The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel (1951)

Something new... Something old! Though I don't like using that adjective to refer to these movies, as they may be from a couple of years ago... But they are outstanding!

This movie was a recommendation from my beloved father, who used to love cinema and books and who managed to transmit that love to me. I have no doubt it is thanks to him I developed this love and passion for literature and the Seventh Art. It is a pity now he cannot enjoy so much of them, due to his eyes and several body-aches, which do not allow him to be sat for long hours. Anyway, he always comes very happily with me to the cinema anytime I find a movie attractive enough, even when not really good. Is in those moments when he starts remembering about the times when he went to the cinema in his youth, about the movies he watched and how amazing those films where. This is one of those films he remembers and he talks about it with that smile on his face. His eyes turn younger and you can tell, just but looking at them, how much he enjoyed that moment.

Given all this, I decided to watch it. And so I did this morning. I have to admit, even in the 15 inches screen of my computer, the film was really startling, and I started thinking about how it would have been to watch it in a big wide cinema screen. No wonder why Cinema reached the status of Art, why they call it the dream factory. The mix of real war scenes with the shots taken in the studio is extremely well done. The begining, for instance, is just sublime: the way the soldiers move along, the landing, the assault to the mansion. Then the battlefield at night, which must have been pretty astonishing watched inside a dark theater.

But not only from good shots you make a great movie. Dialogues and settings where almost perfect, on the verge of prepaired speech but that seemed natural if considered in the whole of the situation. I never quite understood the need for everything to be as natural as possible, especially in war films, where you expect to find heroes and villains, get confused sometimes between what is good or evil, and just get obliterated by witty responses just in the right moment.

Overwhelmed by high-tech and special effects, we lost our innocence in front of the screen and we don't let ourselves enjoy the simplicity of a good all-time black and white classic.

My rating: I highly recommend this movie to any of you who enjoy war classics and specially to those like me, who still think about cinema as that miracle, that gives life to the greatests of all heroic deeds.