Reviews
Omagh (2004)
Gut wrenching!
First there was "Bloody Sunday" and then there was "Omagh" - in between, there was thirty years of bloodletting that left thousands dead and many thousands more scarred physically and mentally. This is (or was?) "The Troubles".
This is a quiet movie - of quiet desperation. The people of Omagh had survived and were going about their lives. The killers came and tore them apart - literally. The ones left behind looked for help - none was to be found. Their loved ones had been taken and they wanted closure. Their guardians failed them.
The movie recounts the worst of the atrocities to have occurred in Northern Ireland over the years when a group of self-righteous hoodlums detonate a bomb in the center of a busy market town - Omagh. Most of the movie recounts the efforts of the families of the dead and injured to seek justice for the slain. They are still looking!
La marche de l'empereur (2005)
Wonderful story - movie falls short however
For a movie to be cinematically successful, it must generate emotions in the viewer. This documentary is laden with drama but falls short in one critical area - the soundtrack. It took about 20 minutes for me to figure this out. All of this wonderful scenery with a story of heroic proportions and a cast of thousands - and maudlin music. Leaving the theater, I couldn't help thinking how better it would have been with a score by Vangelis or even James Horner ( who could have gone back to Sibelius for more material ). A lost opportunity in my opinion.
And yes, I too kept thinking about the hardships of filming in such environs and look forward to the "Making of..."