Le Désert des Tartares

A movie parable that pretends to be a “slightly different" war movie, while in fact it is closest to a mystery thriller, despite lacking even a hint of the supernatural. Although I can’t clearly remember a single scene, it still managed to wrap me around its finger with its captivatingly hypnotic atmosphere. The strange thing about it is that although all scenes are absolutely unspoken (and offer as many opinions and explanations as viewers that watch it), it holds together coherently. And the strangest thing about this is that it isn’t strange at all. I intend to embark on an active search for the novel. The second-hand bookshops are calling. (19/11/2008)

At first glance, this film offers a very well-equipped fortress in the middle of the desert. There is quite a decent regiment of French soldiers in that desert, and these French soldiers are mentally completely fucked. Their only current interest is to behave according to the rules of the fortress. No one is allowed to leave it, no one is allowed to say a word. Whoever leaves the fortress and then returns will be shot without mercy. It could be a scout that the Tatars fooled and pitted against his friends. The French are so messed up that although from the fortress you can see about three kilometers of sand dunes on all sides, they still think that Tatar will arrive any minute and shoot down the largest fortress complex of Europe with one cannon ball. And cannons? They must not use them under any circumstances. If they fired the cannon, it might startle the colonels and the bosses might not like that either. Psychological as hell. Hats off. For two hours I was so nervous I could throw up. And I didn’t even have to be in the middle of the desert in the fortress, whose defense would pose a problem even for General “The Desert Fox” Rommel. (10/09/2013)

The only adaptation of Dino Buzzati's novel provided the opportunity for an extraordinary all-star film that only turned into a steamy psychological drama with complete certainty in the second half. Particularly noteworthy are the performances of Giuliano Gemma, who really wasn't just Angelica's Nicolas, and Jacques Perrin, who undergoes the story of the destruction of an entire life. Perrin's storyline is also perfectly complemented by Helmut Griem. Jean-Louis Trintignant and Max von Sydow give absolutely standard, but not weak, performances. Yet by far, the biggest surprise is Rolf Wanka, who proves once again that there are no such things as small roles. His final etude mirrors his entire professional life and in a minimal space, it is possible to perceive the story of the entire destiny of a man. I wasn’t even hoping for something this good. (30/03/2013)