It is shameful how little noticed this exceptional film is. I believe only one critic in the Sight and Sound 2002 poll placed this film into his top ten. Eveything is so masterful about this film. I perticularly like how Sanders-Brahms was able to create a very natural feeling plot. characters with so much allegory in them at the same time. Hopefully Criterion Co, ot some other DVD label will pick this film up.
shareI completely agree. Reading the (current) review, all I can say is I don't understand how someone who apparently cares enough about film to sit and type up reviews for IMDB can call this one "dreary" and "hard to sit through." I thought it was nothing short of beautiful basically start to finish, and it was one of those rare films that I didn't want to end. Very emotional and yes, hard hitting, but fantastic. I watched it with a small group and, when it ended, no one even moved for several minutes.
Tragic, emotional, difficult to watch at times, but extremely powerful.
Yeah. This is one of the greatest films I have ever seen and only luckily saw it as a part of one of my film classes. The pacing is wonderful. The emotions are absolutely and unabashedly real. The atmosphere is wonderful and I can see a possible influence of ambient sound in The Sweet Hereafter and from Malick films. The scope of the story is present without boring exposition of what is going on and without losing the important aspects of the story. And this film contains one of my favorite scenes in cinema history. The mother and her daughter walking through the war torn countryside while the mother tells a fairy tale. Simple description but the most complex scene I had seen for a while. Definitely needs some recognition. I guess since I post a lot I could add something in my sig to get more people to check it out. Anybody want to do the same?
Joel: Why do I fall in love with every woman I see that shows me the least bit of attention?
I had to sit through this movie for my German class, and let me say it wasn't the best experience out there. It tried to be sort of artsy, but it failed at that. It tried to be realistic, but it also failed at that. The professor made it seem like one of the best German movies out there, and I was quite saddened that this was some of the best Germany had to offer.
Basically, nothing happens. There's a lot of implied stuff that don't lead to somewhere. And it's pretty much bleak. I guess you can say that's the atmosphere the film was trying to evoke, but I guess it just didn't do it for me.
--somebody set up us the bomb!--
I thought this movie was great. I found it to be realistic and it left imprints in my mind. I found the scene where the mother locks herself in the bathroom and the daughter is crying out to her to be absolutely harrowing but it touched me in a very personal way.
I can see how some can could find it drawn out especially if they were used to faster-paced movies, but I actually found that had the overall effect of engaging me more with the characters. Life is not like a movie plot. Life can be somewhat ordinary, punctuated with intense moments.
I feel this movie gave me an accurate impression of what life was like for some German citizens in WW2.
I give this movie 9/10.
> I can see a possible influence of ambient sound in The Sweet Hereafter and from Malick films.
Where do idiots like you come up with this *beep*
> part of one of my film classes.
That explains a fair bit....
~ Observe, and act with clarity. ~
I agree, excellent. I only came across it by luck
share