''Grimm Love'' (original German title ''Rohtenburg'', a pun on ''roh'' "raw" + Rotenburg) is a 2006

psychological horror Psychological horror is a genre, subgenre of horror fiction, horror and psychological fiction with a particular focus on mental, emotional, and Mental state, psychological states to frighten, disturb, or unsettle its audience. The subgenre freque ...

film inspired by the

Armin Meiwes Armin Meiwes (; born 1 December 1961) is a German former computer repair technician who received international attention for murdering and cannibalising Bernd Brandes, whom he had found via the Internet as a voluntary victim, in March 2001. Aft ...

cannibal Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecology, ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is also well ...

murder case.

Plot

Keri Russell Keri Lynn Russell (born March 23, 1976) is an American actress. She played the title role in the drama series '' Felicity'' (1998–2002), which won her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama, and later portrayed El ...

plays Katie Armstrong, an American student in Germany studying

criminal psychology Criminal psychology, also referred to as criminological psychology, is the study of the views, thoughts, intentions, actions and reactions of criminals and suspects.Richard Ncsis, Applied criminal psychology: a guide to forensic behavioral science ...

. She chooses a notorious subject for her thesis: the cannibal killer Oliver Hartwin (played by

Thomas Kretschmann Thomas Kretschmann (; born 8 September 1962) is a German actor who has appeared in many European and American films. His notable roles include Lieutenant Hans von Witzland in ''Stalingrad'' (1993), Hauptmann Wilm Hosenfeld in '' The Pianist'' (2 ...

). Oliver dreamed of eating a willing victim and, thanks to the internet, he was able to find a volunteer, a young man named Simon Grombeck (played by ). The story is told in flashbacks as Katie researches these men and their pasts. Events culminate in Katie's discovery of a snuff tape that documents the crime.

Cast

Production

The film is directed by music-video specialist Martin Weisz and written by T. S. Faull.

Release

The film had its world premiere at

London FrightFest Film Festival FrightFest, also known as Arrow Video FrightFest is an annual film festival held in London and Glasgow. The festival holds three major events each year: a festival running five days over the UK late August Bank Holiday weekend, a Halloween eve ...

on 27 August 2006 under the title ''Grimm Love''. In October 2006, the film won four awards at the

Festival de Cine de Sitges SITGES - International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia () is an annual film festival held in Sitges, Catalonia, Spain. It specializes in fantasy, horror and cult films. Established in 1968, the festival takes place every year, usually in ...

: Best Director, Best Actor (Thomas Kretschmann and Thomas Huber), and Best Cinematography. It won the Melies d'Argent at the Luxembourg International Film Festival. In July 2007, the film won Best Director and Best Actor (Thomas Kretschman and Thomas Huber) at the

Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival The Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (), or BiFan, formerly known as Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival or PiFan, is an international film festival held annually in July in Bucheon, South Korea. Inaugurated in 1997, the fe ...

. ''Rohtenburg'' was scheduled for release in Germany on 9 March 2006. In March 2006, the film was banned by a German court for infringing the personal rights of

, but the film had already been sold for international release and was shown worldwide. In May 2009, the

Federal Court of Justice The Federal Court of Justice ( , ) is the highest court of Private law, civil and Criminal law, criminal jurisdiction in Germany. Its primary responsibility is the final appellate review of decisions by lower courts for errors of law. While, le ...

annulled the ban in favor of freedom of arts. The film was also screened at Austin's

South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

festival, among others, in advance of its US release.

Notes

External links

* {{Authority control 2006 films 2006 crime drama films English-language German films German LGBTQ-related films 2006 crime thriller films Crime films based on actual events Films about snuff films Films about cannibalism 2000s exploitation films 2006 LGBTQ-related films Films directed by Martin Weisz Film censorship in Germany Obscenity controversies in film 2000s English-language films 2000s German films LGBTQ-related crime drama films English-language crime drama films English-language crime thriller films