Iron Cross

BEAUTIFUL BLUE EYES - review

You'd be forgiven for expecting a revenge thriller about the Holocaust to have been a fully exhausted, predictable and an over-exposed subject by now. However, Beautiful Blue Eyes, directed by Joshua Newton, breaks the mold.

It is the last ever film of Roy Scheider, in which he plays a retired NYPD cop who visits his estranged son, living in Germany. The story explores the lack of trust between father and son, at first somewhat tensely and the viewer remains just the observer. But with flashbacks to the horror of Nazi-occupied Poland, we are soon fully immersed in the family's tragic history, the unreasonableness of Jew hatred and the futility of war. The main character, Joseph witnesses such cruelty and injustice that no wonder he seeks revenge when he suspects he has found the perpetrator of that injustice, years later. Do not expect the predictable. There is a twist to keep you guessing.

The character of Joseph, played by Roy Scheider, is loosely based on Joshua Newton's father, Bruno Newton. Bruno died during the filming of the movie from the same disease that took Roy Scheider's life nine months later. Originally intended for released in 2009, this new edit of the film, titled Beautiful Blue Eyes, has been made for theatrical release in 2022.

My wife and I had heard of Joshua Newton's film being developed many years ago, and we were saddened by Roy Scheider's untimely death. With new technology, the film was able to be finished.

We were not disappointed. Beautiful Blue Eyes is constantly moving, always moving forward type of movie. The historical uniforms, trucks and equipment look very authentic.

So many people associate the Holocaust with Auschwitz alone, yet mass shootings were also a large part along eastern Europe. This movie illustrates another side of the Holocaust.

We strongly encourage everyone to watch this gripping film.

It's difficult to be too critical of the movie because the production coincided with not only the death of the great Roy Schieder, but also the director's father (a holocaust survivor) upon which Schieder's character is based...but:

This is a simply poor piece of filmaking that is close to risible due to the decision to use the holocaust as a background to make a quasi-action pic. Based on a Q&A with the director and his son (who co-stars), it seems that the holocaust is simply another way for Newton to get his directing kicks: as he said, a project he thought up while waiting to direct a "divorce thriller." Rather than a serious investigation of what his father's experience meant, Newton takes it as reason to portray gratuitous violence and hone his camera skills. A set-up that could lead to a veritable graduate seminar of fascinating themes and conflicts is dispensed with in order to follow a ridiculous whodunit.

Poor editing, acting (with the exception of Schieder and, surprisingly, Newton's son) and an absurd plot are hallmarks of many films, but few manage to be offensive, cloying, hilariously melodramatic, painstakingly dull, vain, and just shootstormingly bad. And this is just in a twenty minute section in the middle of the movie. There's actually some kind of anti-brilliance on display here because things start out fairly okay, like a cheesy made-for-TV movie, but develop into "holy cow - am I really watching this?" mode about halfway through.

Sadly, the ineptitude isn't easily available for a Room-like mockery because of Schieder's passing, but there are some classic moments where it would be fun to imagine a packed theater laughing at all of this. Nazis rounding up houses full of people speaking with British accents, the worst storytelling neighbor in cinema history, a fall-out-of-your-seat lesson in compassion through an analogy with a bee, and a visual style that seems like Edgar Wright without the wink would make for some brilliant midnight watching. If you get a chance, find the DVD and skip to the barn scene, but otherwise ignore the obvious planted reviews above.

Roy Schneider's final performance, released to theaters over a decade after his death, is one of his best, and reminds us what a talent we lost. The movie is a terrific psychological thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat to the end.

It's a crime that so many antisemites and Holocaust deniers have review bombed the film and overloaded it with 1-star reviews. Don't let that deceptive number keep you from experiencing an intense and powerful piece of filmmaking, and a remarkable turn by Scheider. That alone is worth the price of admission, but there is plenty more to keep you there.

In short, this is one of those indie movies that you have to track down and see.

I was lucky enough to receive an early screen for Beautiful Blue Eyes and I was hugely impressed with it. The portrayal of Joesph and the fallout from his traumatic past was conveyed with tremendous sincerely and emotional honesty.

I thought Roy Scheider was mesmerising, the film providing a harrowing swan song for the late great actor. I liked the intercutting of past and present and thought the presentation of Joseph's trauma was very effective. The ending was particularly haunting and will leave viewers with much to think upon long after the film has ended.

Given the horrific backdrop of the Holocaust and the sensitivity it requires, I thought the film handled the subject matter respectfully and portrayed the scars created in the aftermath poignantly. I would highly recommend watching this.