slockard-68525 Review of QB VII

QB VII (1974)

One of the most amazing mini-series I have ever seen.... but the ending?

[9/10 · 13 August 2020]

QB VII is a master-work of art, implementing such depth and complexity that it is sometimes impossible to follow, much like real life. It also leaves you with so many questions in the end that you long to be answered, so much so that you feel terribly cheated when the final credits roll. Anthony Hopkin's character is so complex and evasive that he leaves you guessing throughout the entire film as to whether he is guilty or not. You wish desperately to like him, and he makes you like him in the first half, because he appears to be such a good person. The fact that Cady is such a letch and a cad doesn't help the situation because you want so desperately for Kelno to be right and good and Cady to be wrong, but alas, it doesn't turn out this way. I wish they would have explored Kelno's reasons for performing these operations more thoroughly; was it merely out of fear, or was it truly due to hatred of the Jews? We will never know, but what we do know is that fear makes one do terrible things, twists the mind, and destroys all aspects of human dignity. The emotional anguish and turbulence I experienced while watching this is comparable only to what I experienced when I visited the Holocaust museum in Washington, D.C., or read the book Night by Ellie Weissel. Of all the tragedies in human history, the Holocaust was one of the worst. This mini-series explores the emotional implications and ramifications of this event so accurately and rawly that it leaves one feeling drained at the end, yet exhilarated and challenged out of complacency. A true triumph of film, and, in my opinion, one of sir Anthony Hopkins' finest and most emotionally complex performances.