No Man's Land : by Danis Tanović

This 2001 war epic is set in the midst of Bosnian war.

2 wounded soldiers - a Serb & a Bosnian

are caught between the lines in a NO MAN'S LAND

Survival is the only option!

A land mine under a third soldier in the bunker becomes the point of conflict!

United Nations , Media Glare , News Reports , Bosnian troops , Serb troops

The circus is palpable , irony of a war zone

Exceptional writing , poignant climax

Proud Bosnia - Small country , big heart

Well deserved , best foreign language film Oscar

Rating : 3.5/5.0

Downfall (Der Untergang) : by Oliver Hirschbiegel

 The Downfall is a 2004 German Film based on the last 10 days of Adolf Hitler in his Berlin Bunker during WWII.

It is a cumulation of memoirs from one of the Hitler's secretary named  'Junge' and 'Speer' , German Minister of Armaments in Hitler's reign.

Bruno Ganz plays Adolf Hitler , the tyrant Nazi leader who has been humanized in this film despite protest from German public when the film came out in 2004.

The movie transports us to a bunker in the heart of the city of Berlin which is under siege of the Russians. It has been cornered and there is no way for the Germans to escape the inevitable.

Hitler loses his sense of reality that the war is all but lost! . His ego is burnt when his esteemed and loyal soldiers flee the country deserting him in the trenches.

The autocrat appoints new successor and makes him in charge to stop the Russian attack ,which is far from achievable.

He marries Eva Braun and orders all his officers not to surrender in front of the Red Army. When the realization dawns upon him , he is left with no choice and decides to commit suicide with his wife Eva.

Hitler in his farewell to the bunker staff - 'Tomorrow, millions of people will curse me, but fate has taken its course.'

Hitler to his officers on German civilians , his own people - 'The German people chose their fate and now their little throats are being cut.' - No Pity , No Remorse!

The film is true to the events of 1945 and depicts the downfall of the Nazi rule with command.

Hitler played by Ganz is a remarkable performance , be it from his anger to his mannerism to his walk to his Austrian dialect , simply reverent!

I saw it with subtitles since the film is shot in German language and it made me sit up & transport myself to the era of genocide by the Nazi's and its ruination!

Deserving of the Oscar nomination , 'Der Untergang' is an epic war story diving into the psyche of the dictatorial Nazi ruler ..

Rating : 4.0/5.0

Schindler's List : by Steven Spielberg

Holocaust - Genocide of Six Million European Jews during WWII by Nazi - Germany

Oskar Schindler - A German businessman who was self reliant , independent , shrewd & money making Nazi supporter.

The List - A roll call of 1,100 Jews , survivors of the Ghetto.

Schindler's List is a true story inspired from a biographical book about a man , Oskar , who with his business acumen had a profound impact upon seeing the atrocities by Hitler led Nazis on the Jews.

Oskar played by Liam Neeson is a charismatic & alluring man. He has all the attention in the book and support from the military & SS.

He acquires a factory and starts his production  with his close associate Stern played by immensely talented Ben Kingsley.

Schindler had one simple objective - 'Maximize his profits by getting cheap Jews Labor' even if it means bribing the SS (Nazi Military).

Ralph Fiennes plays a SS Lieutenant who looks over the construction of the Plaszow concentration camp & orders his troops to empty all Jews with shoot at sight orders.

Stern & Schindler are distraught at the sight of massacre around them . Schilnder wants to save as many as he can in the event of  the orders to move all Jews to Auschwitz ,

They create the list of 1,100  Jews to work at his artillery shells factory thereby saving lives from the Nazis.

The performances by the actors is exemplary. The filming in black n white gave this film a documentary feel and a timeless sense.

A master craftsman , Spielberg used nuances which are heartrending , poignant , disturbing , sorrowful. The red color of the coat worn by the little girl used at the end symbolized hope & the bloodbath at the same time.

Crying was inevitable as the credits rolled , the pain of Schindler at the end comes a full circle.

Film of the decade (1990-2000) with 7 Oscars for Oskar!

"Whoever saves one life saves the world entire."

- inscription by the Jew workers on the ring gifted to Oskar.

Rating :   5 ⁵  / 5.0

Full Metal Jacket : by Stanley Kubrick

First film which I got the privilege to watch from the sanctum of a director named Kubrick ..

Full Metal Jacket is a war film with never seen before journey of cadets to the unfeigned world at war!

It follows the metamorphosis of US Marine squad during their training phase and then of Vietnam Tet Offensive War of the two plebe nicknamed "Joker"  & "Rafter Man".

This 1987 flick , has the most realistic & gruelling army sequences that I have ever witnessed specifically when you see CGX prevalent these days.

The initial reels introduces the hard task master , the drill instructor "Hartman" . His motto is to train the cadets to the pinnacle of emotional and physical strength through sheer brunt of swearing and abuses.

One of the cadets "Private Pyle" takes the brute of Hartman and is totally unresponsive to the hardship.
The culmination of the first half was an absolute bolt from the blue , blew my mind and hit me hard !!

The dialogues are just raw barrage of mouth uttering which in a funny way makes me ask for more.

My Fav Dialogue , Speech from Hartman :

"Today, you people are no longer maggots! Today, you are MARINES! You're part of a brotherhood! From now on, until the day you die, EVERY MARINE is your BROTHER!

Most of you will go to Vietnam! Some of you will NOT COME BACK! But, always remember this - the Marine Corps lives FOREVER! And, that means you will live FOREVER! "
 
The Vietnam war sequences are earthy & traverses the journey of  the "Joker" as the Combat Correspondent at Vietnam along with "Rafterman" as the photographer.

The enemy combat near the ascendancy is extremely detailed and expertly shot.

Stanley Kubrick has proven  , that attention to detail with deftness behind the camera makes a film...

 - A Technician's delightful story-telling medium!

Rating : 4.0 / 5.0

Apocalypse Now : by Francis Ford Coppola

Francis Ford Coppola , the renowned director of the acclaimed classic , 'The Godfather' , gives us an insight into the human psyche in a world at war in VIETNAM!!!

Apocalypse Now ... is about a US Army Captain sent on a mission to terminate a fellow Colonel in the Cambodian Jungles , where he is supposed to have lost his mind and has gone insane.

Colonel Kurtz played by the great Marlon Brando , is a spine-chilling , whacko portrayal of a god-saviour for the people of Cambodia , where he goes on a rampage of killing Vietcongs at will.

This film is a journey of a man in pursuit of answers to the Human Mind Working at the time of distressing war . Captain Willard , who is on this voyage is played by Martin Sheen.

Narration of Martin Sheen , makes the movie engrossing in some parts , though it meanders along , causing the audience to lose their patience at some point!!!

Verdict :

I expected a lot from Coppola as per his prior imprints... this one is below below par ...

Rating : 3.0/5.0