Reviews

The chief opportunity to create dramatic tension was lost at the beginning when the drama of the forging of the asinine combat orders and the decision to follow them was left to be told in a few lines of dialogue. Hence, we are left with no reason to care about the rest of the story nor of the men. The idea of conducting extreme physical training under harsh conditions for combat hardened infantrymen is simply silly: the dialogue made it clear that these men knew combat. I stopped watching at that point.

Somehow, I missed the 'scene' if there was one, showing 'Control'. The name 'Control' is, of course a bit sly--alluding as it does to at least one former European thriller---Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy--films in a different league. Enjoy the authentic German and Czech actors and accents! Great opportunities to watch 'visual studies' of a man lost in thought and thinking really , really hard! Wonderful cityscapes!!!! Really! Cardboard thugs. Clever scene of killing a thug with his own gun! Even the weeds in the abandoned beer garden seem real! And those cobblestone streets! Wow! Quite modern in using screen shots of social media and as a way to reveal dialogue. Wonder how long that will last! A more apt title: 'Confused---and Confusing'. Fun anyway.

I am glad that I saw Die Grosse Stille. It was deeply touching. The silence somehow allowed one to witness the deeply private lives and experiences of these meditators. I saw this film a few days before. My girlfriend wanted dearly to see it but I had been put off by some critical comments posted on these pages. I am glad that I overcame my doubts. The views of both the inside of the monastery and the outer surroundings enhanced the feelings of the 'separateness'of the mountainside retreat. I have been a meditator for quite a few years and I lived among the Tibetan communities in India for some years. There also one can find a 'Great Stillness'. Are you prepared to set aside conventional standards and expectations of a film 'experience'? If 'yes,', then I recommend this film to you.