Master of the Game

Psychological thriller set in WWII. Totally engrossing roller coaster of a film. The tight pacing and amazing acting kept me on board the whole time. A few scenes not for the squeamish. They didn't hold back on the brutality of the film. That's what made the "game" so interesting. Every character's life depends on it. The script and direction obviously handled with great care. Definitely look for this one.

See this one. It goes on your list of movies to see with someone who will have a beer with you later and talk about it for two hours. It's a visual harmonic and 3-D mental chess game. Delving into the dark reaches of the human brain it pits several highly evolved Homo sapiens in a game of survival in the middle of a war which would keep Darwin wondering about it for years. The dialogue is all in English which detracts nothing from the movie. The contest between several Nazi captors with an appropriately evil officer in charge and their lone Jewish-American prisoner is close mental combat in the valley of death. Someone will do a stage play of it, and should.

I felt I had to write a review to counter the exorbitantly excessive other reviews on this site that spurred me to see this movie in the first place. Most people will not find this movie a "thriller", an "intriguing journey", "ingenious", or "riveting". I think most people would find this movie boring and ridiculous.

It starts out with a promising premise: in trying to escape, a Jewish concentration camp prisoner ironically comes upon an abandoned camp in the woods that just happens to be housing a group of Nazi soldiers isolated by the inclement weather. In order to delay his execution, he proposes playing a mind game, which the bored soldiers agree to. It's from here that the story falls apart. I won't go into details, but suffice it to say that although the "game" is set up to be a clever psychological ploy, it ends up falling flat, playing out like a staged play, with the behavior and reactions of the soldiers utterly scripted and unrealistic. Holes like Swiss cheese - you know the drill. Don't bother.

This WWII story of a Jewish captive who uses only his wits to turn the tables on his German captors is a fresh look at both the WWII movie and the thriller genre. About ten minutes into the film is a horrific shock that was not only unexpected, but totally set the mood for the life or death struggle for the rest of the film. (I would give more detail, but don't want to give anything away.) The acting was top notch and the director set a dark moody tone throughout the film that keeps you wondering what will happen next. It's refreshing to see a film that is gripping and makes you think!

I really didn't know what to expect going into the theater. I had read a review by Chris Gore and thought I'd give it a shot. Well, I'm so glad I did. I was riveted from the start. The slow reveal of a Jewish prisoner at the start of the film was visually stunning - it punctuated the theme that just one person can make a difference.

I am the type of person who gets distracted easily, but I can honestly say I lost total track of time watching this movie. I was totally drawn in by the "game," an intellectual game of cat and mouse. The superb direction keeps the tensions high, and even though most of the film occurs in one cabin, there is never a dull moment - both visually and storywise.

I would highly recommend this movie. It was beautifully shot and directed. The acting was great and the characters were all compelling. One other note - the music was both haunting and passionate. I would love to own the soundtrack.

This is by far the best movie I've seen all year. It really made me do a lot of thinking. I know that a movie has really done its job when I'm still thinking about it days later. I've been so frustrated with all the much-hyped Hollywood pictures this year, that this was a totally refreshing and rewarding experience.