Change Your Image
eury
Reviews
Deterrence (1999)
Good, but...
This was definitely an entertaining film, but the pacing dragged at times and the overall feel was more like that of a TV movie than a "provocative political thriller." Pollack made a valiant, though miscast, effort as President, and Timothy Hutton played his part as chief of staff beautifully. All in all, the film was entertaining but short of brilliant.
The Last Days (1998)
A Powerful, Beautiful Tribute
I was fortunate enough to see this film at an advance screening hosted by the National Archive of Jewish Film at Brandeis University. This screening was full of professors and experts in the field of Holocaust study. Also present was one of the interviewees of the film.
This film effected me in ways that no other Holocaust documentary has. I have been learning about the Holocaust for many years, and I naïvely thought that I understood the magnitude of this disaster. What I realized during this movie was that no one can understand the experience of such a tragedy. Some of the most poignant moments were when the survivors walked through the camps with their children, recalling details along the way. Their children stood dutifully beside their parents the entire time, never understanding what their parents experienced.
The film bills itself as "the story of five remarkable people whose strength and will to live represent the extraordinary power of the human spirit." I don't feel that the movie followed this path, but took a different, much more intriguing journey. The audience left the theater understanding that the Holocaust is not something that can be summed up in a movie. Though the movie posed the question "why did it happen?" it never gives an answer. Instead, it shows that there is no way to reach a conclusion when one is faced with such a tragedy.
Das schreckliche Mädchen (1990)
Brilliant
Michael Verhoeven has constructed a masterpiece in this glorious depiction of denial in a small German town. Through a unique style, Verhoeven takes a sensitive topic, the feelings of Germans as to their participation in WWII, and adds a glorious ironic humor to the story.
Lena Stoltz is glorious as Sonja, retaining her youthful charm and appeal throughout the film, from infancy to adulthood. Her apparent youthful innocence is what gives the movie much of its staying power in the minds of its viewers.
This movie is comedy, tragedy, documentary, and social commentary rolled into one glorious package.