DVD Quicky Reviews

Goodbye, Lenin!

Rating: R

The premise to this film is one that makes you laugh in and of itself. So much so, that I am shocked the script was not snatched up by an American director some time ago. An East German (for those who don't remember, that was Communist Germany) woman goes into a coma shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall. Freedom and reunification comes to all of Germany while she sleeps, and her children begin a life under capitalism with all of its joys and pitfalls. Then months later the woman awakens from her coma. Her doctor tells her children that *ANY* shock, however small, could kill her at this point. So they bring her home and proceed to ensure that she never knows about the fall of Communism or the coming of the Western world to East Germany.



While the premise is good enough for Hollywood, it was made in Germany by a director who grew up in East Germany. The landscapes are authentic East (or should it be lower-case "east" now?) German locales, and the problems faced by the characters are the ones that German actually faced over reunification. While the movie's main plot is about the deception required to keep the old woman alive, it really mostly serves as a foil to compare real life in free Germany against. Was communism better, because everyone had a job? Is capitalism really better, if it means a faster pace of life, advertisements everywhere, and a new me-generation attitude?



This is a good film, though prospective viewers should be aware it is in German with English subtitles. There is a good plot, strong characters, and some very decent humor through it all. It is a new perspective on life that Americans would do well to experience. However, viewers with young children should be aware that this film includes a very brief scene showing the coming of pornography to the East, and a very large use of German profanity.



Mystic River

Rating: R

I have a friend who loves any film, so long as it is "artistic." By this, he generally means either it was made before 1960, has extremely strong visual elements and no plot, or is an actor's movie where there is lots of emoting and not much else. I, on the other hand, tend to like "writer's movies," which are strong on structure, dialogue, and ideas. Kevin Smith films are great for the snappy banter, Momento was great for its inverted story-telling technique, and Gattaca is great for the ideas it plays with. Therefore, it should come as no great surprise that my artistic friend loved MYSTIC RIVER, and it failed to thrill me.



MYSTIC RIVER is a sort of detective story. It takes place about 30 years after one of three friends is kidnapped by child molesters. While the child did escape, it was not before he recieved considerable emotional scars. Now, all three friends have grown up and have very different lives. One is a mobster, another a cop, and the third barely-employed but with strong opinions on sports and beer. One night, the one who was molested as a child comes home bloody with his hand severely bruised. He has no satisfactory explanation. The same night, the mobster's daughter is murdered after her secret batchelorette party before she elopes. The mobster is crushed and furious, the cop is assigned to the case, and the other is suspiciously eyed by both of the others.



This film was directed by an actor - Clint Eastwood - and is filled with great actors (Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, etc.) So it quickly becomes clear that it is an actor's movie. There are a lot of speeches, every character has a significant subplot, and no one comes out looking very good. There is a pretty good plot, and a twist at the end. But this is not a writer's movie. The "twist" was obvious about halfway thru to anyone who understands foreshadowing, the dialogue is well-delivered but uninteresting, and the morality of the whole piece is muddy so you are left without any sense of having learned anything. I am left with respect for the film and its players, but have no desire to ever see it again.