The imitation game

 

Alan Turing's story was a fascinating one I remember. A British mathematician who unravelled the German Nazi code and hastened the end of WWII - while his heroics could not be told to the public, he was found legally guilty many years later of being a homosexual - a tragedy in many ways.

The film, despite the Cumberbatch effectiveness, could have done with more of the David Fincher sharpness. Cheesy in most parts, it could have been much more. The support cast doesn't help - Keira Knightly while she means well, does nothing to enhance the story telling. Blame the director. 

The + is for Alan Turing.

Rating: * * +

Poster licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia.

Empire of the sun

Christian Bale's finest performance, arguably, thus far - in his debut film as a 13 year old. To put a 13 year old through every scene of a film, through a range of emotions that even the best would struggle with and essentially carry a movie of scale, needs balls. Steven Spielberg manages to do so in 1987 - and with some fine photography & direction. 

Christian Bale plays Jim Graham, a young British boy who has grown up in the Shanghai expat bubble scene as WWII enters its end game. Loses his parents through a tragic turn of events and spends the next 4 years more than surviving through all kinds of John Malkovich type hooligans. 

Outstanding.

Rating: * * * +

The Flowers of War

Possibly the first Zhang Yimou movie that I have watched fully. "Possibly" because I think I headed for the exit while watching Hero or House of Flying Daggers. This unfortunately was a similar experience. Only thing that kept me going through this melodramatic, yet dumbed down, tragic story of WWII Nanking was to watch Christian Bale. Which was ore the disappointing - blame the fucking director.

Rating: * +

Inglourious Basterds

The time is World War II with the Nazi juggernaut running rampant across France. Dropped in to this zone is a group of specially chosen madmen whose charter is to put fear in to Nazis. The fact that title is misspelt is in itself a hint that Mr. Tarantino has something to do with its making. The fear inducing methodology in his indomitable style confirms it. In spite of a Kill Bill like structure, the film is no way one of his all time greats but yet an enjoyable trip.

Rating: * * +

Devils on the Doorstep

Jiang Wen writes, directs and stars in this satirical tragic comedy set during World War II at the time of the Japanese occupation of China. A couple's lustful romp is rudely interrupt by the arrival of two prisoners in gunny sacks led by a gun toting mystery man. The command under gunpoint is to safeguard and interrogate them before he returns. One is a macho Japanese soldier bent on dying and the other a Chinese working as a translator for the Japanese. Set in a small country village in China, the film centers around the plight of the villagers and their attempt to deal with this bizarre situation. Grave as the scenario is, Wen figures out a way to bring the pun out in the situations. However when there are Japanese involved during tricky times one always must brace for the dark side.

Rating: * * *

Silent Night

A feel good story set in Germany during World War II, when a group of German and American soldiers call a truce to the fighting on Christmas eve under the roof of Elisabeth Vincken (Linda Hamilton). The forced German accents gets to you after a point. Throw in the cloying nature of the events one might come away feeling saccharine. But then again the film was based on true events...

Rating: * *

A Secret

François Grimbert's life at a first glance seems similar to that of unfortunate teenagers who are disapproved by their own fathers due to their delicate and sensitive nature. But the discovery of a faded stuffed toy in the attic shatters that similarity and inadvertently leads to the discovery of the multi layered past of his parents during the Holocaust. A well crafted film that seamlessly moves between decades to tell you a tale based on true events sans any histrionics or melodrama.

Rating: * * +

The Reader

Have often heard that this is a very deep movie. Either its the irritating German accented English spoken by the German characters or an overdose of Holocaust films from many years ago, I found it painful. Yes, there is that bit about a shameful love story and a tragic end to their saga - but has nothing really new to say at all.

Rating: * *

Youth Without Youth

Sometimes a movie can come close to telling a story the way a book would. And that's how Coppola's film comes across which is, in his words, all about consciousness. Tim Roth plays a linguistic professor who gets a second lease of life one day in WW II Romania - and through a surreal (reverse aging process), highly spiritual journey gets closer to his life objective in linguistic research - to understand the "inarticulate moment of the beginning", which apparently will help in the future of post-historic man. Along the way, one comes across many interesting characters and many interesting places. Without focusing on the reverse aging gimmick too much, 'Youth Without Youth' is heavily laden with philosophical concepts which can circumvent ones brain - however, the film's got a good rhythm and Tim Roth's temperament to tell a highly interesting story.

Rating: * * *

The Counterfeiters

The film is a fictionalized version of Operation Bernhard, a secret Nazi plan to implode the English and US economies by flooding the market with counterfeit notes.

At the center of the tale is Salomon 'Sally' Sorowitsch (Karl Markovics) who was known as the king of counterfeiters in pre-WWII Germany. When the Nazi machinery starts rolling he finds himself in a concentration camp thanks to his Jewish heritage. But his talents are not forgotten by the Nazis and he finds himself in the 'forgery' section of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Jews who have any kind of talent that will help with counterfeiting are his inmates. Together they became part of largest counterfeiting operation in history. One of the better WWII movies in recent times.

Rating: * * *

Overlord

The War machinery is humongous and the people who encompasses it are invisible as individuals. It is this very fact that director Stuart Cooper shows through the eyes of Thomas Beddows (Brian Stirner), a young Brit lad who is enlisted just in time for D-Day. Seamlessly interspersed with archival WWII footage, the film leaves with you stark phantasmal images of the war.

Rating: * *

Gloomy Sunday

A love triangle forms between restaurant owner László (Joachim Król), his waitress and his pianist. András (Ben Becker), the pianist composes a piece called Gloomy Sunday for Ilona (Erika Marozsán) which forms a loose bond between the three. While creating harmony between the lovers, the song invites suicide in others. Set in Budapest during the late 1930s, the gloom only deepens with the onset of World War II.

The fabric of this melodramatic film is held together by some fine acting by the three leads. One is easily mesmerized by the easy grace of Marozsan and the brooding melancholy in Becker whose acting reminded me of Tony Leung. So in spite of the gloomy theme, the film is very riveting and will entrap you. To cap it off there is a Schindler's List angle to the film too. The flick also leaves you with a question if such a triangle is viable if the two men involved are genuinely fond of each other.

Rating: * * *
PS: There is a scene in the movie showing László and András getting drunk on Unicum. So people do drink it in Hungary :-)

Sophie Scholl

Sophie Scholl a member of the White Rose - a student rebel group in Munich, Nazi Germany that aimed to raise awareness about the evil ways of the Third Reich. White Rose decides to take the anarchist step of circulating rebel leaflets in the University. Sophie and her brother get caught in the process and thats where the movie begins.

Bulk of the movie shows her being interrogated by Nazi officials and how she steadfastly tries to con them - which was fascinating and ore the outstanding performance by Julia Jentsch. Sophie cant save herself from her inevitable fate but does not bow down. There is critisicm around that the movie did not spend much time in the lead up to the incident; the general social situation etc. Honestly, I have seen enough of that and instead quite liked the focussed approach.

Rating: * * *

Bon Voyage

A romantic movie set in Bordeaux, as the Germans invaded France, which falls flat.

Rating: *

Good Men, Good Women

A movie within a movie with the past and present of actress Liang Ching (Annie Shizuka Inoh) juxtaposing the role she is playing in the "within" movie. Liang in the movie plays Chiang Bi-Yu, an anti-Japanese revolutionary in the 1940s. While doing this role she finds her past crowding into her present as the tendrils of her dead boyfriend creeps back into her life. Aimed at drawing attention to the anti-Japanese movement in Taiwan the film meanders and the three threads barely hold together.

Rating: * *

Days of Glory

A bunch of Algerian soldiers sign up to fight for the French in what turns out to be the Alliance's last push to win the war. Motivated by De Gaulle, a better life and winning liberty, they are put straight into warzone.

Despite their victories they slowly realise that there is very little recognition in terms of rights, promotions and equality coming their way from their Colonial bosses. Nevertheless, a core group of 4 find themselves in Alsace as the first line of defence from the desparate Germans - finish off the Krauts, the war is over. Against all odds, they manage to do so but just about.

With the backdrop of all this, the few Algerian actors put out a masterful performance. A fantastic movie which highlights what a whole load of cock politicans and policies often can be.

Rating: * * * +

The Good Shepherd

A spy thriller made with the elaborateness as this one, will always be a delight. Serious relief watching a movie which is engaging at various levels - does provide hope that there are Hollywood film makers who are keen on making truly worthwhile films.

Robert De Niro's second major directorial venture is one fascinating film of a man who slowly (though seemingly destined) is groomed to become a spy. Also depicts the genesis of Counter-Intelligence as a concept & CIA - with the end of WWII and beginning of the Cold War.

Fantastic cast - starting with Matt Damon, who has settled down well into his own. Then some favourites - Alec Baldwin, Timothy Hutton, William Hurt and De Niro himself - all in bit roles.

A beauty.

Rating: * * * *

Downfall

An up close insight into Hitlers last few days as he lost the war, his head, his life and his people. A fairly long movie, but nicely made with fantastic performances - so one doesnt mind. Couple of interesting insights into how things transpired towards the end of the war, and how things could have been different. A must watch for WWII freaks.

Rating: * * *

Letters from Iwo Jima

I went to watch this film with very high expectations and was not disappointed. Maybe it was because it was in Japanese or maybe it was because of the hue and color the movie was shot in... I really don't know. All I know is that this film touches your soul in places which its companion film, Flags of our Fathers, did not even know existed. This not a knock against Flags. Flags was taken with a Western mindset laced with the kind of melodrama that is always visible in most American war films. Letters bow to the Eastern sentiment. What is startling is that both are directed by the same person. Clint Eastwood does a fine job of realistically portraying the US assault on Iwo Jima from the Japanese standpoint without a hint of partiality.

Thank you, Mr. Eastwood, Mr Haggis...
Arigato, Yamashita san, Watanabe san, Ninomiya san, Ihara san....

Rating: * * * *

When trumpets fade

Deep in the Hurtgen Forest in late 1944, a private could not be more keen to get out of the scene claiming mental instability and is pretty honest about it - many of the others feel the same, but hold it against him. But he keeps being promoted on the face of growing casualities as the Germans put up a tough resistance. After being challenged to take out a German outpost, Private Manning has to motivate his small force to do the impossible.

Reasonably well made flick, but wouldnot reflect in the top war movies list.

Rating: * *