Again, lots of "100" ratings by critics, which I believe to be societally pandering. It was a somewhat powerful statement flick, but I thought it needed to go farther and deeper to earn all the lofty praise from so-called "experts."
The juxtaposition of a "normal life" outside the walls of Auschwitz is the obvious hook here, and it's handled deftly by director Jonathan Glazer... but that was handled neatly enough in a handful of family scenes. The horror of "the other side of the wall" should have been more (and better) explored. It's not shown at all. Adding the kids and what they saw or knew, or the thoughts of local Poles would have added needed depth. I can only surmise that an extremely low budget led them to completely disregard shots of people being herded from trains, etc. Much of the film is "nothing" background stuff, which detracts from the whole... and while I applaud the sounds of screams and distant (and ignored) gunshots, the film didn't delve far enough into the horrors to truly present a view of life outside the walls. For the most part I was anxiously waiting and ultimately disappointed, not just by what was IN the movie, but what was left out. A 6.5 rounded up for trying to take an inventive look at horror being dismissed. "Conspiracy" was a better movie about the German nonchalance of the Holocaust.
The juxtaposition of a "normal life" outside the walls of Auschwitz is the obvious hook here, and it's handled deftly by director Jonathan Glazer... but that was handled neatly enough in a handful of family scenes. The horror of "the other side of the wall" should have been more (and better) explored. It's not shown at all. Adding the kids and what they saw or knew, or the thoughts of local Poles would have added needed depth. I can only surmise that an extremely low budget led them to completely disregard shots of people being herded from trains, etc. Much of the film is "nothing" background stuff, which detracts from the whole... and while I applaud the sounds of screams and distant (and ignored) gunshots, the film didn't delve far enough into the horrors to truly present a view of life outside the walls. For the most part I was anxiously waiting and ultimately disappointed, not just by what was IN the movie, but what was left out. A 6.5 rounded up for trying to take an inventive look at horror being dismissed. "Conspiracy" was a better movie about the German nonchalance of the Holocaust.