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Brilliant and touching

Best movie ever!

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

This is a great documentary about a horrible crime, spanning decades as the filmmakers slowly peel back public appearance to reveal new information and the emotional lives of the people involved. It reminded me yet again how complicated true life is, and that we must always stay open, must always resist the rush to judgement. I grew up in the Virginia area and remember well when these murders were committed. This doc painstakingly presents alternate versions of the event itself, and allows us to exist in the contradictory space created between two people, a swirl of deception and self-deception, loyalty and guilt - the human ecology. An intense, engrossing, deeply emotional film - I so enjoyed being invited into Mr. Soering's mind over the years. The filmmakers cannot deliver us a pat ending - it doesn't exist and probably never will - but I appreciate their intention to be fair, and to investigate. A great crime doc that turns the tables on a prevailing narrative. There are always other sides of the story.

Killing For Love is an excellent film -- one well worth watching. It's a riveting true-crime documentary about the Haysom murders in Virginia in the 1980s and Jens Soering's wrongful conviction and ongoing fight for freedom. Akin to Making a Murderer and Serial, the film chronicles how terribly wrong things can go in our criminal justice system. In this case, the film's subject (Jens Soering) is a German-born student who is attending the University of Virginia. He falls in love with Elizabeth Haysom, the daughter of Virginia socialites, whose allure masks her deep psychological and family troubles. When her parents are murdered, Elizabeth and Jens become the prime suspects, and a high-profile trial and media maelstrom ensue. The film includes great footage from the trial itself -- the first of its kind, pre-dating the OJ Simpson case, to be captured in the international media spotlight. Watch and expect to be drawn into this story of love, youth, betrayal, murder, and a criminal justice system incapable of separating fact from fiction.

"It was like stepping inside a slaughterhouse."So one observer in the documentary Killing for Love reports about the brutal murders of Nancy and Derek Haysom in 1985. More lurid than the photos is the court conclusion that lovers Elizabeth Haysom and Jens Soring murdered them, she being their daughter.What makes this an audience pleaser is the archival footage that shows her to be a cunning beauty and him an almost innocent lamb to her romantic slaughter. This, the intrigue is that after confessing to the murder, Jens tries to recant saying he lied to mitigate the sentence of his love. The court wouldn't accept the confession of the confession.Directors Karin Steinberger and Marcus Vetter cut between time and testimonials to create a dynamic if confusing, disjointed set of circumstances filled with lies and ambiguity. Both conditions would ordinarily fulfill the needs of soap opera, but here, as truth is the end game, energy for sympathy is sapped by conflicting facts and sentiments.Yet, the salacious elements endure for audience interest such as the fact that Elizabeth's mom photographed her nude and allegedly abused her. Additionally, Jens adds a sardonic attitude toward the proceedings that hypnotizes those who would like to think this not a laughing matter. Filled with striking moments - such as the courtroom revelation that Elizabeth's mother took nude photographs of her and may have abused her sexually, and a tour of the house in which the murders took place, conducted by its current owner who doesn't seem at all fazed by its horrific pastFor history buffs, the archival footage is nectar. For those of us who find the DNA evidence now compelling, it looks as if a part II may be in order for Jens Soring's future.

Extremely extended and a diffuse drama. A square narrated history that has enormous potential. A lot of non-verbal and marginal persons occur and give us their opinions. But what about those who could interpret Jens and Elizabeth's story from a different perspective? However the trial shows that the US is a very legally unsafe part of the world, where gnomes like this may engage in law. Just add water.