I Want You Back Guardians

For the first time in as long as I can remember I have walked into a cinema screen and had fun; pure, unadulterated, uninterrupted fun. From the moment Chris Pratt’s Star Lord bursts into dance at the opening credits until the moment…well the moment he bursts into dance at the finale pretty much. Guardians of the Galaxy might not be the smartest film you’ll see this year or the most powerful but by God it is the one you’ll remember when December rolls round.

Part of the success is that Guardians is the first Marvel movie you can go into without needing any real understanding of the established universe. It’s not a superhero film, it doesn’t feature cameo’s from Mark Ruffulo or make reference to something important down the line. It’s a space opera taking place in a galaxy far, far away and while the influences of Star Wars, Firefly, Farscape and Cowboy Bebop are all too apparent the film has an energy and wit all of its own.

Much of that wit comes in the form of Chris Pratt’s performance as Peter Quill, a human abducted from Earth as a child who, twenty-six years later, is now trying to establish himself as the outlaw Star Lord. His cocksure, space cowboy persona is a fun opening gimmick but watching it get undercut by how little it means is what seals the deal. Quill’s dedication to the pop culture tropes and references of Earth reinforce his tragic characterisation as a kid trapped in a man’s body trying to imitate Han Solo. Make no mistake people Quill is no John Crichton and if his companions fail to get his remarks about The Maltese Falcon or Footloose it’s all part of the gag. 

Of course it’s mostly Star Lord’s that kick of the plot when he retrieves a mysterious orb from a dead planet. The orb is sought by Ronan the Accuser a genocidal manic who wants to use it to destroy his enemy the Xandarians(just get used to the weird names here) and so sends his living weapon Gamora to steal it from Quill. Meanwhile Quill has a bounty on his head that draws the attention of Rocket Raccoon and Groot, a tree-person whose vocab is limited to ‘I am Groot’. In the end they all clash on Xandar and end up in prison where they meet Drax the Destroyer,a bruiser with a score to settle with Ronan. There the five agree to team up, sell the orb and split the cash.

Then things take a turn of formula. Turns out the orb is a planet-destroying weapon and the gang need to put their interests aside for greater good and yadda yadda yadda. Yeah part of Guardians fault is that it spends a lot of time trying to ignore the whole big picture altruism that heroes are supposed to have. So much so that it can’t quite sell everyone’s turn for good when it’s time for the big space battle.

This is largely down to the portrayal of Gamora. Not Zoe Saldana mind, who does a good job of balancing her effortless badassery with the exasperated straight woman role. No the problem is that Gamora has the most significant role in the plot outside of Quill, with her betrayal of Ronan forcing the Guardians together and her horror at the orb’s power the instigator for their last hurrah. This is all fine stuff but it’s never backed up by anything. There’s no destruction of Alderran that drives home the monstrosity of Ronan, no moment for her to reflect that what he could do with this kind of force. Compare this with Karen Gillan’s Nebula who breathes resentment for Gamora and their shared father Thanos the Mad Titan. At the end when Nebula betrays her father for Ronan it’s all too clear why she does this. With Gamora there is no such scene.

Gamora isn’t the only plot contrivance pushing the characters along though. An extended scene with the orbs would-be buyer Taneleer Tivan (last seen after the credits of Thor: The Dark World). Benicio Del Toro gives a delightfully camp performance but can’t escape the fact that he is simply explaining the purpose of the orb for the sake of plot. Thankfully though his scenes provide a new environment for the Guardian’s antics and another colourful action beat.

That’s the thing, significant though they may be the problems with Guardians never overshadows the level of fun, humour and action that the film has. The entire supporting cast is a riot, Dave Batista in particular kills as the entirely literal Drax. While Groot isn’t exactly Hodor the ‘I am Groot’ never gets old and his emotional intelligence paves the way for an incredibly affecting payoff. And look at that I finally managed to get through a Bradley Cooper film without my bum going to sleep. 

Other than that Guardians of the Galaxy is a ride, an energetic exciting ride that begs to be repeated. Yes it’s formulaic but formula can be a great jumping point for inventive action scenes, consistently funny characters and a universe of tricks and toys to be played with. Well worth a watch again and again.

A Grim Session with The German Doctor

The greatest fault of The German Doctor, originally titled Wakolda is perhaps that it relies too much on your knowledge going in. To truly understand just how chilling a film about a struggling Argentinian family and the mild-mannered physician who comes to lodge at their hotel in 1960 you must already know a little about who the man is.

The German Doctor is shrouded in mystery for much of the film, with focus instead thrown on the relationships that the doctor, who goes by the name Helmut Gregor, forms with the family. He takes a scientific interest in their diminutive daughter Lilith, identifying a growth defect that he can treat. Mother Eva is wary of allowing a virtual stranger to experiment on her child but being fifteen weeks pregnant with another she knows she may need his help. While the father, Enzo is made predictably anxious by this newcomer’s increasing involvement with his family. Even when Gregor offers to invest in a business venture together, mass producing the doll Enzo made for Lilith, named Wakolda from which the film gains its Spanish title.   

Then comes the twist, that this seemingly average German doctor is in fact escaped war criminal Joseph Mengele. While some may know Mengele as the villain in The Boys from Brazil he is in fact the kind of Nazi scientist that other Nazi scientists thought insane. On top of the unknown number of people he killed Mengele amputated his victim’s limbs, infected them with Typhus and injected chemicals into their eyes among other horrific crimes. However The German Doctor chooses not to outline the depths of Mengele’s evils, most of his work is conveyed in a handful of graphic drawings in his notebook. Assuming this information is either common knowledge or simply already implicit in his association with the Nazis.

Whatever the reason it feels like The German Doctor could have pushed its subject matter for greater dramatic tension. This is a film about a collection of innocents coming to the realisation that they have colluded, however unknowingly, with a monster. The theme of lost innocence is felt most profoundly with Lilith who gains the most from Menegle’s presence and so becomes the most enamoured with him. At the threshold of puberty she takes an interest in this charming older man, eventually coming to learn about his work and ideologies. Thankfully their scenes never possess a Lolita-esque vibe, Mengele views her more a subject of study than anything. And it has to be said Florencia Bado gives a charming, naive performance as Lilith without becoming overly precocious.

The real star though is Alex Brendemuhl with the unenviable task of playing one of history worst menaces with zero menace. His cold, still eyes suit more and alien with an understated curiosity about other people. His Mengele is calculating about everything, wanting to be liked but only to maintain his cover, wanting to help but only to further his research. It is not until he finds the net closing around him that Mengele breaks out the hissing villainy, at which point it feel like a jarring turn of character. It is a performance which doesn’t plumb the depths of his psyche but it is effective nonetheless.

Before he flees though there is baggage to resolve with the family as Eva goes into labour and Mengele is the only physician available. A glimmer of a good deed forms in an otherwise black pit of evils as Mengele resolves to help the struggling newborn twins even with Isreali agents closing in. Meanwhile the family, with Enzo in particular, have to resolve accepting the help of a man who has committed atrocities. Will the lives of his children be forever tainted by this man’s influence? Will they be able to forgive themselves for not doing more to bring him to justice? For the family there are no easy answers.

In the end The German Doctor does not do anything new with its well-trod subject matter. It doesn’t have the big dramatic performances of Schindler’s List or the insights of Downfall. It does however provide a tense and occasionally compelling microcosm of the effects of the Holocaust. A slow-burning character piece that examines how easily it is for the devil to assume pleasing forms.