Reviews (807)

A heart-shaped French delicacy!!!
Amelie is a rare delight. The title character is a painfully shy loner who discovers a small box filled with a little boy's keepsakes. She seeks the rightful owner of the box. The charm of this film is that Amelie wants to perform her little miracles, hiding in the shadows, with no recognition for herself. The characters in this piece are fascinating, each one reflecting back a facet of Amelie's personality. In the end, Amelie's compassion ends up being her own salvation - and that is what makes the film so much of a joy to watch. Hollywood has pretty much exchanged emotion and subtlety for rudeness, crudeness, and over processed digital special effects. Like a good French wine, this motion picture is an experience to be savored - not devoured. Amelie has a look and feel that stands out from anything I've seen in recent years. So many modern films are filtered with a grayish or orange tint, which tricks the viewer's eye into thinking it is watching a stark, gritty documentary. Steven Soderbergh seems to be the reigning master of this technique. Amelie by contrast, with it's deep reds and fluorescent and forest greens accented by cobalt blues and electric yellows, transports you to a world full of magic and hope. The effect is enchanting.

The DVD package is complete with commentaries and documentaries on the making of the film. These added features make it clear that this film was carefully planned by director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, much like "The Sixth Sense." Shots were storyboarded, set up, and orchestrated months in advance. And any extra footage of Audrey Tautou is always welcome in my home. A blend of the beauty and grace of Audrey Hepburn, the humor and physical skill of Charlie Chaplin, and the vulnerability of early Winona Ryder, and the sultry elegance of a sixties European model. Her method of using her eyes, facial expression, and body language (relying less on verbal expression) to create a character is what helps makes Amelie transcend language barriers.

I was a little disappointed there wasn't a version with dubbed English, but after 15 minutes or so, I didn't even notice that I was reading subtitles. There were more than quite a few belly laugh moments, and it became very apparent that this is one of those rare films that is so good it completely transcends culture, language - the universal message is "The good you do for others returns - especially when you don't expect it to." A French delicacy. I just hope we get to sample more of Jeunet, Tautou, and the rest of this team's products soon. Thanks, Miramax.

A Mainstream Hit Dipped In Euro-Sauciness!
The lack of any decent films from the English lingo countries of England and America has given rise to an increase in recognition of some of the finer foreign language exploits into cinema. Earlier this year we had "Amores Perros", and in England we had Japanese shock-fests "Audition" and "Battle Royale" (the latter has to be seen to be believed). The most successful foreign language film this year, bar "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" obviously, was this French trifle that whilst appealing to the fickle tastes of mainstream audiences superbly serves up its romantic hokiness in a touching and cute way. Over-hyped, to be sure, but not without its pleasures.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet's "The City Of Lost Children", which he co-directed with Marc Caro, bears the most resemblance to the look of "Amelie", which looks different to any other film this year with all of its rich, antique-looking cinematography as well as its inclusion of several effects shots that help to render Paris as paradise on Earth. Visual coups include Amelie herself collapsing to the ground as a puddle of water and the titular garden gnome that travels the world much to the chagrin of its owner, Amelie's father. Everything smacks of resplendence in this movie and no cinematic trick is left not utilised.

In all respects, "Amelie" is likely to play better in America than it should in Europe, where its cute benevolence will be welcomed by many, especially after September 11. If you are one of those people who can't help but giggle as bug-eyed little girls stare into the camera with a cheeky smile, then this film is for you (indeed, Audrey Tautou is bug-eyed, cheeky and very good in the title role). If you are like those who criticised "Amelie" for its lack of interracial characters, then don't bother: this beguiling trifle is a fantasy, pure and simple, like "Amelie" herself.

Green and Red beauty and smiles
A beautiful movie about a simple, and pretty weird girl. Pay particular attention to the beautiful color selection and Audrey Tautou's flawless acting. Amelie is the feel-good movie of our times and is sure to bring a smile to anyone's face.

really, what's so great about this?
Its quirky and pretty and all, but then it turns into a typical love story in the end. Dissapointing, I would rather it be a film where she makes everyones lives nicer, and this importance isn't placed on her Only Being Happy If She Gets The Guy. The actress is really pretty, there are nice scenes and ideas, parts are funny, but I don't understand why it has this cult status.

Lithe and awake.
Jean-Pierre Jeunet makes a welcome return to his home country after the loud but pedestrian 'Alien Resurrection'. In 'Amelie' Jeunet seems to have taken as much influence from Danny Boyle as Francois Truffaut. The accelerated jump-cuts, tracking shots and zooms all make for high-octane energy even if most of it is artifically created. Although 'Amelie' herself is almost too twee to identify with, many of the other characters' faces simmer with restrained intensity (increasingly becoming a Jeunet trademark.) The acting is above average (exception being the always good Domnique Pinon), but it's the quality of the storytelling that shines. Trust the French to be able to remind us that cinema is still relevant in it's second century, that evocative minor epiphinies such as running your hand through grain or the sights and sounds of a market are not just the preserve of the written word but can actually be rendered on screen (and still find an audience!). Through imaginative editing, camerawork and a little help from CGI, Jeunet's film packs in more incident and wonder than most of today's novels are capable of producing. ... Read more

Reviews (535)

THE GREATEST MOVIE OF ALL TIME
I LOVE THIS MOVIE. It is si-fi action film which is made perfectly. The cast is amazing with my favorite actor, Bruce Willis who does a good job. Please buy this and enjoy it as much as I do!

Awful crap
We can't believe this load of crap was called Star Wars for the ninties! Three of us were watching it. One fell asleep as the other two watched a ridiculous plot with annoying as hell characters unfold. If you have insomnia, this movie is recommended but if you vomit frequently, don't watch it!

Great.
This movie is a great furturistic fantasy style movie in which a cab driver played by Bruce Willis has to save the world from the evil, Darkness. This movie has great special effects such as when driving through the city, where I think Star Wars Episode 2 stole the idea. It has a good story but as usual it always ends good. The acting was superb. I still don't know why no one went to go see this when it came out. I guess it was ahead of its time. This is a fabulous movie, Don't miss out.

"The Fifth Element"
The Fifth Element (PG-13) ****/5
Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, Chris Tucker, Milla Jovovich.
Directed by: Luc Besson.
Synopsis: A "perfect being" and a taxi driver must save the galaxy from evil.
Special Features: Widescreen and Fullscreen Versions of the Film.
Review: A perfect being (Jovovich) crashes on Earth and must prevent evil from destroying it. She gets help from a cab driver (Willis), and a priest (Holm). Bad guy Gary Oldman proceeds to help the evil attempt to destroy the galaxy for some unknown reason. To be honest I did not understand this film really. I got the basic plot, but it's a bit goofy. Do I care? No not really this was one of the most enjoyable times I had at the movies, and I have no idea why. Willis gives a fun performance, Jovovich is terrific as Leeloo, Ian Holm gets the job done splendidly as usual, and Oldman is one of the best bad guys going. Luc Besson injects this film with energy, and a fantastic futuristic vision. As for the DVD? Weak buy the Superbit disc instead.

This Movie is Art
This movie is a "forty-timer," that is a movie I have watched over and over and still marvel at it. Not only is it a terrific story, fun and and fast paced, but the film is shot and edited with stunning perfection. The ONLY complaint I have about the DVD is there are no extra features. I want to see the "Making of" and hear comments by the director and the stars. There are so many little details and artistic touches to this movie that I don't believe I will ever catch them all. Better yet, I won't get tired of looking as I view this movie time and again. A+++ ... Read more

Description

The Superbit titles utilize a special high bit rate digital encoding process which optimizes video quality while offering a choice of both DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. These titles have been produced by a team of Sony Pictures Digital Studios video, sound and mastering engineers and comes housed in a special package complete with a 4 page booklet that contains technical information on the Superbit process. By reallocating space on the disc normally used for value-added content, Superbit DVDs can be encoded at double their normal bit rate while maintaining full compatibility with the DVD video format. ... Read more

Reviews (535)

Wild, Giddy Space Opera...
The story goes that director Luc Besson began writing THE FIFTH ELEMENT in his teens, incorporating all the Sci-Fi elements he loved into one over-the-top, grand space opera...sort of an "E.E. 'Doc' Smith 'Skylark' Meets Flash Gordon and Barbarella" hybrid with sex, intergalactic action, and even some pseudo-religious overtones tossed in...in other words, a teenage daydream come true! Critics panned the end result for this very reason, sneering at Bruce Willis' Earth-saving (yet again!) Korben Dallas, and Besson's then-girlfriend, clothing-optional Milla Jovovich, as the innocent demigod, Leeloo.

The critics were wrong!

THE FIFTH ELEMENT is, in the best sense of the word, a classic 'B' movie, a space opera where a prologue vaguely similar to STARGATE leads to a future Earth where traffic jams occur thirty stories above the ground, humanity is ruled by beefy 'Tiny' Lister Jr., and where the Ultimate Evil is served by everyone's favorite villain, Gary Oldman, sporting a Southern accent! If this DOESN'T convince you that this is a 'popcorn' flick, not to be taken too seriously, there is Chris Tucker, sporting a blond hairdo, as the Galaxy's favorite media personality, promoting himself as he hits on his adoring female fans; Ian Holm, as the monk who knows 'the Secret', forced, despite himself, to become an active participant in the adventure; and some of the most ... ugly alien mercenaries you'll ever see, terrorizing a space resort, until they meet their match in Bruce Willis' 'DIE HARD in Space' protagonist! Yippee-Ki-Yay, indeed!

The FX are astonishing, the comedy, broad and sly, the heroics, macho, and as Leeloo, sent to save Earth, Jovovich manages to be both naive and sexy, with broken English and a gymnast's grace.

Bruce Willis is a joy, as always, to watch, and he carries the film with charm and self-depreciating humor, whether dealing with endless phone calls from his mother, driving his sky taxi recklessly (cabbies change very little in the future!), taking on terrorists single-handed, or falling for the exotic Leeloo. When he blows away a roomful of hostage-holding aliens, then asks, "Does anyone else want to negotiate?", you KNOW Besson picked the right guy for the lead!

If you want Profound Science Fiction, watch 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY again...but if you want to kick back and just have fun, look not further...THE FIFTH ELEMENT delivers!

Star Wars Fans can love this movie too!
I grew up with Star Wars, and still love it today, but times, tastes and styles do change. It doesn't make one "better" than another, just different. I, for one, absolutely love this movie! It's fun, flashy, thin in spots and hopelessly romantic, but also very positive about the future (if a bit crowded). Futuristic New York is enough to give you vertigo! The visuals, set designs, aliens and costumes are amazing - if you don't like this movie's look, you are probably dead.

Mila makes Leeloo "perfect" as the Supreme Being out to protect all mankind - innocent and wise all at once; and you just can't fault Bruce for doing what he does so well, a cynical wisecracking working stiff just looking for that "one perfect woman". But the secondary characters are what truly makes this one fun: "Weddings?" - Ian Holm delivers classic straight lines and Chris Tucker is just high-energy comedy as Ruby Rhodd (that trashy radio guy) - I roll on the floor every time I watch this - and it's definitely one to watch over and over for the incredible detail and sheer visual magic.

Buy widescreen and see the whole thing!

QUITE A TRIP
It's entirely possible that Luc Besson was on some kind of drugs when he scripted this way-out, wacky, but extremely entertaining scifi thriller. His vision of the future is both impeccably original and wildly humorous. Cars spinning through space; police cars that still squeal tires when there's nothing to squeal them on! Like a wild video game, the vision of this future is great.
Bruce Willis is fine as Corbin Dallas; he evinces his usual cool macho, with that underlying bit of sensitivity. Milla Jovovich, red hair and all, does a good job in conveying the enthusiasm, innocence and naivete of the newly born. Notice the sadness in her eyes as she views the word "War"; her reactions are poignant. Gary Oldman as Zorg is all out ham and he pulls it off, showing what a versatile actor he is. The usually stoic Ian Holm has never been livelier than in his role as Father Cornelius. He looks like he's having the time of his life and after all the stuffy, laconic roles he's played, he cuts loose and is wonderful. And Chris Tucker---what a character. Tucker is manic, frantic and annoying---but he is also very very funny. I haven't laughed like that in a long time. Note too the capable performances of Tiny Lister (usually a mindless body bag) and Brion James (also a lot looser than in his usually villainous roles).
THE FIFTH ELEMENT is a strange movie indeed, but I found it to be one of the most unusual scifi films in some time.

Silly.
If only they had another director (perhaps Ridley Scott, using a little "Blade Runner" flair), this movie could have had the potential to be very good. Instead, director Luc Besson ("Leon," aka: "The Professional") chose to formulate this sophomoric piece of sour eye-candy that even the geekiest science fiction aficionado would despise. Aside from the poor direction, Hudson Hawk paired with an androgynous (and extraordinarily annoying) Chris Tucker sidekick, is enough to drive anyone to mercilessly strangle a kitten.

the unperfect movie
Give me a break! Milla Jovovich as the perfect woman, a god?! This movie would have not seen the light of day if she was a black woman. I mean there are far better looking white women than this lady, indeed, in a white mans world, would such a film be fashioned in the way that it has been. Outside of the whole white supremacy view, I thought this movie was koo with its special effects, although Judge Dredd did the same exact scenery in its earlier day, so, nothing new in that department. I also didnt care for how the black man was depicted as a wimpy feminine sambo, but this is what white america views as a great film, who cares if they made Tiny lister a black president, that was probably the only good thing about the whole cast arrangement, thats if that didnt have some personal insult to it as well. lmao! The insecurities of ppl who are in denial about such, will always be revealed in some way. As this movie made so brutally clear, dont get me wrong, racist ppl do not bother me in the least bit, I just like show them up, on their hidden agenda's, say what u want, but I would have prefered the perfect being to be nonhuman, as our species has proven to be something less than perfect, to say the least. pun intended ... Read more

Amazon.com

Ancient curses, all-powerful monsters, shape-changing assassins, scantily-clad stewardesses, laser battles, huge explosions, a perfect woman, a malcontent hero--what more can you ask of a big-budget science fiction movie? Luc Besson's high-octane film incorporates presidents, rock stars, and cab drivers into its peculiar plot, traversing worlds and encountering some pretty wild aliens. Bruce Willis stars as a down-and-out cabbie who must win the love of Leeloo (Milla Jovovich) to save Earth from destruction by Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel Zorg (Gary Oldman)and a dark, unearthly force that makes Darth Vader look like an Ewok. ... Read more

Reviews (535)

Wild, Giddy Space Opera...
The story goes that director Luc Besson began writing THE FIFTH ELEMENT in his teens, incorporating all the Sci-Fi elements he loved into one over-the-top, grand space opera...sort of an "E.E. 'Doc' Smith 'Skylark' Meets Flash Gordon and Barbarella" hybrid with sex, intergalactic action, and even some pseudo-religious overtones tossed in...in other words, a teenage daydream come true! Critics panned the end result for this very reason, sneering at Bruce Willis' Earth-saving (yet again!) Korben Dallas, and Besson's then-girlfriend, clothing-optional Milla Jovovich, as the innocent demigod, Leeloo.

The critics were wrong!

THE FIFTH ELEMENT is, in the best sense of the word, a classic 'B' movie, a space opera where a prologue vaguely similar to STARGATE leads to a future Earth where traffic jams occur thirty stories above the ground, humanity is ruled by beefy 'Tiny' Lister Jr., and where the Ultimate Evil is served by everyone's favorite villain, Gary Oldman, sporting a Southern accent! If this DOESN'T convince you that this is a 'popcorn' flick, not to be taken too seriously, there is Chris Tucker, sporting a blond hairdo, as the Galaxy's favorite media personality, promoting himself as he hits on his adoring female fans; Ian Holm, as the monk who knows 'the Secret', forced, despite himself, to become an active participant in the adventure; and some of the most ... ugly alien mercenaries you'll ever see, terrorizing a space resort, until they meet their match in Bruce Willis' 'DIE HARD in Space' protagonist! Yippee-Ki-Yay, indeed!

The FX are astonishing, the comedy, broad and sly, the heroics, macho, and as Leeloo, sent to save Earth, Jovovich manages to be both naive and sexy, with broken English and a gymnast's grace.

Bruce Willis is a joy, as always, to watch, and he carries the film with charm and self-depreciating humor, whether dealing with endless phone calls from his mother, driving his sky taxi recklessly (cabbies change very little in the future!), taking on terrorists single-handed, or falling for the exotic Leeloo. When he blows away a roomful of hostage-holding aliens, then asks, "Does anyone else want to negotiate?", you KNOW Besson picked the right guy for the lead!

If you want Profound Science Fiction, watch 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY again...but if you want to kick back and just have fun, look not further...THE FIFTH ELEMENT delivers!

Star Wars Fans can love this movie too!
I grew up with Star Wars, and still love it today, but times, tastes and styles do change. It doesn't make one "better" than another, just different. I, for one, absolutely love this movie! It's fun, flashy, thin in spots and hopelessly romantic, but also very positive about the future (if a bit crowded). Futuristic New York is enough to give you vertigo! The visuals, set designs, aliens and costumes are amazing - if you don't like this movie's look, you are probably dead.

Mila makes Leeloo "perfect" as the Supreme Being out to protect all mankind - innocent and wise all at once; and you just can't fault Bruce for doing what he does so well, a cynical wisecracking working stiff just looking for that "one perfect woman". But the secondary characters are what truly makes this one fun: "Weddings?" - Ian Holm delivers classic straight lines and Chris Tucker is just high-energy comedy as Ruby Rhodd (that trashy radio guy) - I roll on the floor every time I watch this - and it's definitely one to watch over and over for the incredible detail and sheer visual magic.

Buy widescreen and see the whole thing!

QUITE A TRIP
It's entirely possible that Luc Besson was on some kind of drugs when he scripted this way-out, wacky, but extremely entertaining scifi thriller. His vision of the future is both impeccably original and wildly humorous. Cars spinning through space; police cars that still squeal tires when there's nothing to squeal them on! Like a wild video game, the vision of this future is great.
Bruce Willis is fine as Corbin Dallas; he evinces his usual cool macho, with that underlying bit of sensitivity. Milla Jovovich, red hair and all, does a good job in conveying the enthusiasm, innocence and naivete of the newly born. Notice the sadness in her eyes as she views the word "War"; her reactions are poignant. Gary Oldman as Zorg is all out ham and he pulls it off, showing what a versatile actor he is. The usually stoic Ian Holm has never been livelier than in his role as Father Cornelius. He looks like he's having the time of his life and after all the stuffy, laconic roles he's played, he cuts loose and is wonderful. And Chris Tucker---what a character. Tucker is manic, frantic and annoying---but he is also very very funny. I haven't laughed like that in a long time. Note too the capable performances of Tiny Lister (usually a mindless body bag) and Brion James (also a lot looser than in his usually villainous roles).
THE FIFTH ELEMENT is a strange movie indeed, but I found it to be one of the most unusual scifi films in some time.

Silly.
If only they had another director (perhaps Ridley Scott, using a little "Blade Runner" flair), this movie could have had the potential to be very good. Instead, director Luc Besson ("Leon," aka: "The Professional") chose to formulate this sophomoric piece of sour eye-candy that even the geekiest science fiction aficionado would despise. Aside from the poor direction, Hudson Hawk paired with an androgynous (and extraordinarily annoying) Chris Tucker sidekick, is enough to drive anyone to mercilessly strangle a kitten.

the unperfect movie
Give me a break! Milla Jovovich as the perfect woman, a god?! This movie would have not seen the light of day if she was a black woman. I mean there are far better looking white women than this lady, indeed, in a white mans world, would such a film be fashioned in the way that it has been. Outside of the whole white supremacy view, I thought this movie was koo with its special effects, although Judge Dredd did the same exact scenery in its earlier day, so, nothing new in that department. I also didnt care for how the black man was depicted as a wimpy feminine sambo, but this is what white america views as a great film, who cares if they made Tiny lister a black president, that was probably the only good thing about the whole cast arrangement, thats if that didnt have some personal insult to it as well. lmao! The insecurities of ppl who are in denial about such, will always be revealed in some way. As this movie made so brutally clear, dont get me wrong, racist ppl do not bother me in the least bit, I just like show them up, on their hidden agenda's, say what u want, but I would have prefered the perfect being to be nonhuman, as our species has proven to be something less than perfect, to say the least. pun intended ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Very Good
The relationship between the Vatican and the Third Reich has been a very hot topic recently, as new documents and scholarly works have served to ignite a massive debate. Could the church have done more, did they aid the Nazi's covertly, was Pope Pius XII a coward in the face of Hitler? These are all relevant questions that deserved to be answered. Into the debate steps Amen, an effective drama directed by Costa Gavras, which, while looking at the actions of the church hierarchy during the war, concentrates more on the low level relationship, which I consider much more fascinating. The movie is an interesting look at morality and responsibility in the most troubling of times.

The movie's protagonist, interestingly enough, is SS officer Kurt Gerstein, played by the subdued Ulrich Tukur. Gerstein is a chemist by trade, and is promoted because of his ability to create extremely effective "anti-vermin" pesticides, such as forms of Zycklon-B. Gerstein is stunned to discover, as he stares into a gas chamber, that his formula's are being used for far more than animal extermination. The realization changes his life, and Gerstein, a devout Catholic, gives the information and more to a well-connected Italian priest, Father Riccardo. Riccardo's family is close to the Pope, and the two unlikely allies feel they can effectively move the church against the Nazi regime. They have a precedent, considering that a Catholic uproar ended the SS sponsored extermination of the mentally handicapped. However, the two soon find that the church is hesitant to challenge Germany, for numerous reasons, including their hatred for Stalin's Russia, their anti-Semitic attitudes, and their fear of decreased power in Nazi dominated Europe. It's a wait and see attitude that is getting millions killed. Both men are locked in their moral duty, even as those they trusted fail them, time and time again.

Amen is a stylish film that uses the rich history of Europe to lend a foreboding atmosphere to the entire situation. The Vatican shots are amazing, as are the Berlin and, horrifyingly, the camp scenes. The acting is good all around especially Tukur's portrayal of the tortured SS officer, unsure of where to turn. While it may make some leaps of faith that are factually baseless, it does shed an interesting light on those times. It's ending is a haunting one, as was history's verdict. A good film.

solid movie
This was a solid movie. The acting was good, but understanding the dialogue was hard at times. It showed how both protestant and catholic leaders did nothing. It also shows how fearful everyone was of hitler's power. The Vatican clearly was portrayed as being more concerned about preservation than any eternal moral action. the movie coincides nicely with cornwell's book "Hitler's pope.".....as winston churchill said, "all that is needed for evil to persist is for good men to do nothing."

Interesting Aspect of Holocaust History
This beautifully filmed moralist story of an SS Officer and a Catholic priest is based on the play THE DEPUTY. It starts out slowly, so conditioned have we become to Holocaust recreations, but the human conflicts eventually set this work apart and keep the viewers' interest in this woefully underreported aspect of WWII history. Fine performances, direction and production design highlight AMEN. The audio soundtrack and score, however, are not up to par with the rest of the film... the recurring "train" theme is irritating and amateurish; the rampant voice-over dubbing is also distracting and often difficult to understand.

As far as the bonus materials found on the DVD, there isn't much there...but the "Making Of" documentary has several interesting moments.

A Powerful Lesson we May Still Need To Master
As far as films dealing with the Holocaust are concerned, I do not believe that AMEN is in the same category as LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL or SCHINDLER'S LIST. I say this not so much because of the film's quality, but due to the fact it is really a morality tale about what happens when people who are basically good fail to see obvious evil, do little to nothing about it, and in the end may even be aiding the evil that so opposes good. The Holocaust is merely the backdrop, and the failure of organized religion to oppose the evil of Holocaust is history's best example to demonstrate what happens when people do not oppose evil.

At the beginning of the film, people of the Christian faith seem to be doing the right thing. People with mental and physical disabilities are being sent to the death camps, and churches, particularly the Roman Catholic Church boldly speak against the atrocity. Yet when the same thing happens to the Jews, the vigilant churches remain indifferent at best, and in more cases than not, silent. The more the churches realize the atrocities, the more deafening the silence becomes.

Amen breaks new ground as far as the discussion is concerned. Much has been made about the silence of the Vatican in general, and more specifically Pope Pius XII's failure to speak. The film could have used the easy answer, namely fear that the Vatican would be destroyed, and would therefore destroy the Church as well. While this is mentioned in the film, it really does not seem to be the major reason for the silence. The choice for the Church was either to side with the Allies, which included Russia, a Communist nation. The Communists were viewed as more evil since Communists opposed religion. The Axis powers were just as evil as Stalin, but at least they allowed the practice of the faith as long as the Church was not critical of the Nazi Regime. This seems to be the more accurate reason for the silence.

Many people who will see this film will see the Catholic Church in a less than positive light. I'm not certain this is accurate. The character of Fr. Riccardo Fontana is one of the two heroes of the film; he is Catholic, and actually stands for what is best in the Church. Keep in mind, the greatest Christians, Catholic and non-Catholic, are more often than not the heroes who stand alone, and the heroism of one who stands alone is probably a more powerful example of faith than any religious officials. We see in the character of Fontana one who makes a morally good choice and acts on it as opposed to the hierarchy, who made a bad moral choice of choosing what they believed was the lesser of two evils. Fontana is actually a Christ figure and his actions teach us how we should be acting. Also, people viewing the film should keep in mind that while the Catholic Church is the Church that is viewed as wrong, none off the other Christian denominations did all that much to stand up to the evil either. If Dante is correct about the hottest spot in hell being reserved for those who remain neutral, and silence is considered neutrality, many are in deep trouble.

Indifference.
Based on a true story, *Amen* is an important, and heretofore unexamined, angle in cinema's ongoing grappling with the Holocaust: the complicity of the Catholic Church with the Third Reich's "Final Solution". Important BECAUSE the subject hasn't been examined in film. Precise, too; the movie is concerned with the murder of the Jews in particular. Early in *Amen*, we see the German Catholic Church put a stop to the euthanizing of what the Nazi Party calls "unproductive citizens", e.g., people with Down's Syndrome and, indeed, any who suffer from mental illness. The local archbishop threatens the Nazi bureaucrats with exposure to world opinion, and thunders indignant, logical arguments from the pulpit ("'Unproductive!' And what of injured soldiers returning from the front? Are they 'unproductive', too?" etc.). But the thing is, these mentally ill were baptized as Christians. The JEWS, on the other hand. . . . Director Costa-Gavras gives them an unlikely champion: an SS officer and chemist Kurt Gerstein (Ulrich Tukur) whose creation of a cleansing agent, designed to filter contaminated drinking water for the troops at the front, becomes a primary tool in the mass-murder campaign by the German government. The chemist, a devout Protestant, is horrified when he discovers to what uses his invention is being put. He is eventually brought to a concentration camp, and is more or less forced to view a gassing through a peep-hole on a gas-chamber door. Thankfully, WE'RE spared the sight. Indeed, we "see" almost no atrocities: Costa-Gavras assumes we're intelligent and moral enough to already know that genocide is evil. (Obviously a faulty assumption, considering that this movie received almost zero attention from audiences and critics. We clearly need piles of bodies displayed with Barber's *Adagio for Strings* swelling in the background, and a Schindler-like hero played by a robust and good-looking Irishman.) Instead, he shows us the hideous paperwork, the incessant criss-crossing of the cattle-cars (empty one way, full the other way) . . . the whole damnable mechanical PROCESS of the Holocaust. Gerstein decides to be the "eyes and ears" of this process, and even tries to slow it down in his fumbling way by hysterically claiming that THIS batch of chemicals is leaking from their canisters and must be destroyed, THAT batch won't be ready for months, and so on. Meanwhile, having learned that the Church managed to stop the murdering of the mentally ill, Gerstein appeals to the local diocese. Upon informing the local big-wig prelate that the Nazis are systematically wiping out the Jews, the prelate muses suspiciously, "Are you even Catholic?" But he DOES get the attention of a fictional young Jesuit, Father Riccardo (played with agonizing understatement by Mathieu Kassovitz). Riccardo becomes determined that Pope Pius XII should learn of the atrocities . . . and is fiercely checked by the Church bureaucracy and finally by the Pope Himself. *Amen* savagely attacks the Church in general and the Pope in particular: it's rather telling that Costa-Gavras could find no single figure to base Riccardo upon, but had to create an amalgam from various (and doubtless feeble) voices in the Church hierarchy at that time. Some may complain that Riccardo is merely a symbol of Good, and that another character in the film, known only with chilling anonymity as "The Doctor", is just Evil personified. But I think enough ambiguity is provided by Gerstein himself: we like him, we identify with him, we sympathize with his disgust, we encourage his attempts to alert the world, but we also feel uneasy that he remains in his position as SS Lieutenant. What IS the truth about Gerstein? We'll never truly know what was in his heart; we only know what he documented about the process of the gassings, after he was incarcerated after the war. Was he trying to condemn his murderous colleagues, or merely hoping to absolve his own continued participation? Or both? Perhaps Riccardo and the Doctor, both fictional, represent his own divided soul. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Roberto Benigni's Life Is Beautiful aside, milking the Holocaustfor laughsis a dangerous game. Even the blackest, most therapeutic humor turns queasy in the shadow of such monstrous evil; it's like dancing on a mass grave. So Jakob the Liar's got a hard road to hoe--its eponymous schlemiel plays out hissemi-farcical adventures in the mean streets of the Warsaw Ghetto circa 1944.The skies are always leaden over Jakob's hometown, reflecting the comicclimate that pervades this mostly unfortunate adaptation of Jurek Becker'sautobiographical book (firstfilmed in 1975).

Jakob Heym (Robin Williams in overbearingly earnest mode) gets tangled in a string of self-perpetuating lies about a hidden radio, supposedlybroadcasting news that the victorious Red Army is nearing. His desperateattempts to convince a clutch of insistently idiosyncratic friends(clichés to a man: Liev Schreiber, Bob Balaban, Michael Jeter, Alan Arkin) andobligatory Nazi bad guys that the radio doesn't exist are complicated by the fact that he's stashed a fugitive kid (a dead ringer--sorry!--for Anne Frank)in his attic--and by abundant evidence that lies are the best medicine forthe ghetto's skyrocketing suicide rate. Copious unfunny misunderstandings andpratfalls eventuate in this Holocaust rendition of Fiddler on the Roof (you expectWilliams to break into song: "If I were a funny man....").Ultimately, Jakobthe Liar loses its way for good in some very ugly violence and a rather nastyfinal twist: the film's ending might just be rubbing our noses in anotherfeel-good lie. --Kathleen Murphy ... Read more

Reviews (30)

ONE OF THE BETTER MOVIES TO INTRODUCE KIDS TO HOLOCAUST
I have not read the book but I greatly enjoyed the movie. Good narrative, excellent cinematography, and some stunning background music. While the film may be held guilty for some cardboard characters (e.g., all Germans are mean looking men), Robin Williams was surely under-appreciated in his very concvincing cameo as Jakob, a pancake vendor, who pretends to have a radio and distribute good news to other Jews in the ghetto -- and I don't mean just the accent. The guy is brilliant.

The theme is a cross between "Goodmorning Vietnam" meets "Life is beautiful" -- classic cultural interpretations of the forced lifestyle of the characters promote the effect of a rumour that a working radio exists in the barbed-wire ghetto, allowing a lowly pancake-vendor to raise to heroic proportions amidst his small group of associates and lie in the face of hope-dashing truth.

At its heart, the story is about the irrefutable spirit of human life despite seemingly unsurmountable odds as Jakob deals with the consequences of either perpetuating his lie or coming out with the whole truth, weighing hope against despair. Swept up in his own joking accident and a few well-timed coincidences, endorsed by the ghetto residents, the ghetto organizes to resist their Nazi oppressors.

As the fall of the Third Reich becomes more and more likely, the tangle of truth and falsity tightens around Jakob and each lie becomes more and more needed.

An interesting angle to look at the Holocaust, it serves as one of the better movies to introduce younger audiences to that odious period of human history. Oh, and did I mention that the background score is marvellous?

skipped the theatres....straight to video
Robin Williams plays a Jew trapped in a nazi ghetto during the late days of WWII. It is rumored that he has a radio, which the nazis do not allow. The word spreads that he has a radio and he is forced to make up stories about the advancing Russian troops that are coming to save them. He succeeds in lifting the spirits of his fellow Jews until the end, where....Anyway, if you want to be upset, plan a night of sitting at home watching this flick. While the film quality, storyline, and acting are good, it is downright depressing. There are almost no positive moments in this film and if you are looking for a fun Robin Williams film, look elsewhere. There is a reason that this film was budgeted for $15 million and only made $5 million in the theatres. It is a waste to mention it in the same breath as Schindler's List. This movie should have never been made.

A Great Movie
first off, Joseph from Montreal QC has no idea what he's talking about his review was completely false. The Nazi's, as history presesnts, were wicked, ruthless and uncaring people. their goal was to eliminate all the Jews in Europe not make friends with them. Joseph from Montreal QC doesn't have the correct information. He sounds like a Nazi sympathizer to me.
Anyway this movie is wonderful. watch it you will enjoy every moment in it

Great Robin Williams Performance
Robin Williams was perfectly cast as Jakob Heim. The critics hated this movie, but I enjoyed it alot. This is one of my favorite Robin Williams films, next to Good Will Hunting and Dead Poets Society. This is a great Holocaust movie and you should buy it or at least rent it!

Great Movie!
This movie should be placed among the timeless World War Two classics such as Schindler's List and Life Is Beautiful. It is truly one of Williams best performances since Goodwill Hunting. It acurately portrays the life of people during the Jewish Holocaust. Iwas touched deeply by this movie and moved by the great performance of Williams and the rest of the cast. Peter Kassovitz establishes himself as a great director with this movie. The book was great and the movie was even better! ... Read more

Amazon.com

If Birthday Girl is a far-fetched thriller, it's also a slice ofabsurdist fun populated by some awfully interesting actors. Nicole Kidmanplays Sophia, a chain-smoking, mascara-smudged, wildly sexual mail-order bridefrom Russia who answers an Internet plea for companionship from a lonelyBritish bank employee, John (Ben Chaplin). For a while, the two make astartling and intriguing pair: she apparently speaks no English and henaively frets over the veracity of the Web business that brought themtogether. The gorgeous Kidman and sad-eyed Chaplin are briefly the engine oftheir own unique movie, but then the other shoe drops. Sophia, obviously up tosomething mysterious, is paid a visit on her birthday by two Russian"cousins" (French filmmaker Mathieu Kassovitz and one of his own frequentstars, Vincent Cassel, also seen in Brotherhood of the Wolf).Suddenly, John's quest for a lover becomes a web of deceit and corruption.Directed and cowritten (with his brother Tom) by Jez Butterworth, Birthday Girl is hampered a bit by sluggishness and insufficient characterdevelopment. But it is also original and strikingly entertaining. TomKeogh ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Anthony Michaels review of "The Fifth Element"
Along with great masterpieces such as Forrest Gump, Frequency and others, The Fifth Element is there along with them. It's stunning visual effects along with average acting and a great script, The Fifth Element is worth your time. Trust me. Bruce Willis does a great job. Enjoy it.

ALSO STARRING BRUCE WILLIS
The Sixth Sense
The Kid
12 Monkeys

Best picture and sound of any DVD so far
If you need to justify the expense of your DVD player and surround sound system to your spouse and/or friends, this DVD is it!

Spectacular sound and special effects coupled with a perfect DVD transfer make up for the childish plot and simplistic dialogue. But hey, it's great fun! END ... Read more