Friday, June 13, 2008

Debris from a Silent War

Author(s): Marcus Dennis
Location: N/A

“Debris from a Silent War"


Written & Directed by David Lynch (Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive)
Cinematography by Dante Spirotti (Heat, The Insider)
Production Design by Allan Starski (The Pianist
Costume Design by Anna Sheppard (The Pianist)
Edited by Michael Kahn (Saving Private Ryan, Munich)
Score by James Newton Howard (The Village, Batman Begins)

Principal Cast:

Eric Bana-Jacob Steinbrenner
Christian Bale-Otto Von Wolford
Brian Cox-Adolf Hitler
William H. Macy-Walter Schmidt
Liev Schreiber-Oskar Schindler
Laura Dern-Tara/Lanya
Vera Farmiga-Varya

Tagline: "Some of the greatest wars are never heard of”

Synopsis: David Lynch's latest film, 'Debris From A Silent War' delves into moral reversal and a blur of reality during the Holocaust.

Germany 1905-A homeless boy begs for change to no avail. He is harassed by hoodlums, kidnapped, and sold to a Jewish man with a sick fetish. This abused and neglected boy would grow into the one of the world's greatest dictator: Adolf Hitler (Brian Cox).

During the beginning of the Holocaust, with the help of his secretary and confidante: Walter Schmidt (William H. Macy), Hitler starts assigning SS officers to oversee the segregation of German cities. One of the officers is Otto Von Wolford (Christian Bale) a gentle and respectful officer married to an illegal Russian immigrant woman, Varya (Vera Farmiga).

Jacob Steinbrenner (Eric Bana) is a swindling fast-talking Jew who finds a way to get what he needs. He's also a woman-beater if you ask his girlfriend, Tara (Laura Dern).

One night Jacob comes into their apartment with rotten sausage. Tara becomed furious at Jacob because of his hustling ways and tells him that she's pregnant. In denial, Jacob hits Tara, locks her in a closet and falls asleep. That same night, Otto tells Varya that he'll be working for Hitler to 'cleanse' Germany. She is angry, but he calms her down and they make passionate love.

The next morning, Jacob wakes up with Tara laying on top of him nude. He doesn't mention the events of the previous night. That same morning, Otto wakes up cheerful, but Varya is angry and her eye is swollen. She claims that he hit her in a drunken rage. He leaves their apartment perplexed.

As the segregation of Germany cities become more hostile, so does Hitler. Hitler's new found arrogance and anger surprises Walter because he has always known Adolf to be a calm and soft-spoken man.

Jacob returns home one day and finds Tara droned in the bathtub. He laments over her body until SS officers, lead by Von Wolford, storn his apartment and place him into a concentration camp. That same day, Varya is killed in a house fire.

As the Holocaust progesses, Otto becomes more aggressive to his Jewish captives and Jacob becomes more subdued. Then Oskar Schindler (Liev Schreiber), an arrogant, foul-mouthed industrialist who runs a pot-making factory buys the group of Jews that Jacob is in. Oskar also hires Otto as his head security guard.

Hitler continues his reign of terror. He begins to treat Walter like an employee and not an friend as he was once was. He continously refers to him as boy.

Otto has a dream that he is walking through the plains of Africa with Hitler. They talk about their families and Hitler seems regretful about starting the Holocaust. A lion attacks Hitler and Otto fights him away. While dying, Hitler tells Otto to beware of the timid man.

The next day, Jacob drops a box of ceramic plates. Otto begins to shoot him in the hand, but he remembers his dream and sees the look of fear on his face and stops. At their meal break, Jacob stumbles a plot amongst several workers to revolt against Schindler and escape the factory. The leader of the conspiracy is Lanya (Also Laura Dern) who is ready to revolt against the Nazi oppression after her girlfriend was raped and killed by Nazis. She tries to coerce Jacob into the plot, but he refuses.

The day before the rebellion, Jacob warns Otto. Otto warns Schindler, who brings in extra security. The rebellion is attempted but Schindler's security halt it. Everyone apart of the plot is murdered.

Several weeks later, Oskar calls Otto in his office. He asks Otto how he thinks the war will end. Otto tells him that Germany will lose. Otto tells him that he should free all of the workers in his factory. Oskar ponders this idea. Otto confronts Jacob about his still being there. Jacob does the same. In a series of flashbacks, we realize that Jacob believes he accidentally killed Otto the previoud night, while Otto believes that he let Jacob go the previous night.

The next day, Oskar is nowhere to be found. His office is empty accept for a pair of keys laying on the floors and a golden pen. Otto takes it upon himself to tranfer all the workers into the city.

Hitler, now in the bunker, plots his escape to Africa after the war is over. Schmidt comes into the bunker, shoots Hitler in the head, and sets it up to look like a suicide. The rest of Hitler's allies are devastated by the 'suidide' and many of them kill theirselves right in front of Schmidt. Schmidt gets inside a Jeep and flees Germany, which is being invaded by the Allied forces.

While riding through the city, the bus that Otto and com. are on is almost hit by a missile. It's turned over and burning. Otto escapes, and oddly saves Jacob they duck and dodge Allied troops who are shooting anything in their path. They still a car and escape Germany. They avoid hitting a pack of lions in the road, but their car flips over. When Allied Troops find the car, the only person inside is a large portion of diamonds wrapped in a Mexican flag.

What the press would say:

The most controversial film of the year is also the best. Debris From A Silent War is David Lynch's most ambitious film yet. His weird and abnormal direction makes the viewer feel like their reading the diary of a schizophranic. Christian Bale and Eric Bana give strangely brilliant performances. They perfectly capture the anguidh of men who have lost their loved ones. Brian Cox electrifies as Adolf Hitler. He steals every scene that he is and his powerful rants conjure emotion from the strangest places. Laura Dern gives a commanding performance twowomen who have different reason for their anger. Vera Farmiga gives a heartbreaking performance that'll draw tears from the toughest of warriors. Liev Schreiber gives a career performance as a morally reversed Oskar Schindler. This sickening portrayal of a man who is known as a hero in most people's eyes has earned him the best reviews of his career and should earn him some awards attention. William H. Macy gives a subtle performance that perfectly vibes with Brian Cox's fiery. With a great score by James Newton Howard, weird cinematography, great acting, and odd direction, this will be the one to beat come March.

Best Picture
Best Director: David Lynch
Best Original Screenplay: David Lynch
Best Actor: Christian Bale
Best Actor: Eric Bana
Best Supp. Actor: Brian Cox
Best Supp. Actor: Liev Schreiber
Best Supp. Actress: Laura Dern
Best Cinematography
Best Art Direction
Best Score

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