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Reviews
Kameradschaft (1931)
Technically superb
The special effects are top notch, very superior to the Hollywood standards of its time (just compare this film to "San Francisco", made five years later). Most reviewers write about how realistic this film is, but the mine interior was entirely recreated in studio. And it looks like a real claustrophobic coal mine. Amazing! Technically it is superb. About the story and the message a lot has been said, so no need to repeat how good and necessary this film was. I saw it with the epilogue sequence included. Sad end, but it is realistic in this point too. Good intentions meet the old dark forces. Just read Oscar Wilde's "The young king". Its end is even more pessimistic. At least, Pabst opens a door to fight and hope. The closed frontier is only an advice: beware! the fight won't be easy.
Bajaja (1951)
A masterpiece from the master
A masterpiece by the puppet master Jiri Trnka. Much better than "The emperor's nightingale". Trnka does his best when he uses old Czech legends, as in this case. The camera work and the sets are simply incredible. Colors and shadows are superb. It's fascinating how he creates a first rate animation movie with a very simple animation in fact, because there are no face movements, but the puppets express a very wide range of emotions anyway and you get touched all along the movie.
The story is complex, epic and tender. It's about a poor peasant that becomes a knight and falls in love with a beautiful princess. Pure European legend in its best tradition. There are fights, dragons, love, all perfectly animated for the sake of art and entertainment. The music is the second protagonist of the movie, because words are almost inexistent.
Maybe this film can be a little harsh for today's Western viewers, but if you are pure at heart and you like Miyazaki and Tezuka movies you will love it.