Reviews

I just saw the "one night only" screening of THTJB, and it's surprisingly good. All the press about the outrageous violence is overstated. There's blood and a scene that verges on torture porn, but the levels of violence and gore are far worse in Nymphomanic and Antichrist.

LvT winks and nods. He gives us satire. Murder as art. Architecture and engineering. Uma Thurman with a broken Jack. The jack as a weapon. Blood. Frozen pizza. Glenn Gould. "Stupid" women. Stupid cops. OCD. Luck and fate. Photography. Family. MAGA hats. Guns. A picnic. Predator and prey. Murder as art (but Verge isn't buying it). The sound of wading in water. Nazis. Jacqueline (the feminine Jack). Misogyny. In America no on can hear you scream. Full Metal Jacket. Antiquity. Hell.

I'm curious to see the R rated version of the film because I think it can benefit from some editing. Matt Dillon is fine, sometimes great. The writing struggles at times. But for once there's another LvT film I can't wait to see again.

Let me first say that I enjoyed the film. It's a little sloppy and the performances are inconsistent. But it looks great. And as far as debuts are concerned, this is definitely a solid effort. Not to mention it's kind of worth watching this film just to see a young Roman Polanski.

What is so striking to me about this film is the irony of history: I believe that not only we (living in the 21st century) are able to understand this now, but that viewers of this film in 1955 Poland would have recognized as well. By 1955 Poland was stuck behind the Iron Curtain, held hostage by communist rule. Not unlike the Czechs (and their great communist satires), all art and media was mediated by the communist government. To see these young Poles attempt to improve their country by overthrowing the Nazi party with communism is ironic and ultimately tragic.

Although this film may appear to some as communist propaganda, I see this film as a tongue-in-cheek allegory about the meaninglessness of war, and the complication of those attempting to end the war with another flawed ideology. Not a great film, but certainly interesting, especially when considering the historical context in which it was made.