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cgonzalezdelhoyo
Reviews
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
So from Infotaintemnt we have moved on to historytainment...
Nowadays, who has any decent understanding of the 2nd world war and its suffering? 50 million people did not die for Tarantino to make a movie...
The new generations are being swamped by consumerism and don't have any respect for the past.
Entertaining, yes very much so and plenty of Tarantino Gore.
But, sadly, for all those that have given it its ranking, in the top 20 best movies of all times, it shows that they share the total disregard for the past as a source of knowledge, distilled down to simple entertainment.
So from Infotaintemnt we have moved on to historytainment...
Ask anyone who defeated Hitler and they will say the US...
But it was Stalin and the soviets.
And in the first world war the US didn't even join until the very end...
But leave it to Hollywood and peoples freedom to pursue happiness and we are left with a farce.
Kid Nation (2007)
A dream come true
I started watching it with some mistrust over the child abuse comments here.
However it soon became obvious that it was a dream come true! The ultimate summer-camp! Summercamps can be a tough experience for those that are too dependent on their parents. But any kid cherishes the idea of not having school nor parents to dictate their day!! The program is obviously artificial i.e. many of the kids have particular skills needed such as milking sheep or butchering animals. But try to put yourself in the producers shoes, you would be surprised to see the amount of work required to film 1min. Everything has to come together first time and it requires tons of planning. And then there's the editing...
So what??? It is TV, we want to be entertained. If your an existentialist then watch European film noir...
Personally I like happy endings and this show delivers.
A Midnight Clear (1992)
A low budget military drama
It is well made and well acted, however the plot is extremely limited to make it worth while watching.
The film centuries around a lone patrol of relative misfits in the Ardenne forests during the winter of 1944. The essential plot to the movie is, if u where a German soldier wanting to surrender, what would you do? The makers of this drama feel it is OK to dwell on it for two hours whereas in most films it is a question of hands up, drop your weapons and come out...
For me it is very important for a film to be faithful to the truth, but since I don't know for certain the kind of people and situations that arouse during the IIWW I cannot totally debunk or praise this film.
Whether u like it or not depends on believing the characters, though I can accept that weird situations did arise, I have found it too cinematic, too Hollywood like, to feel it is an accurate portrayal of the situation.
All in all, I would recommend to lower your expectations before watching it, and maybe your will be pleasantly surprised, rather than build them up only to feel deceived.
As a final note, comparing it with Black Hawk Down or Apocalipse Now is like comparing a VW Beetle to a top of the range Mercedes or BMW.
Embajadores en el infierno (1956)
Surprisingly good movie unfortunately plagued by propaganda
It is the story of Spanish prisoners of War in Soviet Rusia during the second world war.
The story is very good, possibly because it is based on actual accounts by survivors, and is filmed with surprisingly good quality. Unfortunately much is spoiled by stupid propaganda moments which are totally fictitious.
These spaniards where among 50,000 who volunteered to fight the Soviet Union in Hitlers armies in the "Division Azul", to some extent in repayment for German Luftwafe "Legion Condor" sent to support the military upraising in the Spanish Civil war. They were mainly sent to fight in Leningrad.
The film depicts quite dramatically life in a Soviet prisoner of war camp. Do bear in mind that German generals, when preparing the invasion of Rusia, did not expect to be able to feed large number of soviet prisoners of war, and up to 3,5million soviet prisoners died, mainly of starvation. Hence Soviets where quite harsh on their own prisoners, and you may recall that of the 200.000 German prisoners taken in Stalingrad, barely 5.000 returned alive.
The film, in part due to its propaganda zeal, depicts quite realistically the harsh life of the prisoners, and it is quite well filmed, managing to transmit the cold of the Russian winter and the toughness of post war Rusia.
Unfortunately it was filmed under Franco's regime, and the protagonist characters are filled with nationalist catholic propaganda. Several speeches are made which are unrealistic and out of place. I would personally edit out most of these to be left with a surprisingly good war drama, quite unique as it centers on life in a soviet prisoner camp.
Raza (1942)
A dictators propaganda
The film was written by Franco a military dictator who's "crusade" left 2 million deaths. It is his equivalent of Mein Kampf and filmed as fascist propaganda
When you watch this movie, or read other users comments, please bear in mind the true history of the Spanish civil war.
The 30's started with the end of the 7 year military dictatorship by Primo de Rivera who failed to solve the numerous social and economic problems. The king, Alfonso VII, left on voluntary exile as he recognized the lack of support from the majority of the Spanish society.
What followed was the reinstatement of the Spanish democracy, bear in mind the first Spanish constitution was written in 1812. The initial elections where won by the left, however after less than 2 years the various problems led to elections being called again and a coalition of right wing parties won the majority but it was just as unsuccessful as the left wing government.
The republic, as the Spanish democracy was called, tried to tackle the different social and economic problems, among which we have the dominance of the countryside by landlords and the army overburdened by an excess of officers. The Catholic church was also blamed for preaching conservative thought at a time when deep reforms where necessary. The republic, being secular, endeavored to curtail the power of the church in government areas, particularly public education and cut on subsidies.
They were turbulent times. There was a military upraising that failed and was later followed by a general strike and workers revolt that failed too. In the meantime a strong Anarquist movement hand grown in industrial Barcelona. The communist where a political minority, the left being mainly represented by the Socialist party. On the other side of the political spectrum the Spanish Falange, akin to the Nazi party, was a minority.
The military organized another coup, this time with the involvement of the highest generals and the uprising was immediately backed by the Falange, the landowners, the church and conservatives. However the upraising failed in the main cities and industrial areas, it succeeded only in conservative rural areas. This was mainly due to the government giving weapons to labour unions and left wing parties who were organized and quick to respond to the military coup. In Barcelona the Anarquists used their new power to carry out their political agenda, an Anarquist revolution. The communist party surprised everyone by how well organized and pragmatic they were, forming one of the few truly effective fighting forces.
In the meantime, Franco, with the support of the Italian and German fascist leaders who sent troops, equipment and in particular planes, managed to get the trained and experience north African troops from Morocco, moors included, into the peninsula, even though the Navy remained loyal to the Republic.
Great Britain however, in their appeasement policy towards Hitler, did not support the republic as it would mean fighting Hitler, and convinced France to follow suit and established an embargo. The USA washed its hands too, but did not stop Texaco from supplying Franco with all the necessary oil, including that which had been paid by the republic. Only Communist Russia agreed to support the republic, in particular by selling arms and sending training instructors. This support from Russia and the exemplary discipline of the communist led many to join them and they grew significantly during the civil war to became an important party, though the left wing conservatives where still the majority.
In the meantime up to 150.000 people from all over the world came to fight fascism in Spain in what was later considered a prelude to the Second world war. The Lincon brigade was mainly US citizens, but there was also the Garibaldi (Italians) and a German brigade which surprised many who where used to being dive bombed by the Luftwafe; remember Picasso's masterpiece "el Guernica".
The initial chaos had seen citizens taking arms and different labour unions being responsible for the defense as the remaining army was not trusted much. However, with time the Republic managed to organize a new army and take back control from the unions. The Anarquists in Barcelona resisted, as it would be the end of their revolution and for a few weeks fighting went on in Barcelona.
The republic did not control enough rural areas to feed the population, and the economic embargo led to extreme food rationing and the lack of arms supplies and experienced troops meant its army was not effective enough to fight back and only managed to slowdown the revolt and successfully defend Madrid, which never fell.
Franco, who had come to power after the accidental death of the coup leaders and the success of its African troops, had an effective combat force and arms supply. Inch by inch they gained control of the country in a 3 year civil war that left 2 million dead.
The war was very bloody, at a time where people thought ideologies could solve the worlds problems. Though Great Britain gained mining rights as a result of their lack of support to the Republic, they and France would pay dearly when a couple of years later Hitler changed his attention to them, and it was only thanks to the 20 million dead Russians that he was defeated.
In my opinion, though Franco turned out to be a benevolent dictator, he did not outdo all the damaged done by the war, and only after his death, with a democracy, has Spain realized its true economic and social potential.
For more information please go to wikipedia.