''Scorched Earth'' (), a 2024 German

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combi ...

directed by

Thomas Arslan Thomas Arslan (born 16 July 1962) is a German-Turkish film director. He directed more than ten films since 1990. Selected filmography References External links * 1962 births Living people Film directors from Lower Saxony Mass medi ...

is a sequel to 2010 film '' In the Shadows''.

Mišel Matičević Mišel Matičević (, born 22 April 1970) is a German film, television and theater actor of Croatian descent. Early life and education Matičević was born in West Berlin to Croatian parents who were guest workers in West Germany. Following ...

is reprising his role as Trojan, a professional criminal who specializes in robberies. It was selected in the Panorama section at the

74th Berlin International Film Festival The 74th annual Berlin International Film Festival, will take place between 15 and 25 February 2024 in Berlin, Germany. Kenyan-Mexican actress Lupita Nyong'o Lupita Amondi Nyong'o (, ; ; born 1 March 1983) is a Kenyan-Mexican actress. She is ...

where it was screened on 20 February 2024. Subsequently, it was released on 18 July 2024 in theaters in Germany by Piffl Medien.

Synopsis

Trojan, a skilled crook, comes back to Berlin after a botched up coup twelve years ago. Short of money and desperate he joins an attractive art heist through agent Rebecca. A painting by

Caspar David Friedrich Caspar David Friedrich (5 September 1774 – 7 May 1840) was a 19th-century German Romantic landscape painter, generally considered the most important German artist of his generation. He is best known for his mid-period allegorical landscape ...

is to be stolen from a museum for Victor, who has other ideas. With getaway driver Diana, his former companion Luca and the young Chris the coup is attempted. But the well-made plan goes awry and he has to fight for his life.

Cast

as Trojan * Marie Leuenberger as Diana *

Alexander Fehling Alexander Fehling (born 29 March 1981) is a German film and stage actor. He is best known for portraying Staff Sgt. Wilhelm in the 2009 Quentin Tarantino World War II film ''Inglourious Basterds'' and Jonas Hollander in the Showtime original ser ...

* Anja Schneider as Nadia *

Leonard Proxauf Leonard Proxauf (born 27 November 1995) is an Austrian actor, best known for his role as Martin in the film ''The White Ribbon''. Life and career Proxauf was born in Berlin. His mother is Austrian actress and artist agent Katja Proxauf. He starte ...

as bob * Holger Doellmann as jeweler * Hannah Schutsch as restorer *

Tim Seyfi Timur Seyfettin Ölmez (born 10 August 1971) better known as Tim Seyfi, is a Turkish-German actor. In 2017 he played his first leading role as Commissioner Pascha in a TV series of the same name. Filmography Film Television Awards In the 200 ...

* Marie-Lou Sellem * Katrin Röver * Bilge Bingül

Production

Principal photography began on 25 October 2022 in

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and ...

and Berlin. Filming ended on 30 November 2022 with filming locations in the regions of

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

and

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhab ...

in Germany.

Release

''Scorched Earth'' had its world premiere on 20 February 2024, as part of the

, in Panorama. It was released on 18 July 2024 in theaters in Germany by Piffl Medien. The Cologne-based sales agent The Match Factory has international sales rights to the film. It was screened at Lichter Filmfest Frankfurt International, Frankfurt on 17 April 2024.

Reception

Andreas Köhnemann reviewing in Kino Zeit at Berlinale rated the film with four stars and wrote, "''Scorched Earth'' is competently made genre cinema that, in its reduction, ensures the highest level of tension." Susanne Gottlieb reviewing the film at Berlinale for

Cineuropa The MEDIA sub-programme of Creative Europe or simply Creative Europe MEDIA (formerly The MEDIA Programme of the European Union) is designed to support the European film and audiovisual industries. Budget The goal of programmers is to increase the ...

wrote, "The narrative elements of friendship, trust, loneliness and betrayal are found in ''Scorched Earth'', and Arslan understands how to handle these basic human conflicts, while also knowing how to keep his audience engaged right up until the final minute."

Accolades

References

External links

* {{IMDb title
''Scorched Earth''
at Berlinale 2024 films 2024 crime drama films German crime drama films 2020s German-language films Films about organized crime in Germany Films shot in North Rhine-Westphalia Films set in Berlin