Questions about Pariah
Is it based on a true story?
sharewho cares?? a movie this bad doesnt deserve any more thought than utter disgust at its hideousness.
shareThere is a review from a German Website - the link is on the External Reviews section of IMDB. Here is the review:
Many films have tried to have a look at the deluded belief of neo-Nazis, or to study the mechanisms of relevant organizations. Ironically, almost all of these works (represented mostly by "Romper Stomper" and "American History X" are considered as exemplary examples) to cult films feature a main character (played by Edward Norton in "American History X", Derek Vinyard), become icons for many neo-Nazis, albeit a fictional. Ironically, this misinterpretation finds these characters becoming beloved instead of daring a sober approach to the racist ideology, who they really are and paying attention to the seduction and fascination for vulnerable people. The danger in those films is that the main protagonist are eloquent and charismatic leaders. This characterization leads to the danger of becoming attractive, which can all too easily make this lifestyle attractive. All this has but little in common with "Pariah", and to illustrate how significant the differences are in the characters and plot construction. Randolph Kret pursued other goals and meets the phenomenon of right-wing radicalism in a completely different way.
Kret could hardly be clearer in Pariah: The skins are already in a prison - a prison that deprives them of any chance for the future, social isolation means, and can basically only grow in the further hatred. The same authentic dialogues written in the vernacular, "Menace II Society", which describes a similar urban nightmare. This does not lead to a revenge catharsis, no conciliatory "justice" causes, only underscores the relentless nature of this dark and uncomfortable film. This is a film made to make people think – the goal is not to make the characters attractive, but to show the destruction this lifestyle leads to and the stain it leaves on the human soul.
Von Marco Siedelmann (German Film Critic)
Hard Sensations (German Website for Hardboiled films)
This review sums up the point of the film - it's not to create a seductive character but to show you the raw anger that permeates society.