The Mrs. and I had gone on a shopping task of buying foreign films which have won some global acclaim (predominantly Academy Award winners in the foreign film category).
Till now, we have watched two movies:
1. The Shop on the Main Street (known as Obchod na korze in Czech).
Set during the World War II era, this movie is about Antonio Brtko, an Aryan, who is asked to take over the operations of a small-time button and garments store owned by an old Jewish widow, Mrs. Rozália Lautmannová.
The film does not require to indulge in sympathy-invoking-acts of displaying concentration camps and pictures of Hitler in order to show the impact that the entire campaign had on innocent, peace loving common folk like Rozália . It is a movie that is soaked with cinematic brilliance.
Rozália is a victim of the "Aryanization" that the Third Reich had initiated. But for me, the important part that the movie brought was the impact that this had on other Germans and non-Jews. Very little work has been done in the past on showcasing what the common Germans and non-Jews felt about the victimization of Jews. The Shop on the Main Street brings out this aspect through brilliant acting by Jozef Kroner who plays the role of Antonio.
Scene to watch out for: The ending. Exquisite, deep and hard-hitting. It is a masterful example of directorial genius. I had the same revering feeling that I had first experienced on watching Satyajit Ray's Pather Panchali.
My recommendation: Watch it right now.
2. Divorce - Italian Style
Well, I don't have much to write about this movie since I didn't quite like it. However, it has won an Academy Award (in 1961, if I remember correctly)
The movie is about Marcello who is in an unhappy marriage. He dislikes his wife and has fallen in love with his cousin. The entire movie is about Marcello hatching plots to get rid of his wife so that the way is clear for him and his cousin to walk the aisle.
Divorce does have its share of laughs, but on the whole, it is dull and dreary. The wife's character is especially irritating and does little to make the movie watchable once.
My recommendation: Do not waste time on it.
Till now, we have watched two movies:
1. The Shop on the Main Street (known as Obchod na korze in Czech).
Set during the World War II era, this movie is about Antonio Brtko, an Aryan, who is asked to take over the operations of a small-time button and garments store owned by an old Jewish widow, Mrs. Rozália Lautmannová.
The film does not require to indulge in sympathy-invoking-acts of displaying concentration camps and pictures of Hitler in order to show the impact that the entire campaign had on innocent, peace loving common folk like Rozália . It is a movie that is soaked with cinematic brilliance.
Rozália is a victim of the "Aryanization" that the Third Reich had initiated. But for me, the important part that the movie brought was the impact that this had on other Germans and non-Jews. Very little work has been done in the past on showcasing what the common Germans and non-Jews felt about the victimization of Jews. The Shop on the Main Street brings out this aspect through brilliant acting by Jozef Kroner who plays the role of Antonio.
Scene to watch out for: The ending. Exquisite, deep and hard-hitting. It is a masterful example of directorial genius. I had the same revering feeling that I had first experienced on watching Satyajit Ray's Pather Panchali.
My recommendation: Watch it right now.
2. Divorce - Italian Style
Well, I don't have much to write about this movie since I didn't quite like it. However, it has won an Academy Award (in 1961, if I remember correctly)The movie is about Marcello who is in an unhappy marriage. He dislikes his wife and has fallen in love with his cousin. The entire movie is about Marcello hatching plots to get rid of his wife so that the way is clear for him and his cousin to walk the aisle.
Divorce does have its share of laughs, but on the whole, it is dull and dreary. The wife's character is especially irritating and does little to make the movie watchable once.
My recommendation: Do not waste time on it.
Labels: Movies
posted by Dhimant Parekh at 10:56 AM
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