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arthur_tafero's rating
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arthur_tafero's rating
While a comparison to 1984 by this film will be inevitable by some critics, I find it to be able to stand alone on its accomplishments. The acting by Chris Bale is first-rate, and the set production values were very high. The choreographed violence was excessive at times, but in line with the violent nature of the regime that had emerged in the post-apocolyptic era portrayed in the film.
The only issues I had with this script was the continued resistance of the underground after suffering enormous setbacks, and the leading members of the regime requiring no feelings, despite having the feelings of fear and anger themselves. An interesting variation on 1984, whose outcome was probably more realistic than this film.
The only issues I had with this script was the continued resistance of the underground after suffering enormous setbacks, and the leading members of the regime requiring no feelings, despite having the feelings of fear and anger themselves. An interesting variation on 1984, whose outcome was probably more realistic than this film.
This is, in my opinion, the finest Holocaust film ever made, even superior to Schindler's List. Why? Because it clearly shows that no one really ever survives the Holocaust; they merely survive. The overwhelming guilt of surviving, while millions of others, not to mention the ones closest to you are perishing, is just too much to ask for a human being.
The camps may have been liberated, but you could never liberate the guilt that the survivors felt for their experiences. Rod Steiger gives the best performance of his career, and won a well-deserved Oscar for his role in this film. Geraldine Fitzgerald is the closest role to a protagonist in the film, but there really is no protagonist. There is nothing but despair and horrific memories. One gets the feeling that the more fortunate ones were the ones who perished, and not the survivors. A great job of direction by Sidney Lumet makes this an unforgettable experieince.
The camps may have been liberated, but you could never liberate the guilt that the survivors felt for their experiences. Rod Steiger gives the best performance of his career, and won a well-deserved Oscar for his role in this film. Geraldine Fitzgerald is the closest role to a protagonist in the film, but there really is no protagonist. There is nothing but despair and horrific memories. One gets the feeling that the more fortunate ones were the ones who perished, and not the survivors. A great job of direction by Sidney Lumet makes this an unforgettable experieince.
Are you sure you are in control? According to this film, brilliantly written and directed by Leigh Wannell, you may not be. It would appear that we will all have less and less control of everything in the not to distant future. Financial institutions are taking away control of our assets, and in this film, humans become merely an extension of sophisticated computer algorithms.
There is nothing in this film that I found to be outlandish, other than using arms to shoot and creating one or two too many subplots.
A man and a woman are violently mugged; the woman is killed and the man is paralyzed. His life is over. But wait; maybe his life is not over. A techie has a plan to salvage this crippled human. Unfortunately, you have to give the techie full control of both your body and your brain if you want to walk again. A difficult proposition. I will not reveal any more of the film, but it logically plays out to a satisfying conclusion (with one exception). You will figure that out yourself. Don't miss this one.
There is nothing in this film that I found to be outlandish, other than using arms to shoot and creating one or two too many subplots.
A man and a woman are violently mugged; the woman is killed and the man is paralyzed. His life is over. But wait; maybe his life is not over. A techie has a plan to salvage this crippled human. Unfortunately, you have to give the techie full control of both your body and your brain if you want to walk again. A difficult proposition. I will not reveal any more of the film, but it logically plays out to a satisfying conclusion (with one exception). You will figure that out yourself. Don't miss this one.