First i have to say i despise the extremely strong british accents of the cast. Detracts so much from the experience (movie takes place in poland); the spoken german by the soldiers sounded equally as convincing....
That aside, the movie starts off slow and a little weird with choice of lighting, backdrops, scene cuts.. Couple up with the way the cast talks it feels like a stage play which isn't really that great of a thing to have in a movie. It manages to recover around midpoint and become a compelling story that ditches that stage feel as much as it can - keep in mind the filming location is basically a confined space.
By the end i cared what would happen to alex and if he would make it. It also sparked interest at what would happen to the other characters too, some of which we have known very briefly and they have very limited screen time. Yet they put in enough there for you to get the general idea of them; something today's movies are incapable of achieving it seems. Giving you the ilk of a character in 30 seconds is a lost art and that is done here very well.
This is not a war story as much as it is a survival story and ones faith in their family. It drives the point that no matter what, and who you meet in life, family is always something that will be dearest. There could have been so many choices that could have gone another way but they stuck with the lead being stubborn, for lack of a better word. Ultimately that paid off because it complimented the storyline well.
The ending is a little dubious and could be taken in several ways... was it real, was it not.. it leaves open the door that some of it was imagined but that is up to everybody to see it how they want to see it. Movie really leaves both options open as logical conclusions. Once you get to the end scene you will see why I am having a mention of this.
I was entertained, despite the over the top british cast and that weird stage feel for part of it... it fixed itself and became a solid movie.
That aside, the movie starts off slow and a little weird with choice of lighting, backdrops, scene cuts.. Couple up with the way the cast talks it feels like a stage play which isn't really that great of a thing to have in a movie. It manages to recover around midpoint and become a compelling story that ditches that stage feel as much as it can - keep in mind the filming location is basically a confined space.
By the end i cared what would happen to alex and if he would make it. It also sparked interest at what would happen to the other characters too, some of which we have known very briefly and they have very limited screen time. Yet they put in enough there for you to get the general idea of them; something today's movies are incapable of achieving it seems. Giving you the ilk of a character in 30 seconds is a lost art and that is done here very well.
This is not a war story as much as it is a survival story and ones faith in their family. It drives the point that no matter what, and who you meet in life, family is always something that will be dearest. There could have been so many choices that could have gone another way but they stuck with the lead being stubborn, for lack of a better word. Ultimately that paid off because it complimented the storyline well.
The ending is a little dubious and could be taken in several ways... was it real, was it not.. it leaves open the door that some of it was imagined but that is up to everybody to see it how they want to see it. Movie really leaves both options open as logical conclusions. Once you get to the end scene you will see why I am having a mention of this.
I was entertained, despite the over the top british cast and that weird stage feel for part of it... it fixed itself and became a solid movie.