The Survivor

Ben foster is one of the best young actors. If you've seen his movies you will know. His transformation in this movie from the black and white to the color is incredible. It doesn't even look like him. All the other actors were great. The story was a good one but yes had some slow parts. But the parts of the camp were great. So much feeling all the way til the end which was really messed up. The things they made people do was sick. But this is our history unfortunately. Definitely worth a watch.

With an intriguing true story and a notable team behind the camera, it was disappointing at the average execution throughout. Starting off, Ben Foster as the title character is brilliant in his portrayal. He brought a brutally raw and emotional depiction of a survivor of Auschwitz as well as the side effects of what those events could do to a person. The scenes that took place in the past were horrifying in their depiction. The cinematography and camera work allowed the feelings of each character to be present throughout. It was also enlightening to aspects of the Holocaust that haven't been fully explored in a film. However, where the film brilliantly succeeds in some areas, it sadly fails in others. The film feels as though it was split into two parts, having an intriguing first half, while the duration of the movie after feels unneeded. It made what could have been a great film, drawn out longer than it needs to be, making it at times boring to watch. There are also technical elements of the film that could have easily been fixed to make the film have more of an artistic edge. While there are minor spurts within the narrative, the majority of the film has a bland feel to it. Overall, where the film has plenty of brilliant aspects, it ultimately falters in an overly long runtime and bland execution, making for an experience that sadly has more ambition than it can offer.

This is a bitter sweet tale of horrors, love, guilt and redemption. There's also some boxing.

It's extremely well acted.

It's well worth watching all the way to the end.

The Survivor provides a fresh perspective on a known atrocity. Narratives surrounding the Holocaust are often meaningful, but this adds tragic layers of survivor's guilt and complicated love. Ben Foster (who is underappreciated) gives a conflicted and vulnerable performance while also sacrificing his body for the role. The third act awkwardly shifts away from boxing and the dialogue is straightforward, but the plot remains extremely humanizing. By maintaining a small scale and examining the protagonist's complexity, The Survivor makes unbelievable horrors relatable and recontextualizes a desensitized story. For that, the film stands out and succeeds.

Technically, The Survivor is mixed. The production switches eras and settings. The effects enhance aging and violence. Plus, there are emotional songs sung by characters, and moments of cinematic focus, angles, composition, and motion. Still, it's the sound (using abstract stings, J-cuts, and silence) and the editing (using smash cuts, match cuts, and wipes) that are the highlights here. Conversely, the lighting makes mistakes, the pacing is clunky, and the production is overly clean. Overall, The Survivor possesses strengths but never transcends its parts. It has important source material and a powerful lead, yet The Survivor's safe filmmaking limits its ceiling.

Writing: 9/10 Direction: 6/10 Cinematography: 7/10 Acting: 9/10 Editing: 7/10 Sound: 8/10 Score/Soundtrack: 7/10 Production Design: 8/10 Casting: 7/10 Effects: 7/10

Overall Score: 7.5/10.

I was not only in awe of this story but in awe of the remarkable performance by Ben Foster...also including and was great to see Danny Devito!!.. Leguizamo...Peter Sarasgard...awesome!!