12 years after his escape, career criminal Trojan returns to Berlin. A valuable painting is about to be stolen in the city. But the meticulously planned heist soon spirals out of control. Next up is Im Schatten (2010). During the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin, viewers were able to see how professional criminal Trojan (Misel MATICEVIC) from IM SCHATTEN (2010) had to leave the capital for an indefinite period of time. Trojan still operates in a rather analogous way: old-fashioned crimes such as stealing tangible objects such as watches, cash and paintings. Without any ties to a mafia or clan structure, a lone fighter, only occasionally and by necessity in the team! When a coup in the Ruhr area does not go according to plan, Trojan must return to Berlin to call on old contacts (Marie-Lou SELLEM). And indeed: Together with three comrades (Tim SEYFI, Marie LEUENBERGER, Bilge BINGÜL), Trojan manages to steal a valuable painting by Caspar David FRIEDRICH. But then the troubles with the mysterious client Viktor (Alexander FEHLING) really begin... At the BERLINALE 2010, IM SCHATTEN by Braunschweig-born director Thomas ARSLAN hit like a long-awaited genre bomb. A gripping genre film made in Germany was told using the cinematic means of the Berlin School. Extremely exciting, with rare dialogue and explosive moments of violence! ARSLAN continues with VERBRANNTE ERDE seemingly without any problems. Gangster films are still a rarity in German cinema. With great precision, the images of cameraman Reinhold VORSCHNEIDER (and IM SCHATTEN) speak of people living in a shadow version of Germany. Dark places, in the shadow of nearby targets and yet far from the perception of the police and the normal population. Berlin appears as a co-player and opponent of the film's protagonists. The understated music of Norwegian composer Ola FLOTTUM (THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD, 2021) contributes greatly to this tense atmosphere. It shows a capital that you know and yet don't. Many viewers will be able to recognize this urban sprawl with all the roads in their surroundings. Ghostly places very close to us: scorched earth in the shadows! Misel MATICEVIC (FACE THE CRIMINAL / BABYLON BERLIN) is once again very convincing in the role of the Trojan, of whom we will probably see more (Thomas ARSLAN is planning a kind of Trojan trilogy). GERMAN FILM AWARD nominee Marie Lou SELLEM (nominated for KNOCHEN UND NAME / BONES AND NAMES in 2024) is there as an ice-cold mediator. But GERMAN FILM AWARD winner Alexander FEHLING (winner in 2019 for DAS ENDE DER WAHRHEIT / THE END OF THE TRRUTH) is frighteningly good and really doesn't have to hide from classic villains like Klaus KINSKI and Michael FASSBENDER. Thomas ARSLAN doesn't. I don't want to take as much time with the third film in his Trojan trilogy as he did between 2010 and 2024. Stay tuned!