Gernika (2016)

Gernika: Directed by Koldo Serra. With James D’Arcy, María Valverde, Jack Davenport, Ingrid García Jonsson. The fates of Henry – a cynical American correspondent who has lost his soul – and Teresa, one of the Republic’s censors and in charge of overseeing the news that journalists can send abroad, cross in Gernika.

“Guernica could have been one of my all time favorites but unfortunately, as it happens too often these days, the culmination was badly executed. The first act is wonderful, a perfect setup for the upcoming events in the movie, with breathtaking cinematography, decent script and superb acting. The sets and the costumes were top notch, whoever could pull this off with 5 million deserves utmost respect. The first 30 minutes really feel like youu0026#39;re watching one of those great classics and I was pretty convinced that this movie is going to be ten star material. Unfortunately, as the movie progresses past the second act, it starts to lose its charms. The focus turns on the love story, which somehow manages to be underdeveloped, despite the huge screen time that it has. From there on, we have a cascading chain of blatant clichés which, combined with a final act that feels disjointed, really ruin the whole experience. Now if you pay attention, youu0026#39;ll notice that the final act is where we lose the German perspective. A scene on a bomber, a pilot reaction or even the German colonel watching the ongoing bombardment from a far wouldu0026#39;ve kept this perspective alive and couldu0026#39;ve added some needed dramatic effect. Instead, the focus falls entirely on the events occurring in Guernica, which wouldnu0026#39;t be so bad if the whole act wasnu0026#39;t filled with severely overused clichés. All in all, this is a pretty decent war drama, which couldu0026#39;ve been something really special, had the writers come up with more original ideas.”