
Aguirre, the Wrath of God – Film Review

I finally got around to watching this dark and gripping 2004 German drama about the last days of Hitler and the Third Reich. Realistic, hard-hitting, impeccably crafted, meticulously researched and detailed, Downfall is easily one of the best historical war films I’ve seen.
I thought I was going to miss out on this movie, but thanks to its recent historical success at the Oscars, South Korean director Bong Joon-ho’s film got a second life at the cinemas. It’s a remarkable and wildly entertaining ride that deserves to be seen on a big screen, if only for the reactions of the crowd gasping out loud at the movie’s twists and turns.
My first reaction to the title of this movie was to wonder if it was something in the spirit of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, maybe a horror parody of Henry James’ The Portrait of a Lady? But no, instead this exquisite French film is a sumptuous and sensual drama about an impossible love between two women in 18th-century Brittany.
I enjoyed this fun and inventive German thriller from the late 90s, but I do wish I had seen it at the time of its release.
This arty and frequently magnificent-looking Italian drama is a rich cinematic feast, if you’re prepared to sit back and go with the flow.
Like other Michael Haneke films I’ve seen, this beautifully shot black-and-white movie about a small German village just before the breakout of World War I is unsettling, mysterious, and doesn’t offer any easy answers.