Andrzej Z is that rarest of rarities: a brilliant director of subpar films. He arranges his actors and his camera with such care and thought that simply watching the interplay is enough to sustain interest, even though the story and characters become confounding and boring.
Possession is still a masterpiece—if only all his other films strived for that kind of impact. It’s a haunting character study as well as a thriller. This one is just a brilliantly arranged series of shots.
Proves what a versatile actor John Heard really was. May he rest in peace.
A world hell-bent on blind allegiance, fear, death and destruction (blowing itself to hell as fast as everyone can arrange it, as Welsh from The Thin Red Line, might say).
One man pauses to straighten a fallen umbrella.
A Nazi tribunal judge (Bruno Ganz in his final role) stops to question the validity of his beliefs.
A townswoman helps repair a broken cart.
A farmer’s wife lets a thief escape with stolen crops.
A conscientious objector who refuses to fight…
Does Robert De Niro’s mouth ever hurt from curling down in that perpetual frown?
Again, I had a hard time buying the romance between Carl from Sling Blade and Molly, but beyond that, it really cooks in the second half when the FBI investigates.
I think I wish it was told from the FBI’s point of view, like the book was, so that the secrets would be gradually revealed. But perhaps, it’s not meant to be a story that intrigues and excites.
It’s one long, drawn out, cascading tragedy. An awkward dramatic shape, but appropriate given the genocide the picture is dealing with.
