Max
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Movie Reviews of Max
Movie Review: Art + Politics = Power
Summary: 5 Stars
The movie follows the life of one Max Rothman, former Jewish artist who lost an arm in WW1, now art dealer who takes his job to heart. Wars and tribulations have cast realism in art aside forever - the tide has turned towards modernism, and Rothman exploits this new vein. During an exposition, he meets a fellow veteran, now struggling artist, named Adolph Hitler. Hitler has technique down pat, but he cannot transpose his emotion on the canvas. As they gravitate around each other, Rothman and Hitler become aware of the stark similarities, but also differences, between them. Rothman is rich, Hitler is poor. Rothman is not racist, while Hitler is obsessed with race and blood and, like most of his countrymen, resents the Jews. Rothman believes in feelings, while Hitler ardently desires only one feeling beyond all - power. Rothman, despite having been in the army, did not like the experience, which he starkingly illustrates in a performance art piece that gives new meaning to the metaphorical expression "meat-grinder". While both resent the Versailles Treaty, only one of them is willing to use racism to rouse the masses against it.
This is, like most good movies, a movie of ideas before all, of words. One of the insights which Rothman gains is that words weave the world around us. And as politics becomes popularized and propaganda is developed, the minds of the population can be manipulated to support war. As the demagogue's sermon shouts out the Rabbi's sermon, the bloody reign of democracy marches on.
I am somewhat of an amateur of Hitler and all things Nazis (for the same reason that I am an amateur of Scientology : power relations are the ultimate test of human nature). For that reason, it was inevitable that I wouldn't *love* Max. After all, we are most critical of things we know. But I am still smart enough to recognize a good movie.
John Cusack can be counted on to play nuances, and Max is no exception. Noah Taylor makes the best of a character who is really pretty superficial and greedily ambitious, as the real Hitler was. The cinematographic tone is not really to my liking - it's as if they tried to be "modernist" too in some places. Also, the ending sucks eggs. They were going for the crowd-pleaser, in order to ensure that no one would accuse Max of trying to humanize Hitler (as if he was not a human being in the first place). Let's face it, they would say that anyway - no PC critic ever watched the movies he criticizes. In the end, I loved this movie, but its lack of courage bothers me greatly. I will probably rate it higher later on... for now, it is #20 on my top movies list, edging out Citizen Kane.
(written by Hitler) "Art + Politics = Power"
Movie Review: A Portrait of Young Hitler
Summary: 5 Stars
What makes a movie like this fascinating is that it provides a fictional, yet accurate portrait of a well known persoanlity. This story concerns itself with a little known part of Hitler's life. His post WW1 years when he struggled to identify himself as either artist or political demogogue. The movie tantalizes us with the notion that at this critical moment had Hitler's life taken a different turn the whole 20th century might have been changed. This is quite compelling stuff.
The actors are brilliant in this film. I am not normally a John Cusack fan, but his in-your-face contemporary style of acting works well here. The actor playing young Hitler does a supurb job. He manages to provide a human portrait of this infamous person, while making him appear pathetic and loathsome at the same time. Many might think it is dangerous to put a human face on this horrible person, but how else can we understand what he became without trying to do this. To see the evolution of his character which is done brilliantly here is to provide a greater understanding of Hitler and people like him. How could this pathetic person shown here become the future dictator of Nazi Germany? One wonders indeed. History is full of such ironies, and this is certainly one of the greatest examples. Ronald Reagan was considered a joke 20 years before he became the icon of the Republican Party!
The point to consider here is how many examples of this exist today. How many marginalized, and frustrated persons exist in our society today who might one day become such persons or commit such crimes. In seeing this portrait of a frustrated, loathsome person one is reminded of the many moslems who live in the West and feel repulsed by it. What might any one of these individuals do one day with their repressed hatred of all that is Occidental. In looking at this film I find many chilling examples today of what might be. While this is fiction based on fact, this film does a brilliant job of showing us the evolution of character to become one of the greatest tyrants of the last century. While imperfect perhaps, this is certainly worth watching and will provide some chilling moments for reflection. Highly recommended.
One fault I found with the DVD production was one of the worst jobs I've ever seen with English subtitles. Someone was used who did not have an innate knowledge of Engish, resulting in some pretty funny, but alarming translations! This film would also benefit with having some extra features to provide context for the time and characters shown.
Movie Review: The monster
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great movie that gets people thinking about how an evil dictator such as Adolph Hitler came into being by examining his younger days as an artist in Vienna during the forming of the Nazi party. As a european "history" "student" pointed out in a previouse review it is not historically accurate. But movies are art, and unlike history, which is always written from a point of bias or blandly with dull facts, they get people thinking creatively in order to come to their own understandings.
To me the conflict is between Hitler's love of art, and the need to be in control, which hinders him because he is simply not able to let go and create any piece of work. He is rigid, cold, logical, and a perfectionist when he attempts to create art and is unable to express himself, which many artists may have exerienced at on time or another. I produce music and sometimes I think too much about what the song I'm writing is accomplishing or going to accomplish rather than just writing it, and to Hitler every piece of art should have meaning and be better in technique than previous works of art. So Hitler, who is acted well by Noah Taylor, can't seem to release his feelings on a canvas. He finds his niche that allows him to vent his feeling of frustration and anger and starts doing rousing political speeches for a group affiliated with the army where he yells rants and raves like an unsuccessful artist would rant against the glamorous pop culture we have.
This is a great movie for those who like dark movies that deal with psychological reasons as to why someone is or would become a social outcast or a bad seed. If you liked "Taxi Driver" then you'll enjoy this movie.
Movie Review: CusackCult.Com on MAX
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of those "great pieces of art" that Cusack says he wants to do. This one is done very well.My opinion of the viewing public, though, is that mostly it doesn't want to think this hard during a movie and particularly doesn't choose to understand the face of evil. (We might recognize it . . .)
Briefly we enter a movie cocoon. The one created for us. We want to be swept away, titillated, made to laugh, or cry, but not to think.
It (the public) wants to look at the evening news, see evil doers in other places in the world and then be able to turn off the set.
Max keeps it playing in your head.
I never heard of this film before I began my quest for all things Cusack . . . I know my life is limited to those things I allow in, and so I miss things . . . Sorry.
I bought Max last night because it was the next Cusack film I could find. It is dark and complicated and very POWERFUL. They never treat the subject matter lightly in this flick. It is meant, I think, to make you understand the descent into madness that comes with the urge to create. . . and how that madness can morph the creative, taking the person who owns it with them to anther place. (Sort of a scary concept considering my own drive to get a screenplay filmed.)
With Hitler there was the strange blend of politics as art . . . perhaps there is this with other politicians, too.
Perhaps politics is their art, when we think it is their vocation. And we would be part of their creation process, wouldn't we? As Max Rothman hoped to be part of Hitler's.
Movie Review: Max is really, really, really, really, good. Really good.
Summary: 5 Stars
Innaccurate? Give it a break! 'Tis a work of art, a labour of Bohemian love and one of the few films I've seen with the line 'Hitler, c'mon, I'll buy you a lemonade' in it. Plus o'course, it's fiction... It's been a while since I saw it at the cinema, but I'm fairly sure that none of the events portrayed happened- I have a GCSE in history to prove it- so let's sit back, enjoy, spook ourselves with Taylor's frightening performance, bask in the warm glow of Cusack's benevolence, and wallow in the sheer perfection of acting in general, atmosphere and attention to (purely fictional, mark me) detail. My dad complains at ikkle details of films, and it spoils it for him. James says: let the few descrepancies they take with history pass, and enjoy this thought-provoking flight of fantasy, I mean, we all know Hitler couldn't paint- but if John Cusack told me he was my father, I'd believe him.