kinsmanivan
Joined Nov 2016
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Reviews8
kinsmanivan's rating
I was interested in this film after reading about its reception at Cannes where I believe half the audience applauded and the other half booed.
It has been criticised for the extreme violence but I am prepared to give von Trier artistic licence here as the protagonist is a serial killer after all. I rather liked the Dantesque Inferno format to the plot's structure, as well as the focus on Jack's view that all the most evil men in mankind';s history have only been fulfilling William Blake's vision of man 'the Tiger' as opposed to 'the Lamb'. Whereas man is capable of extreme compassion, he is also capable of extreme cruelty as von Trier shows in this film.
Matt Dillon puts in an excellent performance, worthy in my opinion of an Oscar nomination. Riley Keough and also Uma Thurman are also very good in their cameo roles.
To me, Lars von Trier is back to his best here. This is not a film for everyone, but it is nice to see controversial films like this still being made as an antidote to the sugar-candided Hollywood pulp that is being churned out nowadays. So it gets a strong thumbs up from me.
It has been criticised for the extreme violence but I am prepared to give von Trier artistic licence here as the protagonist is a serial killer after all. I rather liked the Dantesque Inferno format to the plot's structure, as well as the focus on Jack's view that all the most evil men in mankind';s history have only been fulfilling William Blake's vision of man 'the Tiger' as opposed to 'the Lamb'. Whereas man is capable of extreme compassion, he is also capable of extreme cruelty as von Trier shows in this film.
Matt Dillon puts in an excellent performance, worthy in my opinion of an Oscar nomination. Riley Keough and also Uma Thurman are also very good in their cameo roles.
To me, Lars von Trier is back to his best here. This is not a film for everyone, but it is nice to see controversial films like this still being made as an antidote to the sugar-candided Hollywood pulp that is being churned out nowadays. So it gets a strong thumbs up from me.
I was surprised by how much I liked The Bookstore. When I first read the newspaper reviews, I thought there was not much to it. However, I watched its premiere on NC+ and it is a beautiful gem.
Firstly the East Anglian scenery is spectacular. Secondly, the plot reminds me of Jane Austen with its focus on small vilage society and the petty spitefulness and kow-towing to the local bigwigs. The olot may be slow and meandering but this is part of the film's charm.
So, fine character acting, wonderful scenery and a plot which pulls the viewer means this film should have a much higher than many reviewers have given it in my opinion.
Firstly the East Anglian scenery is spectacular. Secondly, the plot reminds me of Jane Austen with its focus on small vilage society and the petty spitefulness and kow-towing to the local bigwigs. The olot may be slow and meandering but this is part of the film's charm.
So, fine character acting, wonderful scenery and a plot which pulls the viewer means this film should have a much higher than many reviewers have given it in my opinion.
Being an Englishman who has been living in Poland for the last 16 years I was interested to see this joint Polish-Anglo production and it is definitely worth it for those viewers who are interested in this period of history just after the end of World War II.
The film, based on a true story, covers the British and American cover up of the Katyn massacre in 1940 by the Russian NKVD of around 22,000 Poles from the intelligentsia, military, church i.e. the country's elite. The victims were shot in the back of the head and buried in mass graves in the Katyn Forest, to be discovered a year later by German forces who were building a road thru the forest. In efforts to maintain the Russian commitment to defeating the Nazis, the massacre was blamed on the Germans.
Alex Pettyfer is very convincing in the role of Stephen Underwood, the young journalist who sets out to discover the mystery of why so many Polish soldiers are committing suicide in his area of Bristol. This is a mission that is of no interest to his editor (Michael Gambon) and he meets several obstacles along the way in his quest to find out the truth.
He is assisted in his quest by his lover, Jeanette Mitchell (Talulah Riley) who gives a good (but a times a little stilted ) performance and his efforts are being monitored by the British, headed by Mason Mitchell (Jeanette's homosexual husband played by Henry Lloyd-Hughes, who also puts in a convincing performance). The witness is played by the well-known actor, Robert Wieckiewicz, and his role is at the crux of the film's plot.
So, all in all a definite recommendation to see this film. Piotr Szkopiak (born to Polish parents in London - they were deported from Poland in 1939), who is both the film's director and co-writer, looks like a promising young director to watch out for.
The film, based on a true story, covers the British and American cover up of the Katyn massacre in 1940 by the Russian NKVD of around 22,000 Poles from the intelligentsia, military, church i.e. the country's elite. The victims were shot in the back of the head and buried in mass graves in the Katyn Forest, to be discovered a year later by German forces who were building a road thru the forest. In efforts to maintain the Russian commitment to defeating the Nazis, the massacre was blamed on the Germans.
Alex Pettyfer is very convincing in the role of Stephen Underwood, the young journalist who sets out to discover the mystery of why so many Polish soldiers are committing suicide in his area of Bristol. This is a mission that is of no interest to his editor (Michael Gambon) and he meets several obstacles along the way in his quest to find out the truth.
He is assisted in his quest by his lover, Jeanette Mitchell (Talulah Riley) who gives a good (but a times a little stilted ) performance and his efforts are being monitored by the British, headed by Mason Mitchell (Jeanette's homosexual husband played by Henry Lloyd-Hughes, who also puts in a convincing performance). The witness is played by the well-known actor, Robert Wieckiewicz, and his role is at the crux of the film's plot.
So, all in all a definite recommendation to see this film. Piotr Szkopiak (born to Polish parents in London - they were deported from Poland in 1939), who is both the film's director and co-writer, looks like a promising young director to watch out for.