Exhilarating. It's a war film in the truest form. Herzog doesn't have to use a booming score and overdramatic sentimantality in order to highlight the horrors and effect that war has on the mind. He presents everything realistically and uses the actors to portray the effect on the mind rather than tricky sentimentality or bleak, scattered narration. The film does weaken a little bit during the scenes in the camp, but it still remains nothing short of brilliant. The beginning of the film beautifully displays a man's isolation and complete confusion and loneliness while the camp scene switches to men's desperation versus what they are willing (or not willing) to do to survive. Herzog does a fantastic job of putting us into Dieter's point of view, mainly through the lack of subtitles. We are just as confused as he is when they shout aggressively in what we can only assume are deadly threats.
The performances are all spectacular. Steve Zahn and Jeremy Davies perfect the broken, defeated POWs who do whatever they are ordered to out of fear for their own life. Their conflicted views on Dieter's plan for escape is amazing to watch and the transgression of these characters only gets more stunning as the film progresses. Christian Bale delivers one of the greatest performances of the decade. Everything about him is flawless. His accent, his mannerisms, his neverending lust for freedom, absolutely everything. The score is exceptional and further brings us into the ambience of Dieter. The ending is a bit too sappy, yes, but I loved it all the less. A feel good picture of triumph through sheer determination. As of now it stands at a 10/10 and is my favorite picture of the year so far.
No comments:
Post a Comment