I don’t consider myself a fan of war crime movies, but this time I decided to give Hinterland a shot because it has incredible production value. Unfortunately, there is no coherence between its first two acts and its closing.

Peter Perg (Murathan Muslu) has returned home to Austria after WWI, but everything seems to have changed: society, religion, philosophy, ethics, law… even his family and his faith. War veterans are to be ignored by their country because society sees them as a mistake of circumstances where they shouldn’t have been involved and, unless they came from an established home or their families were still alive, they are destined to wander the streets without pity or remorse of the people. Shortly after Perg’s return, a series of murders occur by the hand of a hooded stranger who is targeting former militants. The police will have no choice but to request Perg’s for his services to investigate the homicides, which are about to become more violent and symbolic with each victim.

Hinterland handles a rather unusual visual aspect— the aesthetics in its scenery are deformed to the human eye. The buildings look crooked, the streets run in a zig-zag style, the camera juggles around with steady angles— it would seem symmetry doesn’t come to play. All of it is intentional to, in my point of view, represent Perg’s feeling while living the present where everything before the war has changed and everyone he knew has moved on— as if his ideas had twisted under the influence of a new order. Sometimes it even reminded me of the setting of any Tim Burton movie.

Despite the wonderful joyride Hinterland delivers, with a endearing background story and great revelations at every distorted corner, there is a sorrowful denouement which comes quicker than a traveler about to miss their flight. The ending is so sudden and formulaic it doesn’t even give the audience a chance to finish putting the loose ends together or untangle the web it has created to feel satisfaction in being part of the investigation.

Hinterland is a twisted and entertaining vision of a post-war being without psychological value. Despite having enough weight in its digital work, enough to trick the viewer’s eye, it fails to excel in any goal or purpose other than to serve as a standard crime thriller. It is not a pass, only if you consider focusing on the art rather than the plot— otherwise, there’s no pop.

8 OUT OF 10 WIRES