Fatherland

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Audience Member Alternate history tale concerning World War II. Fine performances by Rutger Hauer and Miranda Richardson buoy a sometimes flawed script. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Audience Member I really liked the book this film was based on. It offered an interesting thriller set in a world where the Nazis won the war. The film reproduces that intrigue and mystery as the protagonists discover the horrifying truth of the Holocaust. That said, it's never really as engaging as the book was. Where does the film go wrong? In focusing on the thriller elements they downplay a lot of the worldbuilding present in the book. This is of course the main reason why people see a film like this: they wonder what the world would have been like run by Nazis. And obviously we get a little of it, but really with the exception of the hidden Holocaust (which of course we already know about) there's nothing here that couldn't be kept if the film was set in a generic eastern European nation instead, or even in Germany before the war. So we see none of the cultural shifts; the increasingly technocratic and arrogant young post-war SS officers, the difficulties of a fascist state with no obvious internal enemies to blame, the new peace-loving propaganda while the war in Russia rages on, etc. All gone. Which is a real shame because Rutger Hauer and Miranda Richardson are great in the lead roles. If only they hadn't chickened out on embracing the weirdness of the setting they could have had a real hit. As it is it's merely a mildly diverting thriller. Harmless, but not particularly exciting. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member In and of itself, this is your standard crime drama plot, not unlike what you'd expect to see on any TV crime show...Kojak and Hawaii Five-O come to mind. The twist here is the where and when, Nazi Germania circa 1964...with the Gestapo as the "Good Guys" police force. I have always enjoyed films featuring Rutger Hauer, and the performances are generally good. Little details such as a Beatles poster might catch the viewer by surprise. Hard the believe it's been 20 years since this movie came out on HBO. I do own this on VHS tape, but wish it would be released on DVD since my VCR quit working a few years ago. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member This scenario made for an interesting watch. Good pace to the movie and well directed and edited. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Well acted, but a disappointing adaptation overall. Stays pretty true to the book until the final third, then very pointedly reminds you that this is a fairly low budget tv film. Would love somebody to get hold of this novel and make a high-quality miniseries of it, brilliant story. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/23/23 Full Review Audience Member Subtitles in Spanish, German, and French have been added to Fatherland see http://raremovies.biz/inc/sdetail/19890/20925 Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Fatherland

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