Joy Division

WARNING! On IMDB this is rated a 15 but on Netflix they give it an 18 It's definitely an 18!

There's not a lot of joy in this film but there is a lot of grit and grime and some uncomfortable scenes. If you're a female it's a tough watch. There are two rape scenes which are longer than they need to be. A third is not shown; probably because the young actor had had enough!! There's also a torture scene which seems to focus on the actors embarrassment more than trying to get information!

As a spy movie it's light weight. It's more a study in Trauma. The Director favours making short sharp cuts to the characters past giving context to decisions made by the main protagonist. I would have liked more focus on espionage but the narrative is more about Soviet-German battles in WW2. It was good to see the USSR portrayed with a mix of races though.

It wasn't a pleasant watch nor a necessarily an intriguing one but not forgettable either.

I just happened to notice that this film was about to start on "Movies4Men" TV Channel, so I decided to give it a try. I am glad that I did. I really enjoyed this movie about a young German who arrives in London in 1962 as a Russian spy. The film shows in various flashbacks how this young man had ended up in the situation he is now in. The battle scenes of Russian soldiers fighting in the rubble of Berlin against the remnants of German resistance is well handled and the brutality by some of these soldiers against one young girl in particular, is realistic. As an espionage fan I also liked the spy element as well, with some good background 1960's Shadows music. It is well worth seeing should you get the chance to do so.

In 1944, the fourteen years old teenager Thomas (Tom Schilling) is convoked to fight in the German Army. He survives, but his town is destroyed, his family dies in a bombing and his sweetheart Melanie (Bernadette Heerwagen) is raped and murdered by the Russian Army. A Commissar brings the orphan Thomas to Soviet Union, and he is sent to the military school. Years later, Thomas (Ed Stoppard) becomes an agent of KGB and in 1962, during the Cold War, he is assigned to work in London. Living with ghosts from the past in constant fear and paranoia, he meets the black Londoner Yvonne (Michelle Gayle), who gives him the strength of joy.

"Joy Division" is a movie with an engaging and very cruel drama of war, and a confused spy story in times of Cold War. If the story was limited to the impressive situation of the survivors of the Russian invasion, it would be excellent. But the part of espionage never works and is a complete mess. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Regras da Guerra" ("Rules of the War")

A movie that captures both the brutality and the futility of war wonderfully well, some scenes which are as good as any I have ever seen from any movie depicting that era. A first class debut film from a British Director we will no doubt be hearing a lot more of in the coming years.

Some of the action shots and fighting amidst the rubble of a Berlin in ruins reminded me of 'Saving Private Ryan' in that the director managed to bring the viewer right into the action. Tremendous stuff. It was without a doubt, for me, the most interesting and best part of the film, I wanted more.

As a writer with a vivid imagination and and overwhelming desire to produce stories within a story I was just a little disappointed in the ending, I wanted the film to go on longer and give me more.... Surely a good sign? I wanted more romance too, perhaps a final twist. Nevertheless a movie well worth watching. I feel that the best is yet to come from the director Reg Traviss, if someone were to give him a good WWII story I would be first in the queue at the cinema.

I hired this movie from Love Film, didn't really know what to expect apart from some 2nd world war action. Five minutes in, I had a big smile on my face, the film is brilliant! If like me, you're a 2nd world war / cold war movie fan - you're in for a treat!

The attention to detail is fantastic, from costume to locations and the realisation of war torn Germany as well as the war's aftermath years later in London is flawlessly executed. It's a non- linear story and fluctuates between the protagonist's experiences in WW2 as well as his involvement in the cold war. It's not all war though and there's a really powerful romantic aspect. I would go into more detail about the story but I don't want to give anything away to anyone who hasn't seen it!

All I'll say is you should definitely get your hands on it!

Oh, and Bernadette Heerwagen is hot - loving the bathroom scene ; )