Not convinced by the movie. Some here say that the photography is good: I'd say that it's overly sombre, giving a sense of foreboding that never get realised. The place of the action is unrealistically shabby, which gets out of place with the proposed occupation of the father, and speaks of a miserable childhood, where it seems the realisator wanted to show a born psychopath revealing himself. This part is the most perturbing of all: I may be influenced by my readings, but it seems to me that either this child is not beaten up enough (to become an actual psychopath) or the realisator still thinks that babies are born dictators.... which is against all scientific knowledge on actual childhoods of actual dictators, including GW Bush.
The movie is heavily alluding to the rise of a famous early XXth century German leader, but lacks realism if this is the actual model: A. Hitler has been considerably beaten up, living with a mother who had to get over various infant deaths (alluded in the film with the scene of the bed and missed love)without support, while his father had a much more violent attitude towards him and cultivated the secret and shame upon his origins.
The movie describes uncaring parents, without ever getting in line with what we know of the infancies of, say, Staline or Sadam Hussein or said German leader, without even getting close to what educative violence was in those years post WWI in Europe (or sadly still is sometimes in the US). Some side plots are not used to their full extent (the dismissal of the carer, the would-be affair between the father and the repetitor), the relationship between mother and son is only rougly drafted, but never gets to its full extent (eg: a sick sensual relationship is half suggested between the mother and the son, by his girl attire-also an allusion to a famous Hitler picture?-, or his mother exclusive attention), The sexual repression of young Prescott could have been exploited more -didn't 19th century Americans widely used circumcision as a way to make sex hurtful?- the young Prescott relations -or lack thereof- with the other village kids could have been used)
As it is, the movie goes along the line: "young kid feels alone, gets trashed once, gets sexually aroused by his repetitor, who scolds him, hits his mother and becomes sadistic leader. This may seems a bit lame for anyone with a superficial knowledge of European history (Europe, land of horror stories)
The movie is heavily alluding to the rise of a famous early XXth century German leader, but lacks realism if this is the actual model: A. Hitler has been considerably beaten up, living with a mother who had to get over various infant deaths (alluded in the film with the scene of the bed and missed love)without support, while his father had a much more violent attitude towards him and cultivated the secret and shame upon his origins.
The movie describes uncaring parents, without ever getting in line with what we know of the infancies of, say, Staline or Sadam Hussein or said German leader, without even getting close to what educative violence was in those years post WWI in Europe (or sadly still is sometimes in the US). Some side plots are not used to their full extent (the dismissal of the carer, the would-be affair between the father and the repetitor), the relationship between mother and son is only rougly drafted, but never gets to its full extent (eg: a sick sensual relationship is half suggested between the mother and the son, by his girl attire-also an allusion to a famous Hitler picture?-, or his mother exclusive attention), The sexual repression of young Prescott could have been exploited more -didn't 19th century Americans widely used circumcision as a way to make sex hurtful?- the young Prescott relations -or lack thereof- with the other village kids could have been used)
As it is, the movie goes along the line: "young kid feels alone, gets trashed once, gets sexually aroused by his repetitor, who scolds him, hits his mother and becomes sadistic leader. This may seems a bit lame for anyone with a superficial knowledge of European history (Europe, land of horror stories)