Guernica
(2016/Sony DVD)
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: C Film: C+
Director
Koldo Serra's moving 2016 historical drama Guernica
lands on DVD disc and is a must see for History buffs, as it
brilliantly marks the events that lead up to an infamous Basque Town
bombing (that happened without warning) that helped start WWII.
Starring James D'Arcy, Maria Valverde, Ingrid Garcia-Jonsson and Jack
Davenport to name a few, this powerfully made film will stir your
senses and pull on your heart strings. It should be noted that there
is also a 1950 version of the same story, though having not seen it
at the time of writing this review I can't draw too close of a
comparison, but if you enjoy this, then I would definitely look it
up.
Set
in the late '30s in Spain, the film centers around the simple village
of Guernica as it is recently attacked and changing in the face of
war. It's up to a dashing American journalist (D'Arcy) and a
Press-office Censor (Valverde) to help save lives and evade the
Germans. At a time when the power of press means the most, they pose
to make a difference and survive in the wake of the horrors of
reality.
What's
interesting in the film is not only the way it looks and how
historically accurate it is down to the costumes, but the action
throughout is pretty solid. There are many instances where you feel
for the characters and go along with them on the journey. Due to the
heaviness of the content, however, I can't see it being a film that I
would watch over and over again but was a satisfying one time watch.
This is the same war situation you'll find in Guillermo del Toro's
film Pan's Labyrinth.
Presented
in standard definition with an anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio of
2.35:1 and a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 track, the film looks and sounds
fine for the DVD format, but could and would benefit greatly in high
definition especially considering the beautiful look and style of the
film.
Extras
include Deleted and Extended Scenes.
-
James Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
