This Thai film is going for that crime and romance mix inside the BL space, trying to blend coming of age struggles with gritty gang violence thrown in. Honestly, this movie really didn't need to exist. It grabs actors straight out of BL shows that you'll recognize instantly, then tries to drop them into this gritty setting with a story that just doesn't land. Even if there was some kind of heart buried in here somewhere, the way it's actually put together feels pretty amateur. Kheng comes from a rough background and has his heart set on studying in China, so he's grinding hard trying to land a scholarship. We don't get much of his backstory, but he's living with his friend Tai, who I'm pretty sure has feelings for him too, and Tai backs him up in every way he can. One day Kheng witnesses a group of thugs beating up a guy named Boang, who turns out to be a drug dealer, though Kheng has no clue about that at the time. He ends up saving Boang's life an...
Time is early 1920's, just before WW1, poverty is at its peak and the town of Hannover in Germany. People have found various ways to make money, including prostitution. And before you realize there are a lot of male prostitutes in teens and twenties. But soon reports of young boys missing start happening. Investigations point to a guy called Haarmann, who has previous records of sexual assault to young boys. We then get to hear Haarmann's childhood story and his growing up days. How his life was spent between detention centers and jail. At one point in his adulthood, he met a man 20 years younger than him named Hans Grans and how they had this beautiful relationship that lasted for years. They were both addictions for each other and Hans was the only person, who could get away with anything with Haarmann. Apparently they looted people together. It wasn't clear if the killings of the boys was done by Haarmann alone or with Hans. After trail, Haarmann was found guilty of killing 27 boys. Since Haarmann acted with canned meat, it was speculated that he would have processed the bodies into sausage. Haarmann has always denied this, but could not give a verifiable source for the meat sold by him. Haarmaan was later executed to death in 1924.
I am actually surprised that I had never heard of this story about the serial killer before. I am sure there are films that were made on the subject but this documentary definitely brings a very interesting perspective and I am glad that this is the first that I saw. I may have to look for movies now. The documentary provides a very good insight. Its a shocker to see how even the Hannover police was also involved in some of these murders and were partly responsible for delayed investigations. There are interviews with some witnesses but I didn't think much of that.
Without being lurid, this documentary manages to bring Haarmann's deeds to the fore. I would recommend this. A blend of horrifying real story combining homosexuality and serial killer. (6/10)
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