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THE BUNKER (2001)
Most problematic accents ever! Maybe it's not fair to this movie, which is well-made and for the most part works well, for me to hold against it what I couldn't help but hold against it. But for me to recommend a movie based on what I hypothetically might have thought about it if I didn't think what I was thinking would be dishonest (which isn't to say I've never done it, but I wouldn't do it now). Set near the end of WWII, The Bunker concerns a troop of German foot soldiers holed up in a bunker whose front door is easily defendable, and back door is...well, it has all sorts of creepy tunnels for its back door and they're not entirely sure where they go, or what's down there. No points for guessing there's an old-timer who says "I told you you wouldn't believe me, but you haven't been in those tunnels, in the dark..." Here's the problem - all these Germans are played by British actors, with undisguised British accents. I feel kind of petty about this, but I can't deny that this threw me off throughout the entire movie. The British accent is a time-honored staple in the movies that has long been regarded as acceptable as a sort of generic Euro accent (how else do you explain Jean-Luc Picard?). And I could buy a Scotsman as a Soviet sub captain. In another movie, I'm sure I'd be fine with a bunch of Brits playing Germans. But in this case, specifically...this is World War II. Germans on one side, Brits on the other. If there's a room full of Germans and one of them says "Bloody 'ell, Leftenant!" I can't help but expect everybody to open fire on him. Otherwise director Rob Green makes nice use of shadows and shows us effectively creepy, claustrophobic sets, especially one where desiccated carcasses seem to be growing alongside tree roots out of the walls. It seems inevitable that one day this'll be sold in a two-pack with Nightwatch. You know which grain of salt to take this non-recommendation with. (the accented one!) (c) Brian J. Wright 2005 BACK TO THE B's BACK TO THE MAIN PAGE |