'The Captain' (2017)
Dir.: Robert Schwentke
Dir.: Robert Schwentke
Entertaining and cautionary. I loved it. It shows the chaotic conditions in Germany at the end of the second World War, revealing that in such a degenerative regime, anybody can pick up a mantle and run with it.
Max Hubacher plays private Willi Herold, who finds a Nazi Captain's uniform, puts it on and causes carnage as he the power goes to his head. It's shot brilliantly and doesn't have a bad performance throughout. Some of the action is a little shocking, par for the course for such a movie, and the end credits are deliberately off kilter with the rest of the movie.
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'Let the Corpses Tan' (2017)
Dir.: Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani
Dir.: Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani
A madcap French western, arthouse crime mashup. It waned a tad in the last 30 minutes but I can see why people rate the photography. It's very stylish.
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'Aguierre, The Wrath of God' (1972)
Dir.: Werner Herzog
Dir.: Werner Herzog
Crazy film. No idea how they shot some of the scenes but that's Herzog's devotion to his craft. Kinski is mesmerizing in this. His screen presence is huge and those piercing blue eyes just follow the viewer round. I think at one point he slaps a horse in the face. Lust, greed and power are the main themes, and Aguierre says at one point "Wealth is far more than gold - it's power than fame". How apt. Darkly comic in places too.
I imagine this was a huge inspiration for films like Embrace of the Serpent. There is also a very nice eerie electro score too.
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'Thirst' (2009)
Dir.: Park Chan Wook
Dir.: Park Chan Wook
I'm nearly up to date with Chan Wook-Park's filmography now. This won't break the top 3 but his messed up plots and lovely visuals never disappoint. Priest vampire killers are not my genre but Chan Wook could probably get me to watch anything.
7.2/10