Der Musterschüler (1998)

Der Musterschüler: Directed by Bryan Singer. With Brad Renfro, Ian McKellen, Joshua Jackson, Mickey Cottrell. A boy blackmails his neighbor after suspecting him to be a Nazi war criminal.

“Before I even start my review of this movie (which I liked) I gotta say u0026quot;Apt Pupilu0026quot; has got to be the goofiest name for a story since the hilarious 30 Rock spoof u0026quot;Rural Juroru0026quot;. Say it 10 times fast and youu0026#39;ll feel like you just came back from the dentist.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnyhoo…u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThere have been many films and books that attempt to explain the horror that we humans are capable of. While I havenu0026#39;t read the Stephen King nouvelle u0026quot;Apt Pupilu0026quot;, I can tell you this film adaptation kept my attention and tossed around some new ideas I hadnu0026#39;t really considered.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIf you havenu0026#39;t already seen it, search for the Stanley Milgram experiment. It was a psychological test done by a Yale student back in the 1960s offering one of the most chilling explanations for the phenomenon of Nazism, a convincing illustration of how humans can do horrific things. The gist is that we convince ourselves that weu0026#39;re doing what weu0026#39;re supposed to be doing (u0026quot;just following ordersu0026quot; or u0026quot;everyone told me to do itu0026quot;). The video is online on dailymotion.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Apt Pupilu0026quot; surprised me by taking a very different approach which I wonu0026#39;t ruin for you. Iu0026#39;ll just say that it weaves a complex Machiavellian scheme, where evil is deliberate and conscious of itself. It finds its footing by creating a balance of power, reminiscent of the u0026quot;mutual assured destructionu0026quot; philosophy in the 80s that led the USA and Russia to stockpile enough nukes to send us to the Smurf universe.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOK, enough background. Letu0026#39;s talk about the film already. If the premise doesnu0026#39;t capture you instantly, the impressive directing and musical score should suck you in with its heavy, foreboding mood. Ian McKellan (probably best known as Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings but also an accomplished Shakespearean actor) is excellent in the role of an ex- Nazi… a menacing enigma somewhere between a serial killer and a cranky grandfather. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBrad Renfro appears on screen as the perfect naïve kid with a perpetual deer-in-the- headlights expression, sort of like John Cusack in the 80s but without the laughs. The film focuses mainly on the transformation of Renfrou0026#39;s character. Itu0026#39;s here where I was unconvinced, and I docked the film a point or 2. Renfrou0026#39;s character mutates so suddenly and drastically youu0026#39;d think he sucked down some radioactive sludge. I feel a lot of his u0026quot;experiments with evilu0026quot; were uncharacteristic and thrown in for shock value. No matter how curious a person is, nobody goes from Pollyanna to animal mutilations in just a month or two. It was this seemingly random, inexplicable moral decay which I felt was just injected for cheap shock value. If you can get past that, the real theme emerges.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe root of human evil, according to u0026quot;Apt Pupil,u0026quot; is not random moral decay but actually a complex struggle for power. When this theme emerged in the latter half, thatu0026#39;s when I perked up and paid attention. The story then takes on a suspenseful air, and the kid u0026amp; the Nazi get into an interesting game of cat u0026amp; mouse.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOverall, Iu0026#39;ll stick with the Stanley Milgram experiment for the most convincing explanation of human atrocities. But u0026quot;Apt Pupilu0026quot; definitely delivers some food for thought. Another film that provides insight is the criminally underrated u0026quot;Exorcist IIIu0026quot; with George C. Scott and Brad Dourif playing mind games in an insane asylum. Also check out the documentary u0026quot;Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer,u0026quot; or on the lighter side, u0026quot;Dr. Strangeloveu0026quot; makes an interesting commentary on why humans commit genocide. Who knows why humans kill, maim and torture. But as long as we keep investigating there may be hope for us.”