A Luta de Uma Vida

The survivor doesn't have the sparkling spectacles of liberation but it got a clear revelation of survivor's day-to-day trauma. What's remarkable about this story is how it translates to modern lives dwelling in the cutthroat society, the guilt, helplessness and questionable consciences when thrown together produces a truly dramatic visualization of a life lived in two extremes in two different eras. Hertzka's painful struggle to start his life from where it was uprooted and Schneider's sociopathic obsession to live on his desires is a clear provocative constrasts. The remarkable performances, flawless story and clever visual set-up put this movie higher up in ranks.

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!!

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.

This is not a war movie. It's not just a love story either.

This is a film about enduring memories, and how we live with them, suffer them and move on from them.

The story is simple, a man looking for his lost love, but falls in love while looking. But he can never forget... The acting is beyond the pale and I truly don't understand how Foster has not had an oscar yet. He reminds me of a young DeNiro in the way he takes on all of his roles.

The photography is absolutely exquisite, the direction superb, the dialogue always wise and meaningful Every performance in the film is great but Foster is out of the league altogether with his.

If you love cinema and acting, watch it.