Ministry of Fear (1944)'s comments

Do you want to let us know what you think? Just login, after which you will be redirected back here and you can leave your comments.

Siskoid

Fritz Lang captures the frayed nerves of the British under the blitz in Ministry of Fear, a paranoid thriller in which you can never trust anyone or anything, including the perceptions of the main character. Ray Milland has just been released from an asylum, you see, so when villagers at a town fete start acting strangely, leading him on a merry chase to London to find out why "they" are after him, you're not sure what to believe. What, if anything, does a war-time charity have to do with it? Milland is plunged into a nightmarish world of seances, Nazi spies, shady coppers, and bombing raids. Great use of light and shadow - I especially love how the final showdown is staged - and knowing this came out in 1944 makes it feel more immediate and urgent a story. The "loose lips sinks ships"-type posters are more than just period detail. A great Noir that owes something to Kafka as much as anyone. (Too bad it ends on a dumb joke.)

2 weeks 2 days ago

Shidan

Pretty good, with some great moments (specially the backstory, it was very touching).
I was hoping for it to be more impactful, like M (1931) or Scarlet Street (1945) (both also directed by Fritz Lang), but even after a year of watching it for the first time I couldn't get it out of my mind, I've watched it again and it's fantastic, I enjoyed it even more this time, although it feels too short.
Definitely recommended!

PS: If someone falls asleep during this 86 minutes movie, probably their entertainment bar is TOO high. I wonder how many times they'll fall asleep if they watch, for example, 2001: A Space Odyssey.

8 months 3 weeks ago