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Reephaman
Reviews
The Point of No Return (2020)
Low budget war films rarely work out
......and this proves the point. While the uniforms and equipment are authentic, the dynamic between the characters is unrealistic with the differences between ranks being far too informal for the German army of WW2. The setting throughout looks like a peaceful national park with little hint that it's a war zone except for the occasional artillery shell. A poor script, the odd unrealistic plot event, and slightly hamfisted acting skills contribute further to the lack of enjoyment. The inclusion of female characters (in a fluid war zone, where the soldiers are trying to evade a very hostile enemy) - even though they are supposed to be Soviet nurses and the old cliche of the officer's girlfriend - seems an unnecessary plot device and actually detracts from the story's authenticity. The accents are not a distraction necessarily: for war films depicting non-Anglophones you have a straight choice IMHO - either go with the original languages and use subtitles, or adopt the cinematic conceit of speaking in the language of the audience without affecting some kind of German or Russian accents. This film opts for the latter, and that's fair enough. War films without a lot of action are fine, as long as you can invest in the story and the relationships, but in this case you can do neither.
Alone Yet Not Alone (2013)
Stereotypes ruin a potentially good story
This is painful to watch. Overladen with stereotyped characters that play on some kind of fanciful popular idea of how life was back on the colonial frontier. The Scandinavian settlers, all blithely optimistic and talking like the Swedish chef out of the Muppets: "sho happie to be here in thees vunderful land of opportunity!" The British administrators and senior army officers portrayed as snobbish, incompetent, uncaring and arrogant. The Native Americans all dressed like extras out 'Last of the Mohicans', speaking in totemic pidgin English with lots of exclamations like we've suddenly been transported back to a 1950s B movie western. Then the historical inaccuracies, the schmaltzy music, the perpetual sunshine and ultra-clean sets. What's to like? In this world of revised and realistic perceptions of life on the American frontier, with such excellent examples as 'Dances with Wolves', 'The Revenant' and 'Hostiles', how on earth are films like this still being made?
Hearts and Bones (2019)
Surprisingly amazing
From the explanatory notes on Sky, I was expecting something along the lines of 'The Killing Fields'. But this film is quite outstanding and thought-provoking, taking its own very unique direction with its subject. It doesn't focus on the horrors of war, but rather the impact on its victims and its witnesses. It unpicks the moral questions that surround war photography, how it can filter reality, and whose right is it to judge the actions of others who are dealing with their own individual tragedies. All four leads - the female partners of the photographer and the refugee are just as crucial to the story - are excellent and portrayed with delicate balance. The film suddenly develops two climaxes, neatly juxtaposing catharses at different levels by all four characters. Bolude Watson's performance is particularly spellbinding, not least because you begin by not expecting much contribution from her character but she becomes a crucial catalyst in the development of all the other characters and the plot. Powerful stuff. Highly recommended.