Evocative
There are endless stories of the endless horrors of world war two. Some flow with blood and action, others are overly dramatic or historically inaccurate. This is a film that is understated, evocative and very beautiful. Workers uncover a tin box on the site of a former Nazi death camp in Serbia. Through it, an elderly music professor, who had been spirited out of the camp as a child, discovers his roots. A simple idea for a compelling story plainly told, sensitively acted and beautifully filmed. It is a classic European film, shot with moody lighting under often sunless skies, creatively breaking all the gung-ho rules of Hollywood production. Not for you if you like snarling Nazis and their cowering victims. But if you appreciate the artful subtlety and inherent richness of good European cinema and watch a film to be involved rather than entertained, you will find few better than this. Not a great film. But a very, very good one.
- rps-2
- 23 jul 2015