than even the death of his wife or even the fate of his stolen horses.
I can understand des Pallieres’ interest in such a man. The film is based on the 1811 German novella by Heinrich von Kleist, adapted by des Pallieres with Christelle Berthevas for the screen. But in the adaptation, the patience and care with which the first hour establishes Kohlhaas as a character is forgotten in the second act where he seeks retribution against those that have wronged him and those that stand in his way.
In order to come full circle with Kohlhaas we must endure his journey and this doesn’t mean this already two hour movie needs to be any longer. As I suggested earlier, just snip 10 seconds or so off most of the film’s scenes and the film would not only have a slightly more elevated pace, but there would be room to further explore Kohlhaas’ campaign for justice and the motivations of the men that join him.
As a result, more interesting than the army Kohlhaas raises are those on the periphery. The strongest supporting performances come from the two characters playing holy men, David Kross (The Reader) as a preacher and Holy Motors star Denis Lavant as a priest who visits Kohlhaas only once during the film while in the midst of his campaign.
The scene with Lavant is one of the strongest of the film as the two discuss his reasons for what he’s doing and the people he’s killed. Lavant’s priest is intrigued to learn he’s a man of God while at the same time abhors his actions, offering no forgiveness for what he’s done. Lavant’s screen presence is strong and it’s no surprise a scene between he and Mikkelsen lives up to expectations.
Michael Kohlhaas also benefits from the tremendous cinematography of Jeanne Lapoirie. There are moments where the sun nearly sets the screen on fire, others of cold darkness and the close-ups are striking. I wasn’t as impressed with Martin Wheeler‘s score, which was too overbearing for me and often too repetitive. Of course, had certain scenes not carried on so long perhaps the score wouldn’t have stood out so much.
Overall, I saw Michael Kohlhaas as a missed opportunity, largely due to its middle portion. Des Pallieres didn’t seem interested in Kohlhaas’ campaign as much as he did the motivation and the end result. The violence he encouraged across the land, however, I felt was just as important as why he was doing it and where his life leads in the aftermath and wish the film had captured all aspects of these matters rather than just the bookends.
