The Golden Glove

The Golden Glove (Der Goldene Handschuh) is a 2019 German thriller drama film directed by Fatih Akin. It was selected to compete for the Golden Bear at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival. The film is an adaptation of Heinz Strunk’s eponymous novel and tells the story of the German serial killer Fritz Honka who murdered four women between 1970 and 1975 and hid the parts of dead bodies in his apartment. The Golden Glove is named after the pub in the red-light district of Hamburg where the defaced alcoholic Honka met his victims. The Golden Glove is the first film by Fatih Akin to receive an 18 rating in Germany.

Reception
After the premiere at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival The Golden Glove received mostly negative reviews. Peter Bradshaw awarded the film 2 out of 5 stars. David Ehrlich of Indiewire gave it a D and called it “disgusting” and “one of the most vile serial killer movies ever made”. The film was criticized for its brutality, misogyny and lack of substance and psychological depth. Some German critics described it as a failed or inadequate attempt to adapt the novel and criticized Akin for making a nauseating horror film out of Strunk’s artistic presentation of the events. Despite all criticism, The Golden Glove was praised for Jonas Dassler’s performance, the production design and make-up.

Cast

 * Jonas Dassler as Fritz Honka
 * Margarethe Tiesel as Gerda Voss
 * Katja Studt as Helga Denningsen
 * Dirk Böhling as Soldaten-Nobert
 * Hark Bohm as Dornkaat-Max
 * Uwe Rohde as Herbert
 * Lars Nagel as Nasen-Ernie
 * Greta Sophie Schmidt as Petra Schulz
 * Martina Eitner-Acheampong as Frida
 * Jessica Kosmalla as Ruth
 * Tilla Kratochwil as Inge
 * Barbara Krabbe as Anna
 * Philipp Baltus as pimp
 * Marc Hosemann as Siggi Honka
 * Adam Bousdoukos as Lefteris
 * Tristan Göbel as Willi