In Darkness (2011)

not horrible nor great

hyped garbage

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

In Darkness is yet another film set during the Nazi occupation of war torn Poland. The Nazis have begun their mission of terror. Rounding up Jews and taking them to concentration camps where unfortunately, many of them lost their lives.Leopold is our main character. He decides to help a handful of Jewish people, doomed to the concentration camps. In order to avoid the same fate as six million others, the Jews are taken to the underground sewers in order to hide from the dangers above. The whole film has a very claustrophobic and suspenseful tone, that tells this wonderful tale of what good human beings are capable of doing during such horrific times. We have the usual betrayal of trust which just adds to the uncertainty that the film generates. These sorts of movies of seemingly ordinary human beings doing extraordinary things against injustice are very common, but In Darkness manages to create something that you haven't seen before, in an already tired sub genre.That takes some doing and as a result, In Darkness is a film to behold!

in a long series of war/Shoah movies, it is different. not original but different. because it is a real good story in precise manner form. because you discover, in many moments, than it is a film about yourself. the key - inspired form for basic emotions. the good and bad remains in fragile balance. the tension is well realized. the purpose is not to present a heroes gallery but common fear, hope, expectation, joy, angry, needs and danger pressure. it seems be an every day situation and that is the great virtue. a movie about bravery. in realistic form, convincing at whole, far by war because for many viewers from East the end of story is only another beginning. a film who transforms the artistic message in an experience. because , scene by scene, you are part of story. not fascinated. but seduced by the tragedy of few people for who ordinary limits becomes fiction. a bitter, harsh movie. different side of a tragedy who seems be well - known.

I watched this 5 days ago, and still find it in my mind - in the middle of the night/ while shopping/ washing/ walking down the street. I don't think I will ever forget it. Film is dramatic, tense, witty, and above all haunting.A remarkable film, there is nothing more I can say. I would just add that the acting is really good.The story breaks my heart.The film makes vivid a story from our history, a history that should not ever be forgotten.There is something compelling in remembering the Nazi atrocities, and also in viewing films about them. Watching this film, I felt part of a shared experience - respecting and grieving all the people who died and suffered at the hands of the Nazis.

'In Darkness' proved to be a worthy Polish contender against the foreign film winner 'A Separation'. This film to me is a more successful version of 'Schindler's List' - similar in terms of the portrayal of an unlikely hero who had no reason to save the Jews but did it in the end.(Why so? Schindler's List covered a much wider span, all above ground, with a longer time frame as well, and yet failed miserably as it chose to tone down A LOT of what could have happened in reality given the weight of the situation. I expected more from it as it is not even realistically outstanding to some of the other commendable Holocaust-related work of art.) This film focuses not on the atrocities in the surface, but more on the intricate details in its core matter - things happening underground. Roughly half of the film happens inside the sewers, but with enough details that reminded me of "Hunger" even though the dire situation were not full-fledged in my opinion.We not only get to know of the conflicts between the hero, his non-Jew community against the Jews, but also the conflicting portrayal of the Jews themselves who are not all one-dimensional characters unlike in some other movies (i.e. not overly depressed or in a state of hopelessness, they actually hate each other, some of them are annoying/ traitors/ greedy etc).I too believe things are pretty toned down as well in this film, as living under the sewers in such a situation where the water rendered unusable, the stench unbearable (augmented by the stench of corpses), absence of light, hygiene and proneness to diseases/fatal accidents could easily cause multiple levels of discord and unwanted psychological behaviors.I have read that the director deviated from the real account a little as some of the characters 'killed' are actually survivors today. But in a way, maybe it is for the better as the film is already disturbing enough.Also, some of the scenes done above ground are a little bit unnatural...hence I could not grant a rating above 7 stars. But all in all, this is a well made Holocaust-related film but it is also a film about humanity that is much better than average.