Blood & Gold 2023 Movie Review
The German deserter Heinrich is looking for his daughter when he is surprised by a marauding SS troop. The Nazis want to hang him up on a tree, but he is saved at the last second by the farmer’s wife Elsa. Both realize that they have more in common than the common enemy: they fight for justice and get caught up in a bloody hunt for a Jewish pot of gold.
Hard to believe that the screenplay for Blood & Gold is already 17 years old, so it is all the more gratifying that the ingenious screenplay was finally filmed in 2022 by Peter Thorwarth ( Bang Boom Bang – Ein todsicheres Ding ). Produced by Netflix, the film turns out to be a real gold mine for unexpectedly beautiful Nazi kills in the style of Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds . Hardly any viewer can not feel joy or satisfaction when the nasty Nazis get exactly what they deserve in a creative way. With irrepressible joy, the film is dedicated to revenge on the most despicable creatures in history and with the greatest success. Even Tarantinocould still cut a slice of it, because Blood & Gold has made it its goal to continuously surprise its viewers with increased tempo, while Tarantino often slows down the tempo too much with the long monologues or dialogues. Netflix already showed the right flair for good movies with Nothing New in the West and they unearthed another treasure with Blood & Gold .
Despite the initially manageable background story, the film quickly transforms into an exciting Nazi revenge film with western flair thanks to the perfect staging. Both the musical accompaniment and the setting and the costumes immediately convey a spaghetti western feeling with an adventure character. No one said all WWII movies had to be deadly serious, and in Blood & Gold we finally have a movie that openly flaunts its kick-Nazi-ass attitude and is ridiculously fun. Of course, Blood & Gold would be nothing without its cast, and they are 100% well-chosen for both good and bad. Robert Maaser ( The Palace), who plays Heinrich, radiates both inner strength and goodness and is almost predestined for the role of a hero bursting with strength. Although the film also concedes a certain weakness to his character by having Heinrich rescued by the farmer’s wife Elsa ( Marie Hacke , From the Diary of an Uber Driver ) at the beginning of the film.
Marie Hacke embodies a tough woman who loves her brother Paule ( Simon Rupp , Because we are champions ) more than anything and is ready to fight for him. She is fantastic in her role. On the side of evil, too, there is a character without whom this film would not be so excellent, and that is Von Starnfeld ( Alexander Scheer , Sonnenallee ). Alexander Scheer brilliantly plays the typical Nazi bully, in a way even the caricature of the whole despicable thing about World War II. Among his delightfully mean henchmen is Dörfler ( Florian Schmidtke , War Sailor), who clearly takes on the antagonist role and makes life difficult for Heinrich. All of the characters and the actors behind them make this film a great experience in their combination, which takes place against the backdrop of destruction and chaos and takes revenge on one of the darkest chapters in history with varied stunts and black humor.
With “Blood & Gold” an ingenious screenplay was excellently staged. It’s great how this Tarantino-style Nazi revenge film humorously lives out its kick-Nazi-ass attitude. With its Western charm and beautiful and, above all, surprising Nazi kills, the film plays itself into the hearts of its viewers and turns out to be a real treasure.
