05-13-2015, 10:14 PM
This is another entry on the 366weirdmovies.com list -- and well-deserved.
Disillusioned by the world of grownups, Oskar, at age 3, decides to stop growing. He becomes very attached to a tin drum, and if anyone tries to take it away from him, he screams, breaking all glass in the area.
Over the years, while outwardly he seems a child, he grows up, and has all the urges and dreams of any young man. This leads to some shockingly lascivious scenes.
All of this unfolds in Poland during the rise and expansion of Nazi Germany.
David Bennent, who plays Oskar (and who in real life had a medical condition that stunted his growth), is absolutely brilliant.
Some have called The Tin Drum a masterpiece, but the movie is not perfect. It wends a bit and loses some of its power in the later going. Still, there are so many powerful scenes -- avoiding all of Hollywood’s bankrupt clichés and formulas -- that it grabs you by the balls and drags you down the runway like an out-of-control iron-crotch demonstration. Or to put it another way, despite its many flaws, it remains an absolute masterpiece.
With regards to some of the racy scenes involving Oskar, the DVD version of the movie includes the documentary, Banned in Oklahoma, wherein, circa 1996, the conservatives of Oklahoma went insane (again).
One of the most powerful messages I got from The Tin Drum is how easily normal compassionate people can be swept up in the demonization of another group, with horrendous results.
Disillusioned by the world of grownups, Oskar, at age 3, decides to stop growing. He becomes very attached to a tin drum, and if anyone tries to take it away from him, he screams, breaking all glass in the area.
Over the years, while outwardly he seems a child, he grows up, and has all the urges and dreams of any young man. This leads to some shockingly lascivious scenes.
All of this unfolds in Poland during the rise and expansion of Nazi Germany.
David Bennent, who plays Oskar (and who in real life had a medical condition that stunted his growth), is absolutely brilliant.
Some have called The Tin Drum a masterpiece, but the movie is not perfect. It wends a bit and loses some of its power in the later going. Still, there are so many powerful scenes -- avoiding all of Hollywood’s bankrupt clichés and formulas -- that it grabs you by the balls and drags you down the runway like an out-of-control iron-crotch demonstration. Or to put it another way, despite its many flaws, it remains an absolute masterpiece.
With regards to some of the racy scenes involving Oskar, the DVD version of the movie includes the documentary, Banned in Oklahoma, wherein, circa 1996, the conservatives of Oklahoma went insane (again).
One of the most powerful messages I got from The Tin Drum is how easily normal compassionate people can be swept up in the demonization of another group, with horrendous results.
I'm nobody's pony.
