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Review: |
Ever notice
how movies seem to come in twos? 1997 gave birth to red-hot
actioners "Dante's Peak" and "Volcano;" 1998 spelled out the
end of the world with "Deep Impact" and "Armageddon;" 1999
chilled audiences with "The Haunting" and "House on Haunted
Hill..." are you beginning to see a pattern here? ***
2001 has
had more than its fair share of such films, and "Dark Blue
World" falls into this category. The story of two pilots going
off to fight a war, while falling in love with the same woman,
sounds strangely similar to this year's earlier release of
Michael Bay's "Pearl Harbor," though without the grandiose
special effects or a plot that centers around a major historical
event. And while it's a much better film than its predecessor,
"World" has its own quota of shortcomings and failures. ***
I liked
the fact that there is no bombastic, supercharged event we're
supposed to anticipate, as in "Pearl Harbor," which centered
on the bombing of the Hawaiian naval base and used that to
loosely structure a tepid love triangle around history. Here,
the story takes place in Czechoslovakia, during World War
II when hostilities were just beginning for smaller countries
being occupied by German forces. Many Czech air force pilots,
unwilling to watch their homeland fall into enemy hands without
the ability to put up a fight, make their way to England,
where they train to become pilots for the Royal Air Force.
***
Among
these men are Frantisek Sláma (Ondrej Vetchý), an older man
who leaves behind two loves, his dog and his woman, and his
young comrad, Karel Vojtisek (Krystof Hádek), a hot head who
carries with him a strong hatred for the enemy that threatens
to endanger his life during training. Sláma, as the father
figure in Karel's life, advises him on matters of remaining
calm and flying well; their bond is presented to us just enough
so that we don't feel as if we're being manipulated to believe
the two are like family. ***
Visually,
the film is quiet, soft-spoken, and at times, arresting. We
get the usual images and shots of soldiers enjoying their
company, the comraderie of planes in the sky, and the open
expanses of countryside and wide ocean than unfolds beneath
the pilots during their missions. But unlike Michael Bay,
director Jan Sverák is able to instill a deep sense of beauty
and effervesence into his setting, rather than use it as the
basis for his plot. ***
Less involving,
however, are the two romantic subplots the movie supplies
to the two male lead characters, who finds themselves falling
in love with Susan (Tara Fitzgerald), an Englishwoman who
runs a homeless shelter for small children out of her home,
and whose own husband has been missing in action for more
than a year. At first, Karel is taken with her; the two share
a night together, and it seems as if they have something.
But then he introduces her to Sláma, and they become lovers
as well, but not after she writes Karel a farewell note pleading
with him to leave her in peace. ***
This is
where the manipulation kicks in. We're automatically supposed
to believe that these people hold strong feelings for one
another, despite the strong absence of believable dialogue
or any emotional connection to them. Susan is a hypocrit of
sorts, falling for these two comely soldiers, yet holding
steadfast to her belief that her husband is still alive (she
even refuses to refer to him in the past tense). We feel a
certain sense of boyish first love in Karel, the only believable
emotional drive of the triangle; Sláma, however, is portrayed
less-than-favorably, considering he has a potential bride
waiting at home for him. ***
It's a
shame, really, considering what could have been. I wanted
to be moved by the fragile friendship between Sláma and Karel,
but when the limitation ends up being a treacly love triangle,
everything becomes routine and eventually listless. The characterization
and forced emotions displayed here aren't as lopsided as "Pearl
Harbor," but "Dark Blue World," even with its wonderful use
of cinematography and old-style war cliches, appears unable
to give us a solid reason to feel much of anything for the
people who make up its story.
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