Cederic

This quiet documentary is drawn from historical footage. There's no hype, no glamour, no embellishment; the images on screen convey their own messages.

The voiceover is clear, measured, and feels authentic. Is it a recording of the cameramen, or an actor reading their words? It matters not, the words are a diary from the time, documentary in the true sense.

It's hard to tell whether the footage has been broadcast before, in other documentaries. Certainly there has been footage from Belsen before, but this felt new, more personal, individual moments amongst the mass horrors.

The true strength of What They Found is however paradoxical. It shows, it doesn't judge. It shares but doesn't dictate, it allows the viewer to see, to draw their own conclusions. You're not told what to think, not invited to hate, not given any direction about how you should respond.

That's something it has in common with Night and Fog, and it leaves that same sense of reflection, of inner disquiet. The black and white film conveys its own horror. It needs no condemnation.

Closing in silence, no music for the end credits was welcome. A moment to pause, recover.

I wont recover. Not tonight.

Seeing this for the first time six years after its release, and in the context of advances in the technologies it explores in just the past 16 months, this film demonstrates a plausible future that it's going to be hard to avoid.

The film starts with context setting, a corporate demo with obvious influences that sets out the capabilities that the rest of the film explores and demonstrates. It's more linear and structured than what follows, but that's a strength of the film: It does enough to convey the story, and no more, doesn't insult the intelligence of the viewer.

The acting is fine; the writing acceptable, the cinematography and technical aspects all competent and professional. There's a small scene that doesn't really work for me but it doesn't detract from the core strength of the film.

That's its simple, evocative and effective social commentary on nascent (at the time of release) technology. It doesn't criticise, moralise, try to provide answers, just makes the questions clear, provokes the thought processes. Scares the intelligent viewer.

Well worth watching, this film will leave you thinking and grateful that you saw it. Easily recommended.

Despite the average score this is an easy film to watch and one that I very definitely enjoyed.

The plot is simple but even the elements that are predictable have a unique feel. Most interesting is that the viewer is allowed far more information than the people in the film can know yet never given enough to predict more than broad plot movements.

More relevantly, and one of the film's two strongest elements, is that the characters in the film feel very true to themselves. They react as you'd expect them to react, and even when revealing a new element to their character it aligns to what we know already rather than conflicting or feeling contrived.

Sadly the characters to whom that doesn't apply are two key elements of the latter half of the film, which did detract from it.

The writers do however redeem themselves with a succession of one-liners, often dry observations delivered deadpan that made me laugh because of their context or their wit. This is very British humour and made the whole film worthwhile.

The film felt exceedingly low budget, with the lighting, coverage and sets all bare bones - but also all entirely adequate, serviceable and authentic (within context). The lack of budget did however come across in the preparation and filming of the few action scenes, all of which were poor. Rather than choreography and acting that matched the sardonic realism of the rest of the film they fell into a weak pastiche of slapstick, both failing at that but also entirely out of kilter with the rest of the film.

It's a shame, as it let down what could otherwise have been a good film. Watch it anyway, the writing deserves that and there is much to enjoy.