If you've never seen a Katrin Gebbe movie before, this is the one you should start with. Strong performances by Julius Feldmeier and Torben Lohmann drive a powerful 'coming of age' story that expertly blends the themes of faith, love, and hope. Fans of Sascha Alexander Gersak will also be well rewarded, despite an unflattering colour palette.I rate Tore Tanzt at 26.64 on the Haglee Scale, which works out as a very respectable 8/10 on IMDB.

It's rare to find a film which manages to disturb and horrify without ever being exploitative or using cheap shock tactics like you'd see in the August Underground movies but Nothing Bad Can Happen manages to do exactly that. I came away from the film feeling drained and disturbed in a way that I haven't felt since Pascal Laugier's Martyrs which should certainly ring alarm bells if you can't handle upsetting subject matters in your films. Although Nothing Bad Can Happen is undoubtedly a superb piece of filmmaking, it's something I wouldn't recommend lightly due to explicit sequences involving abuse of all kinds and cruelty to animals.The film follows the true events surrounding a young self-proclaimed 'Jesus freak' called Tore who happens to have some form of autism which makes him think and act very differently to others. Tore places all of his faith in Jesus Christ and is naively taken in by a truly evil family who take advantage of his absurdly good nature. It's a fascinating meditation on evil in society and the dangers of religion. Despite being a truly gruelling watch, Nothing Bad Can Happen never gratuitously relishes in the violence and is always focused on delivering a powerful message. The fact that these events are true makes the film all the more relevant and important.First-time director Katrin Gebbe shows astonishing confidence behind the camera. Despite the ugly subject matter, the images always try to find beauty and light through the bleakness. There's a hypnotic sense of realism to the whole film which reminded me of Justin Kurzel's equally uncompromising Snowtown. The acting from the unknown cast is similarly impressive, particularly breakout star Julius Feldmeier in the lead who manages to make Tore an engaging and sympathetic main character. Sascha Alexander Gersak also feels toe-curlingly real as the malevolent patriarch determined to break Tore's Holy spirit.You could easily mistake Nothing Bad Can Happen as being the lost film in Lars Von Trier's 'Golden Hearts Trilogy' which correspondingly follows mentally-challenged protagonists as they battle through life's brutal hardships. It's just as tough to watch as seeing Emily Watson getting stoned by feral kids or Bjork dancing through life despite desperately trying to raise enough money for her son's operation. It'll be too much for some people and it does get worse as the film progresses but the reason I watch films is to be moved and provoked by some sort of emotional response. Nothing Bad Can Happen does this in spade loads.This is a haunting piece of work which will bury itself under your skin and stay there long after the credits roll. It's a torturous watch at times but it carries an important message which is extremely relevant to society today. The pacing is very slow at the beginning but it's also immersive and character-focused meaning that it's easy to engage with. There was not one moment where I was bored or distracted in its 110 minute running time. It's a heart-breaking watch which will shake you to your core. A stunning debut but proceed with caution.

Tore is akin,not only to the pitiful heroine of the remarkable "Kreuzweg" but also to Luis Bunuel's characters of late fifties/early sixties ,Nazarin and Viridiana,in the eponymous works.Both tried to live just as Jesus told in the gospels ,to return good for evil,to turn the other cheek ,and possibly to become a martyr ,because they know that even in the valley of death He will be by their side.Unlike the Spanish genius ,who thought that religion was a nuisance to live with at home,the end of "Tore Tanzt" is ambiguous:perhaps some sunlight does break through on this one;and ,in any event ,the last chapter is called "Hoffnung" (hope);like "Kreuzweg" ,the movie is divided into chapters ,three (faith,love and hope).And as the opening sequence depicts a christening at sea ,Tore's martyrdom ends in a brook .Water epitomizes purity ,the "born again" man,but it is also sin:Tore discovers love while bathing with Benno's ("my trial" says Tore)daughter.When he appears ,Benno is a genial family man as he welcomes Tore in his nice family .Little by little ,he will use his protégé as a punching bag ,not only because the poor lad is in love with his daughter,but because he is a sadistic perverse man ;he epitomizes Satan for a young man with a cherubic face .The movie is not for the squeamish ,by some respect ,it is almost an (intelligent) horror movie: Tore forced to swallow rotten food, raped,beaten to death ,many scenes many viewers will find unbearable .And all this brings us back to Luis Bunuel: Tore's martyrdom amounts to nothing,he converts no one,helps no one :Nazarin ends his unfortunate career between two soldiers ,carrying a pineapple (sexual symbol) and Viridiana is raped by the poor people she tried to help before accepting a menage à trois with her cousin .I urge users interested in Tore's story to watch these two Bunuel classics ;and if it were not enough,the ending recalls another one of the master, "Los Olvidados",in which little boy Pedro 's dead body is thrown on a garbage heapTo write that Frau Gebbe' s work is a must is to state the obvious.in the years to come ,she will be a name to reckon with.Julius Feldmeier and S.A. Gersak give outstanding performances as the angel and the demon ;I recommend it to all my French compatriots, with a strong heart that is.

This extraordinary feature film debut by director Katrin Gebbe is one of the most uncompromising examinations of evil that I have ever seen. In fact, "evil" may not even be the right word to use here, because it is a word that tends to be used as an explanation in its own right, a word that pathologises individuals and prevents us from considering the social contexts within which disturbing behaviour can arise. By contrast, Nothing Bad Can Happen – whilst not providing the audience with any pat answers – places a particular set of events under a spotlight and forces us to consider some difficult questions.The story begins with a group of Jesus Freaks, young people who blend Christianity and punk rock. Among them is Tore, whose blond locks and blue eyes imbue him with a truly angelic appearance. Whilst driving home from Tore's baptism, the Jesus Freaks encounter Benno, whose pickup truck won't start. They gather round and pray over the bonnet of his vehicle, after which the engine kicks into life. Benno asks about their group and later turns up at one of their punk gatherings, where he witnesses Tore having an epileptic seizure. He takes Tore to his family's summer dwelling, a small shack on an allotment. Tore is invited to stay with the family – consisting of Benno's partner Astrid and her two children from a previous relationship, Dennis and Sanny. As there is not enough room in the hut, Tore sleeps in a tent.Although he is gently questioning of Tore's Christianity, suggesting that religion is for those who cannot handle responsibility for their own lives, Benno is initially charming. But little by little a darker side is revealed. At a barbecue, Benno jokingly jabs a pair of tongs towards Tore's face. During a gathering for Sanny's fifteenth birthday, Benno punches Tore, but then apologises for what he says is uncharacteristic behaviour. However, Benno's abuse then becomes even more serious.Throughout it all, Tore shows no inclination to leave of his own accord nor to fight back (earlier in the film one of the other Jesus Freaks makes a speech about turning the other cheek). He interprets his situation as a test set by God, although later – after a spell in hospital – he feels that God has abandoned him. Should we admire Tore's religiosity or is he hopelessly naive? Are Benno, Astrid, and the children the closest thing that Tore has to a real family, or is he simply unable to take responsibility for his own life, as Benno originally suggested? But whatever we think about Tore, the treatment he receives is truly awful.Water appears recurrently at significant moments in the film. Tore is baptised in the sea; there is a near-sexual encounter in a swimming pool; an episode of animal abuse involves water; and at one point Tom – filthy and stinking – is hosed down by Benno, only Sanny takes the hose and makes a game of it. At various points the music rumbles and gurgles, like a large object sinking into deep water.**SIGNIFICANT SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT ONWARDS**Disturbingly, Astrid goes from being a mere observer of Tore's suffering to being actively complicit in its cause. She and Benno occasionally appear surprised, appalled even, by their own behaviour, but then go on to perpetrate worse. Likewise, Dieter and Cora are occasional visitors who begin by expressing concern for Tore, but end up also participating in his suffering. I'm sure I could not have been the only audience member thinking of real-life cases such as Fred and Rosemary West (and, in fact, Nothing Bad Can Happen is based on true events in Germany). But moreover, watching ordinary people become involved in horrific events brings to mind the rise of the Nazis, not to mention more recent events such as Abu-Ghraib.At the end of the film Tore is badly beaten and mutilated, and Benno, Astrid, Dieter and Cora wrap him in a blanket and drive him out to the country. Here, Benno drops the blood-soaked young man in a copse. Benno asks him where his God is now, to which Tore raises a hand to his chest and whispers "Here". Apparently unable to cope with this demonstration of faith, Benno kicks Tore, whose body rolls down a slope and – the opposing bookend to the baptism at the beginning – comes to a rest in water with plant matter wreathed Christ-like around his head.Back at the allotment, Sanny and Dennis manage to escape and the final shot is of them walking hand-in-hand down the road. When the final credits appear, instead of scrolling upwards in the conventional manner, they scroll downwards leaving us with the feeling of a descent into hell.Director Katrin Gebbe has stated that, following a showing at Cannes, the film "had boos and cheers, escapees and long standing ovations". I cannot for the life of me think why anyone would boo this movie. Certainly, the events it depicts are shocking in the extreme and Gebbe refuses to make moral judgments on behalf of the audience. Nor is there much that can be considered uplifting, unless you feel that Tore's refusal to fight back is inspirational rather than naive. But surely these aspects are characteristic of a mature work of art that refuses to patronise its audience? In any event, although this is not an easy watch (I occasionally found myself curling my fists as I squirmed in discomfort) I consider that this is one of the stand-out movies of the year so far, underpinned by a strong script, strong direction, fine music and cinematography, and with a memorable performance by Julius Feldmeier as Tore.