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ThomasKus
Reviews
Thomas & Friends: King of the Railway (2013)
Perfect for younger children
The Earl of Sodor is returning to Sodor and needs the engines to help him create a big surprise. All the favourites are here plus a few new engine faces and the story is true to the spirit of the original books yet big enough to keep the action going for a proper movie. The format of the TV series is essentially extended into a (short) full length movie with added songs and a clear emphasis on positive values like "working together". For grown-ups there are historic references to Stevenson's Rocket but generally the target audience is preschool Thomas fans who will not be disappointed. My two year old son was impressed and I was easily entertained enough to enjoy our first cinema outing together.
Mugabe and the White African (2009)
Profoundly moving documentary
This is no doubt one of the most moving documentaries I have seen in a long time. The story of a family who decided not to bow to pressure, not to run away, not to give up in the face of the most horrendous state brutality speaks for itself and I find some of the criticisms voiced in other reviews hard to stomach. It is not Mugabe and his oppressive regime that need to be explained, it is the fact that his system is allowed to continue without much international challenge that is abhorrent. The courage of Michael and Ben in making this documentary, in continuing with their case and in showing the real face of Mugabe and his small but brutal elite is worth noting and remembering.
Das Leben der Anderen (2006)
Remarkable period piece
As someone who grew up in the East German era depicted in this film I have of course two advantages - the language and the personal experience. The Lives of Others deals with a topic that had infiltrated East German lives to a still unknown degree and it is to the credit of the film makers that they have tackled this in a remarkable way. The story centres around a Stasi officer who is put on the trail of a writer and his intellectual friends. With time he becomes gradually absorbed with their lives eventually turning from interrogator to protector. The script is tight, the atmosphere both bleak and electric, the acting superb and the sets full of accurate details that give this film an air of real authenticity. That there is dramatic over-expression of certain aspects of Stasi working is inevitable but does make the film a little unbelievable at times. It is worth remembering that the director is West German and presumably had no personal experience of living in East Germany hence the film sometimes feels like expressing how West Germans imagined life in East Germany. However, this is perhaps not a bad thing as it makes the film more accessible to Western audiences and I have no doubts that the Oscar was well deserved. It is worth watching for the insights into both East German state and intellectual thinking of the 1980s and the story itself is gripping enough for two hours of good cinema.
Innocence (2004)
Thought-provoking and beautiful film
There can't be many films that occupy your mind for many days afterwards, make you read the book they are based on, and then watch them again.
"Innocence" is one of those films and it is both beautiful and intriguing at the same time. It is based on a book by Frank Wedekind called "Mine-Haha or the corporeal education of girls", the only published fragment of his unfinished novel "Hildalla". It was first published in 1901 and although beautifully written it has much darker undertones than the film with references to a body cult of youth and natural beauty which would later become exploited by Nazi culture.
The film is very much a metaphor for a childhood world which is in many ways separate but also protected from that of adults. It plays in an isolated Girls School their children enter at the time when they start to make their own independent experiences of the world around them and ends with the onset of puberty and attainment of menarche, both symbolising the emotional and physical end of childhood. The cinematography is beautiful and reminded me in many ways of Tarkovsky with its symbolism and haunting images. However, the story can seem a little simplistic and linear times and often appears to demand more depth from the young child actors than they could possibly deliver.
Nevertheless this is a very interesting and thought-provoking film and well worth watching. The French dialogue often has a musical quality and as long as you're prepared to watch this in a calm and unhurried state of mind this is very rewarding and unusual cinematic experience.
Zwei schräge Vögel (1989)
Extremely funny and strangely realistic
This film came out during the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall and poignantly reflects life in East Germany during the late Eighties.
I saw this film in East Germany in 1990 and would rate it as one of the best comedies of its time. There are a lot of insider jokes and a number of scenes that may now look nostalgic but if you woul like to know what life was like on the other side of the iron curtain then sit down, relax and enjoy!
Hannibal (2001)
Terrific film - shame about the ending
Having read the book and admired its excellent ending I was intrigued to see what the film would be like.
Overall I was pleasantly surprised how close the film was to the book and how well it was done. Unfortunately the ending was not the one Thomas Harris gave us in his novel - so if you really want to get the full story you will still have to read the book...