By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49183029
Endless Night - (2015) - (aka
Nadie quiere la noche)
Another survival film for me, this time in the frozen wastelands of Greenland. Juliette Binoche plays Josephine Peary, wife of explorer Robert Peary who is attempting to reach the North Pole. Josephine is a tough but cultured woman who has shared much of Peary's exploration. She decides she wants to be as close to him as possible on his journey and travels further than all the guides recommend. In fact they keep pleading with her to go back. She ends up stuck in a shack with an Eskimo (who has more of a connection to her than she realises) during the polar winter, when the sun never rises. There, it's a brutal struggle just to survive.
This isn't the film that those making it wanted it to be, I'm afraid - and it's been cut up in a desperate attempt to save it. I enjoyed some of it, but agree with anyone thinking it's too dour, the pacing is way off and it's too uneven. The crux of the whole thing - Josephine and Allaka (Rinko Kikuchi) coming to terms with each other, their man and the horrifying permanent night - comes to us far too late, and is rushed through at a hurried pace. Small touches (on an expedition where you need every ounce to survive, Jospephine brings a large crate of crockery and fine silver to eat dinner as a lady should) still stand out, as does the initial meeting and melding of cultures.
There are some truly breathtaking shots of avalanches and the glorious arctic wilderness - but the film doesn't leave a lasting impression overall.
5/10
By The poster art copyright is believed to belong to the distributor of the film, the publisher of the film or the graphic artist. - Teaser-Trailer.com, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=55216453
The Commuter - (2018)
Liam Neeson's wife and daughter get kidnapped again.
3/10
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17879994
Defiance - (2008)
This film has been around for ages, and I see it pop up everywhere at DVD sales, on television, on posters. I never really felt the need to see it - but after so much time I thought I may as well put a movie to the cover/posters. This is much more a war film than a Holocaust film, although the executions are there - they're shied away from a little bit. Based on Nechama Tec's 1993 book
Defiance: The Bielski Partisans, this true story tells the tale of two Jewish brothers, who set up a group of partisans in the woods instead of submit to a concentration camp.
I guess this is a survivor film too in a way - especially seeing all the families involved living in the woods, and surviving any way they can. It's entertaining and engaging - but the horrors are significantly diminished. At it's heart it's a tale about families, and the relationship between Tuvia Bielski (Daniel Craig) and Zus Bielski (Liev Schreiber) is the best thing about it. The script is fine, but the focus is too broad. This is a really heavy subject, and it's a shame to see it being taken so lightly.
5/10
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