Reviews

I saw One Day in the theater on its first release. My wife and I were totally enthralled and disturbed by the plotting, realism and impact of this visual story. To this day I recall many scenes: I still get chills, real and literal, when I recall the crunching of the snow and see Nyquist's filming of the boots marching to work in the Siberian cold as the sun rises. Or the prisoner who wears the extra clothes and is punished by having to endure the Siberian night outside.

There may be those who do not not care for this film: Maltin's movie guide describes it as "Another instance where a novel was just too difficult to film," and I could not more strongly disagree. However, sometimes reviews affect decisions on seeing the movie, and, in my opinion, that would be a loss for anyone who appreciates a conscientiously, well made film. So, I recommend that everyone who has not see this film, appreciate its beauty and craftsmanship if you can, but you have the right to judge for yourself, so exercise that right.

Naked Prey is a member of the small number of films that reduce dialogue and fully utilize the visual medium to tell a tale. These movies frequently use natural settings and indigenous animals to express the apathy of the world to the struggles of an individual who is in crisis mode. The cinematography is engaging and the story is compelling.

Other films that aim for and achieve this rarified level of accomplishment are Quest for Fire (1981) and The Night of the Hunter (1955, the only movie directed by Charles Laughton, an academy award winning actor).

Naked Prey successfully achieves the often contradictory goals of simultaneously entertaining and providing an intelligent forum for discussion. It's a nice change, for a change.