Ted K (4½ Stars)

This is the 32nd film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

The Ted K in the film title is Theodore Kaczynski, better known as the Unabomber. He planted bombs and sent bombs by mail for 17 years, from 1978 to 1995. His motivation was that he despised modern society. He lived in a cabin in the woods in Montana with no electricity or running water. Some of his targets were high ranking citizens, such as airline executives. Others were relatively unknown, such as computer salesmen.

He's a man about whom I knew almost nothing, except for his name. I didn't even know why he was called the Unabomber. It's short for University and Airline Bomber. He's commonly called a terrorist, although I personally don't think the word applies to him. A terrorist makes attacks on large numbers of random individuals, but Ted Kaczynski always picked specific targets. It would be more accurate to call him an assassin, or simply a killer.

Ted Kaczynski was a brilliant man. He went to Harvard University at the age of 16, and at 26 he became a Mathematics Professor. He quit his job at the university after only one year. He was a virgin, about which he often expressed regret. The furthest he ever got with girls was first base, i.e. kissing.

Sharlto Copley does a good job of bringing the character to life. We don't feel sympathy with him, but I doubt that was intended. He was an unpleasant character.