Dish of the Day

Just some film musings of a more succinct, spontaneous and sometimes seditious nature:

Monday, February 13, 2023

Today’s “Dish of the Day” has a brief review of mine that was inspired by a post in one of the film related Facebook chat rooms. This includes the Cinema Cafe group (all readers are encouraged to join here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/902349343110685). As usual, my thoughts on the following motion picture are with the minority views.

The Boys from Brazil (1978)

I tried to get past that outrageous premise but failed. Of course the wildly exaggerated performances by its two lead actors and ham-fisted handling of events as they occur didn’t help, culminating in an absurd final scene where our two opposing forces grapple with one another while rolling around on some little Hitler’s living room floor. It appears, one of the most well known Third Reich war criminals, Dr. Joseph Mengele, is in hiding and yet holds meetings in Paraguay with a group of other Nazi collaborators and neo-Nazis. I guess keeping a low profile is simply not on his agenda. If that wasn’t unbelievable enough, the infamous Auschwitz doctor has hatched what can only be described as a preposterous plan involving the murder of civil servants: fathers of the adopted cloned boys whose deaths are timed to recreate Hitler's childhood. So what if an exact Hitler clone did make it into adulthood, laughable as the concept is. What then? How is he supposed to get into power? Why doesn’t Mengele take some neo-Nazi already rarin' to go instead and skip all that genetic and environmental pre-planning that would inevitably lead the Nazi hunters to his door? Jerry Goldsmith's Viennese inspired music is appropriately bold, loud and exciting. Gregory Peck's over the top performance (i.e. once one resigns any illusion of serious intent) offers some joyful compensation on its own. Best of all are a couple of supporting turns by Bruno Ganz and acting teacher Uta Hagen, both of whom approach their parts most earnestly, the latter who makes a deadly serious indestructible impression.

All responses are not only welcomed but encouraged in the comments section below.

Hope to see you tomorrow.

A.G.