by John Villeneuve
Awards Daily contributing writer
Now that The Netherlands first entry, Wit Lich (The Silent Army) has been deemed ineligible (too much English), this blessing-in-disguise has made way for the far superior, Winter in Wartime (Oorlogswinter), which will compete with Norway’s similarly themed, Max Manus. One (Winter in Wartime) is based on a coming-of-age story, adapted from a book of fiction, the other is said to be based on historical fact. At the heart of both is the underground resistance movements that sprung up throughout Europe as a means to undermined and defeat the Nazis.
Winter In Wartime is set in Holland, 1945, where a 13 year old boy, Michiel (Martijn Lakemeier) becomes an unwitting pawn in the adult machinations of war. His father, the local mayor, is ineffectual and cowardly when it comes to dealing with the Nazi presence–or so the boy thinks–and when an opportunity arises in the guise of a British RAF soldier downed by enemy artillery, the boy takes it upon himself to be the saviour of the ally (with some help from his Uncle Ben, a link in the resistance) and play counterpoint to his weak-willed father.
But, of course, nothing in war is ever that black and white, which Michiel, to his dismay, gradually learns. Constantly, Michiel is forced to re-evaluate his preconceived notions, especially when he encounters unexpected duplicity, a life saving act by a Nazi soldier, and the ultimate truth behind his father’s actions. To it’s credit, Winter in Wartime is full of such nuance.
The Netherlands are usually quite good at depicting childhood innocence and it’s loss, and this film, too, is another admirable effort. The downside is that the sense of danger is not as palpable as it should have been, considering the setting; and, worse yet, is the overwrought, obtrusive score, which threatens to derail the film altogether. Nevertheless, the effective presence of Martijn Lakemeier, and a fine turn by Jamie Campbell Bower (Sweeny Todd) as the RAF pilot, reminds us that youthful exuberance is often the real first casualty of war.
Unlike Winter in Wartime, Max Manus is aggravatingly devoid of perplexity. In essence, it personifies the cliche-ridden films of good guys versus bad guys, making it seem more like a standard Hollywood movie than a serious look at the ambiguities of battle.
Set in Oslo, we are introduced to the tile character (played with verve by Aksel Hennie), a freedom fighter determined to undermine the Nazis at every opportunity. To say more would be superfluous because it plays just like it sounds. When I saw the movie at TIFF, it had the laughable title, Max Manus: Man of War, which reminded me of some other action packed movies with similar addendums like Sylvester Stallone’s, Rambo: First Blood, and Steven Segal’s, Under Siege: Dark Territory. Though not as bad as those two films, Max Manus cruises the same familiar landscape of good versus evil.
Supposedly one of the most expensive Norwegian films ever made, Max Manus does not disappoint in the visual sense, but overall, it is dull, overlong, and suffers from delusions of grandeur. And, though few in number, some European historians even question its veracity.
Finally, I believe that the Academy will choose as a nominee one of these two films, because these types of movies are ubiquitous come awards season for a reason. They tend to get nominated. Now the question is will they choose nuance over heavy-handedness? The gentle slap over the hammer attack? If I were a betting man, I would go with Max Manus.
15 Responses for "Winter in Wartime vs. Max Manus: The Dueling Resistance Fighter Films"
A shame we won’t have a 3way brawl between resistance fighters.
I haven’t watched Terribly Happy yet, but I can’t imagine I’ll like it more than the movie Denmark chose not to submit.
Flame & Citron is probably going to be among my year-end top 10. It’s the WWII Danish underground as a sexy gangster thriller. Love that film.
“Winter in Wartime” reminds me of Tarkovsky’s “Ivan’s Childhood,” a film I very much admire. Will be looking forward to it.
I have not seen Flame & Citron yet, Ryan (I’ve got a screener that has gone unwatched for close to a year now…shame on me!), but I have seen Terribly Happy (a poor man’s Blood Simple), which I may write about soon.
@ TheNatural
Don’t get your hopes up that high. This film comes nowhere near the spiritual, contemplative heights of Tarkovsky. But, then, few films do.
Notice how I try to change the topic to a movie I’ve seen. FAIL.
I’ll have to come back in a couple of hours after I’ve watched Winter in Wartime.
I, too, am going to make a definite effort to watch Flame & Citron this week so we can discuss that “3way brawl between resistance fighters.”
Oorlogswinter just ended. Snow has melted. Bluish pallor warmed up; everybody’s cheeks are rosy again. Surprising film. Liked it a lot. Now on to finish the second half of Max Manus, and then I can read your reviews more carefully with both eyes open. (I only watched part of Max Manus because somebody told me a few weeks ago that it was “a receipe from a chef who should be working at MacDonalds.” Mmm… Big Mac Manus, here I come.)
Have you ever read any of Alan Furst’s WWII espionage novels, John?
I have not read Alan Furst, Ryan. The extent of my espionage reading has been pretty limited to just Graham Greene. But I will check him out, now
that you have mentioned it. While you are enjoying that Big Mac Manus, just remember that while I quite liked Winter in Wartime, I do not believe it is
Oscar worthy (though it is light years in the credibility realm from Manus). At the moment, I am just finishing up watching the Turkish entry, I Saw the Sun, one of the most dreadful films I’ve seen all year (the worst has to go to Slovenia’s, Landscape No. 2). I’ve already prepared a piece titled, The
No-Good, the Bad , the Ugly and the Putrid, in regards to 4 Foreign Film submissions. Wonders never cease when it comes to the crap that other countries will submit for consideration (including my own…Deny Arcand’s, Days of Darkness). Not that Arcand falls prey to this ineptitude, but there seems to be an ingrained belief that if you are addressing social issues, injustice or the plight of others, then you have a better chance at a nomination. But
these countries don’t seem to realize that making your film above the level of an after-school T.V. special is pretty essential. But, what do I know?
After all, Depatures won last year.
2 comments:
At least Estonia’s entry “December heat” is also about the resistance fighters.
And I understood, that the original entry from the Netherlands was not accepted, because the film was recut, not because of “too much english”…
The Dutch film The Silent Army was originally released last year, to little acclaim and even public scalping.
Some hot-shot French producer saw the film and believed it had potential. He convinced the director Jean van de Velde to recut the film to suit a more international audience and played it at Cannes. Apparently flashbacks were cut and some of the songs (by a famous Dutch singer also starring in the film) were removed. It was a huge success there apparently.
Now, the Dutch filmgroup selecting the Oscar entry originally wanted to submit The Silent Army but producers in the Netherlands halted it because it was recut and contained too much English. After much debate and struggling they eventually decided upon War in Winter. A truly fine and genuinely heartfelt film. I sure hope it gets nominated, because it deserves to be seen. And yes I also agree about the music, a bit too much.
Also did anyone happen to hear the Wilhelm Scream make a brief appearance as well?
Well, despite the true reasons why The Silent Army was dumped (who can ever really tell with these things), I for one was happy to see Winter in Wartime usurp the throne. The better movie won in the end. Let’s see what happens from here on in, okay?
What is the Wilhelm Scream, Jonathon Spuij? Inquiring minds want to know. Well, at least I do.
OMG you don’t know?
Here it is;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdbYsoEasio
The second half of Max Manus was worse than the first. In the beginning I was almost getting into the big budget Ingløriøuss Båstærds aspirations. Then it began sliding into a really discouraging installment of the Oceans 11-12-13 franchise. I was sort of wanting to like it, just for the sake of stirring up a debate. But we’ll have to find some other movie to disagree about.
Well I’m going to watch Flame & Citron tonight. Maybe we can find some friction there (or maybe not).
Also, I like your post on The Wire. I have yet to see a television series that achieves such heights in every which way (especially the writing). I officially stopped watching The Emmys when, year after year, they ignored this landmark show. Perhaps it was just too damning for them. Like T.S. Elliot once said, “Humankind cannot bear very much reality”.
Keep in mind, though, that I have yet to watch Mad Men (I’m trying to make some time for the first two seasons, sooooon). Oh, oh…now I have Nina Simone singing inside my head, “Where Does the Time Go?” (love that song…I’ll let it play).
If you don’t like Flame & Citron, I don’t want to hear about it. Still enjoying being on the same page. Don’t shred it yet.
The Wire is the great American novel of the decade. Mad Men is a close runner-up.
[...and Deadwood... and The Sopranos. HBO passed on Mad Men before AMC took a chance. Would have been interesting to see the R-rated version of Mad Men, but I can't imagine the production value being any higher. Try to see it on blu if you can. Mid-century eyegasm.]
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