471. Csillagosok, katonak/The Red and the White (1967)

Running Time: 91 minutes
Directed By: Miklos Jancso
Written By: Gyula Hernadi, Miklos Jancso, Luca Karall, Valeri Karen, Giorgi Mdivani
Main Cast: Jozsef Madaras, Tibor Molnar, Andras Kozak, Jacint Juhasz, Anatoli Yabbarov
Click here to view the trailer

WAR TORN

This one has been staring a whole right through me for many months, as it sat on my Netflix streaming queue and I kept putting it off, simply because it didn't look like something that was going to appeal to me. I was half right.

The film is set in 1919 and takes a look at the battle between the Communists and the Tsarists (or is it Czarists?) and the involvement of the Hungarians. The two sides battle for control of a stretch of land, near the Volga river. The film was actually very difficult to follow for me, maybe because I have absolutely no knowledge of early 20th Century Russian history or maybe because the film jumped around so much, at times following different characters and never really focusing in on one character or even a group of characters specifically. Also the subtitles were a bit wacky and there were times when the characters would speak and no subtitles would appear, but that wouldn't be the fault of the film maker's. The film goes on for ninety minutes as the balance of power continues to shift back and forth between the "Reds" (communists) and the "Whites" (tsarists). There's a lot of killing and by the time "The End" appears, the body count is very high.

This film is a prime example that everyone views every film differently. I really wouldn't say that I watched this film, but rather observed it and tried my best to listen to what it had to say. Obviously it's a very anti-war movie, as the tone is very downtrodden and the killings always seem senseless. I didn't try to understand history by watching "The Red and the White", but rather simply watched and let the images flow into my brain and tried my best to make sense of everything. I wasn't bored while watching it, but I wasn't entirely sucked in either. It wasn't a movie that made the clock seemingly stop and the ninety minutes were well used, despite the fact that I was very confused throughout.

The camerawork is sublime and I think it went a long way in simply allowing me to get lost in the artistic and aesthetic elements of the film. It was quite mesmerizing, at times, watching so much horror unfold in such a beautiful way. I feel like I'm rambling at this point, so we'll call that a review.

RATING: 5/10 I would neither recommend, nor discourage anyone from seeing this film. If you like war movies or films about world history, then it may be your cup of tea. If you just want to check out a really good looking, black and white picture, then it also may work for you. Otherwise, I can't imagine you'd find any appealing elements in "The Red and the White".

MOVIES WATCHED: 359
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 642

December 3, 2011 7:07pm