Dreileben – One Minute of Darkness

In ONE MINUTE OF DARKNESS, we finally meet Molesch, the troubled subject of the DREILEBEN manhunt. We find him first in police custody, under escort to the hospital where his mother has just died. Distraught and deranged, he escapes after temporarily being left alone. Returning to the house where they lived unhappily together, Molesch keeps up a dialogue between his dead mother and himself. Next he lurches into the deep Thuringian forest, site of scary woodland fairy tales and a center of medieval witch burning, as we learn from a guide leading tourists near Molesch's hiding place. A runaway young girl befriends him and they coexist peacefully for a time. Meanwhile, a detective is trying to track Molesch by getting inside his head, anticipating where he might go. Is Molesch a disturbed innocent, driven like Frankenstein to evil deeds, or is he a deliberately vicious sex killer? This visually arresting film brings DREILEBEN to a chilling climax. (In German with subtitles) –B.B.