26th February 2016, 11:51 PM
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| Cult Addict Cult Labs Radio Contributor | | | |
Quote:
Originally Posted by bizarre_eye@Cult Labs The Tin Drum (Die Blechtrommel) (1979)
Oskar Matzerath, son of a local dealer, is a most unusual boy. Equipped with full intellect right from his birth he decides at his third birthday not to grow up as he sees the crazy world around him at the eve of World War II. So he refuses the society and his tin drum symbolizes his protest against the middle-class mentality of his family and neighborhood, which stand for all passive people in Nazi Germany at that time. However, (almost) nobody listens to him, so the catastrophe goes on...
I'd been avoiding this one for a long time mainly because it sounded pretty shit, but also partly because the cover art on the UK release never grabbed me (how shallow do I sound?), The Criterion cover above is certainly more appealing from a 'catches your eye' kind of standpoint, however does look bizarrely a little Aztec for what is essentially a pre-WWII set West German film. Anyway, in my ongoing quest to fill in some blanks where checking out highly acclaimed classic films are concerned - in amongst all the euro-sleaze, sex, and murder of course - I finally decided to check this one out and was surprised at what a gripping but fun yet emotional ride of a film it really is with great performances all around. It pitches itself (at least it did to me) as an offbeat comedy (some of it towards more of the dark side of the comedy spectrum) coming-of-age drama, however this is counterbalanced by the war trappings and all the horrors contained within them.
A film I probably should have checked out sooner. Never judge a book by its summary as well as its cover, I guess.
81/100 | But do check out the book, it is very good.
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