Europa Europa (1990)

Europa Europa (1990)

Interesting WWII film (7*)

Producing a film about Nazi Germany is easy and difficult at the same time. It is easy because many viewers are well-informed about the dramatic period in Germany's history, making the viewers' emotional involvement not too difficult. You don't name your son Adolf.

It is difficult because clichés are so easy to produce. The classical black-white versions of evil Germans versus glorious Allied forces is an obvious trap.

None of this in this film. It follows loosely a true story of a Jewish youngster hiding as a member of the Hitlerjugend - the Nazi youth movement. On top of his puberty, he has to face an identity crisis due to his choices to survive.

Other interesting parts of the story are a homosexual German soldier, a girl overly committed to her country and a Polish boy fighting for his catholic religion in communist Poland.

The way a part of difficult history books is mixed into the movie deserves to be mentioned, as well as the music. Sometimes though, overacting takes the upper hand.

But the fact remains that showing the true horror of the atrocities committed during that period is not fit for film, even in this German co-production, as only very few would be able to watch it.

However, it's still a very interesting film to watch.

Bridge of Spies (2015)

Bridge of Spies (2015)

Enjoyable cold war drama (7*)

(Spoiler in the last paragraph) Inspired by true events, the film turns the events in a nice story. An insurance lawyer first defends a caught Soviet spy, and then helps to arrange an exchange with an US spy in the middle of the cold war.

The main achievement of the movie is that it turned the events into a credible, substantial and enjoyable story. It's easy to feel involved into the different players. The subplots all have a decent ending. Screenplay is good, light and sound convincing. Tension is always playing in the background, until the very end.

Another strong point is the depiction of the beginning of the cold war. For example, the scenes at the wall dividing Berlin show well a part of history that is easily forgotten. Also, how society was organised in the early 1960s. In certain scenes, you wonder: was it really like that? The research team made a really good effort there.

The actors act at different levels: Mark Rylance plays the soviet spy, with an outstanding performance rewarded with an Oscar. Tom Hanks has his strong moments, but the CIA agent was a little disappointing, just like some other supporting actors.

The good, easy-to-understand story sometimes reveals its weaknesses: a lack of depth, a focus on story instead of history, and occasional corniness.

However, it's still a good movie to watch and to be entertained with. 

Spoiler alert: One questions still remains. At the end, when they're waiting for the signal that the economics student is released, the CIA agent on the phone might have faked that the student was released. So the lawyer would agree to swap only the Soviet spy for the American, since the student wasn't important for the CIA.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

Classic 70s horror (7*)

In this remake of the 50s horror movie, a health inspector witnesses the invasion of alien 'body snatchers', who capture human beings.

Despite being a remake, the film is well-adapted to a 70s public. The scenery, the dialogues and especially the music turn this movie into a rather enjoyable thriller with a good portion of suspense.

Often, it has the same feel as the 70s zombie movies. Longer shots, time for showing the environment, and the music that nowadays sounds very offbeat to a horror movie. Also, the camera movements are sometimes experimental for that time.

The production managed to get talented actors, who add depth that is usually lacking to nowadays' horror movies.

Already seen the 50s movie? It's still enjoyable. The story was rewritten so that there are still plenty of surprising scenes.

All in all, it is good entertainment and a must for 70s horror movie fans.

Billy Elliot (2000)

Billy Elliot (2000)

Feel-good yet intelligent film (7*)

Set against the backdrop of the strikes at the UK's mines, young boy Billy Elliot discovers his love for dance. He finds opposition within his dysfunctional family but the love isn't set to die out.

The most remarkable of this entertaining movie is the young protagonist's (Jamie Bell) performance. It stands out to the others' more hesitant portrayals of struggling individuals.

The emotional evolutions the characters undergo sometimes lack credibility. However, it is compensated by the creative depiction of the raw reality of the UK's 1980s.

Another strong point is that the film takes the children's point of view. Often insecure, they try to cope with the big and small things in life. At the same time, the adults around them display emotional struggle as they haven't managed to cope.

This is no movie for children, despite the character's young age. Interesting themes as family, hopes, unprocessed emotions are mixed together in this enjoyable feel-good movie.