12 Winters (4 Stars)

This month I'll be watching more German films than usual. I'll either be watching new films or re-watching old favorites. After "Die Frau, die im Wald verschwand" and "Berlin 36" I'm turning my attention to "12 Winters". Though I admit it can hardly be called a classic, it's still a highly enjoyable film. It's the true story of Klaus Starck and Michael Roth, who robbed more than 30 banks from 1990 to 2001. I already wrote about it in my review last year. If you are an aspiring bank robber, there are two lessons you can learn from the film:

1. Robbing banks today is more difficult than it was in 1990.
2. You have to know when to stop.

Concerning point 1, the film shows that better security measures due to technological advances between 1990 and 2001 made the robberies more difficult. I assume that it's even more difficult today.

Concerning point 2, the film shows that the robbers should have quit while they were ahead. When they realised the police were closing in on them they decided to stop, but then they changed their minds and robbed two more banks. That was a fatal error.

I'm very impressed with Axel Prahl, who plays Klaus Starck. He's rapidly becoming one of my favourite actors.