Citizen Vigilante (3 Stars)

The Scandal

Over the last few weeks there's been a lot of talk about this film in the German press. It's the latest film by the infamous German director Uwe Boll. He's been complaining about the film being banned in Germany, although the authorities say it hasn't been banned, because Germany doesn't have censorship. So what's the truth?

In Germany films are given an age rating (0, 6, 12, 16 or 18) by the FSK (Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle), an independent organisation. All films that are distributed in Germany, whether in cinemas, on physical media or streaming platforms need an FSK rating. The FSK charges the film studios for the rating, based on the film length. It's common for films to be rated more than once. If a studio is unhappy with its rating, cuts can be made to get a lower rating, usually by re-editing or removing violent scenes.

If a film is denied an FSK rating, it can't be distributed in Germany at all, in cinemas, physical media or streaming. This is rarely done, usually in the case of extreme violence. Examples are "Rampage" (2009), "I spit on your grave" (2010) und "Maniac" (2012). In all these cases cuts were made to get an FSK 18 rating. That sounds suspiciously like a ban to me, but since it's carried out by a non-government organisation it doesn't count as a ban. They're arguing about words.

In all the cases of FSK denial, less than a dozen cases in the last 20 years, a compromise could be easily reached. It was always about violence. "Citizen Vigilante" is different. The violence isn't excessive. As Uwe Boll himself has said, it has less violence than "John Wick". "Citizen Vigilante" has been denied an FSK rating because of its political content. It allegedly incites people to violence against immigrants. Boll denies this, but nobody is listening to him.

The film won the attention of Elon Musk. He's long accused Germany of censorship, so when he heard about the film he posted it on his personal X account. It was only online for 48 hours, but that was long enough for copies to be made. Quiver Distribution, the company that has acquired the international distribution rights for the film, has aggressively ordered takedown notices for online copies. In all my years on the Internet I've never known any film be so aggressively protected.

The Film

The film was made in Zagreb, but the dialogue is in English. The on-screen text us that the film takes place in "Europe", but no attempt is made to hide street signs in Croatian. The film is about Michael Sanders, an American who's taking an extended vacation in the unnamed European city after leaving the US Army. He's inherited property from his recently deceased father. He's disturbed by the number of crimes being committed by illegal immigrants, so he decides to take the law into his own hands. He visits the victims of violent assaults and asks them, "What should be done with your assailants?" In every case the answer is that they should die. Sanders takes care of the executions with ruthless precision.

It's a far from perfect film. I would never have watched it if it hadn't been for the scandal.

The film could have been written better. We're thrown into the middle of a story. Michael Sanders is already active. Nobody knows who he is, but he's praised as a hero on social media. I would have preferred to see his development. If we'd seen his arrival from America and the steps that led to him becoming a vigilante, we could have more sympathy with him. As it is, he's an unstoppable force, like an inhuman Terminator.

There's no character arc. Sanders starts the film as a killer and remains a killer until the final credits. It would have been better to see him have problems that made him question what he was doing. Assuming he's a hero, or at best an anti-hero, we need to get under his skin. Uwe Boll has never been good on character development, but this is a film where it's essential.

I hesitated a long time before I rated the film. Maybe three stars is too generous. In its favour, the cinematography is excellent, but the screenplay is lacking. Boll has already promised a sequel for next year. I hope he can do it better.