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Deutsches Haus (2023)
Mostly well-intentioned but too much unecessary fluff
The Frankfurt Ausschwitz trials are an important topic in Holocaust history and the series potrayal of the trial is where the series shines.
Unfortunately it suffers from the same problem that much of German "history-TV" (like Babylon Berlin or Charité) has: to draw in viewers it contains numerous side plots that are supposed to fluff out the historical period but are very clichéd. I get that it is important to set a historical context, but the side plots remain completely shallow and especially clash with the horrifying descriptions of Ausschwitz in the trial.
A further (minor) point: it feels very much that the series only included an anti-Nazi old person in the form of the fiancé's father to reassure German viewers that "not everyone was bad" in their grandparent's generation. It's a shame that German productions still feel they cannot ask more of their audience.
White Noise (2022)
Surreal fun
I honestly don't understand the bad reviews here, many of them one-star. They seem to come from people that expect a cookie-cutter structure from a film with an easily recognized (moral) "message" at the end. Is that what the MCU-ifying of film has made us expect?
White Noise is none of the that. It's two hours of surreal fun that puts an emphasis on mood and not necessarily on plot. (That doesn't mean the film doesn't have a plot at all - it does, it's just not as important).
Many reviewers also seem to complain about the pompous and pseudo-intellectual dialogue. Yes! That's what it's supposed to be! It's a parody of (70s/80s) academia. I found these dialogues highly entertaining. As long as you enjoy them as what they are and don't try to decipher what they "mean" for the "message" of the film, it's all great fun. That goes for the whole film.
The Comfort of Strangers (1990)
Perfect sexy summer flick
A bored couple seeks adventure during their vacation. One of my favourite books and films of all time. It was unloved by critics (professional ones and the ones on this site), but I can't think of any other film that has captured the titillating feeling of exploring to unknown places (e.g. Going on holiday) this well. Combined with the morbid scenery of Venice and some committed, talented actors, it makes a perfect viewing for hot summer nights, I claim.
Secret Window (2004)
Average then, below average now
The 'big twist' of the film might have surprised some people 15 years ago but today it seems very predictable now.
A very standard thriller that is only saved by skillful cinematography and good performances.
Frantz (2016)
Sentimental Kitsch
After seeing the trailer I was genuinely interested in this film. I felt that World War I and the immediate post-war years are generally underrepresented in film, and the trailer promised a suspenseful romance/mystery.
My enthusiasm turned into disappointment after the first 30 minutes of the film. Cliché dialogues, which I thought to be a stylistic device at first, just became silly and repetitive. It seemed Characters constantly uttered melancholy lines and broke out into tears seemingly at random. The wooden acting did not help at all. In the end I actually found it quite upsetting that the suffering of World War I was being exploited for such a dull tearjerker.
The themes of European rapprochement after World War I and individual forgiveness had a lot of potential in my opinion, but in the way this film dealt with them, this potential was almost entirely wasted.