The Card Counter

William Tell ist ein typischer Paul-Schrader-Held in TAXI DRIVER-Nachfolge: Sozial isoliert, ohne Beziehung oder Familie verdient er sich den Lebensunterhalt beim Black-Jack-Spiel. Er zieht von einem Casino ins nächste; jede seiner Handlungen folgt festen Regeln und Ritualen; es ist eine Disziplin, die er im Gefängnis gelernt hat. Als der junge Cirk und die Spielevermittlerin La Linda in sein Leben treten und seine Isolation aufbrechen, muss er sich seiner Vergangenheit neu stellen. Schrader verbindet präzise und stimmungsvoll die gegensätzlichen Elemente von Spieler-Film und amerikanischer Geschichtsaufarbeitung. (Barbara Schweizerhof)

Paul Schrader, one of Hollywood’s most iconic figures, now returns a few years after his majestic FIRST REFORMED (V’2018) with another poignant instant classic.
This time, our hero is William Tell (a terrific Oscar Isaac), a gambler who forged his cardplaying skills during the time he served for a hideous crime committed during the 2003 Iraq invasion. His existence is a sort of limbo in which rituals and repetition are part of an impossible expiation. This sad routine is shaken when he crosses paths with Cirk, a young boy seeking vengeance. William’s attempt to put Cirk on the straight and narrow will represent his ultimate possibility of redemption.
Set among poker tables and motel rooms, where the ugliness of the decors seems to be yet another price to pay for our protagonist, THE CARD COUNTER is an uncanny trip in the depths of human nature. William Tell’s journey out of darkness takes the spectator to the innermost places of human soul, where the seed of evil and the idea of forgiveness and love are created. In his usual dry tone, Schrader once again redefines the code of genre cinema and delivers a sharp reflection on the collective traumas that shape our private identities. (Rebecca De Pas)

Paul Schrader: BLUE COLLAR (1978), HARDCORE (1979), AMERICAN GIGOLO (1980), CAT PEOPLE (1980), MISHIMA: A LIFE IN FOUR CHAPTERS (1985), PATTY HEARST (1988), THE COMFORT OF STRANGERS (1990), LIGHT SLEEPER (1992), AFFLICTION (1997), AUTO FOCUS (2002), DOMINION: PREQUEL TO THE EXORCIST (2005), ADAM RESURRECTED (2008), THE CANYONS (2013), DYING OF THE LIGHT (2014), DOG EAT DOG (2016), FIRST REFORMED (2017), DARK (2017)