9 Scenes of Violence

Verbal aggression, abuse, murder: violence is deeply anchored in human nature. But which mechanism ensures that we are usually able to suppress such tendencies? In other words, which fuse is blown the very moment that we explode? In a short series of portraits, nine apparently average Swedes talk about how they acted on a violent urge. A bodybuilder wanted to teach someone a lesson, but ended up ramming the iron bar against that person's skull much harder than he intended. A doctor informed a patient with an untreatable form of cancer that he would die a painful, lonely death, just because it gave him a bizarre form of satisfaction. And a girl experienced a sardonic pleasure in testing out her the steel toes of her new Dr. Martens on an unfortunate passerby. Were the actions of these violent individuals motivated by sadism, a feeling of victory, a longing for power? Previously at IDFA with the documentary \i I Dreamed About Pol Pot\i0 , Michael Krotkiewski carefully explores the faces with his camera. His extreme close-ups don't only achieve a certain level of anonymity, but they also gradually penetrate the peoples' souls. Is that perhaps where we will find the motive of their violent derailment?