Father (John Power, 1990) wr. Tony Cavanaugh, Graham Hartley, dp Dan Burstall, prod. Damien Parer, Tony Cavanaugh, Graham Hartley, Paul D. Barron; Barron Films, Leftbank Productions, Transcontinental Films, music Peter Best; Max von Sydow, Carole Drinkwater, Julia Blake, Steve Jacobs, Simone Robertson, Kahli Sneddon, Nicholas Bell, Tim Robertson, Bruce Alexander; Joe Mueller (Max von Sydow) may have committed war crimes as Franz Kessler, SS, 1945; reviewed Jan Epstein, Cinema Papers, 81, December 1990: 28-31
Hal Hinson:
Nothing with an actor as touched with genius as Max von Sydow can be completely dismissed, but Father comes close. ... The film, which was directed by the Australian John Power, is a serious exploration of a crucial subject. But the movie runs through its examination without much feeling, and certainly without any special insight. Aside from von Sydow's performance, the only passion in the film comes from the heartbreaking anguish of Mueller's accuser, whom we first see as a little girl, standing alone surrounded by bodies in a mass grave, her hair matted with blood. The urgency of Julia Blake's performance is a chilling reminder that, for some, the past can never be escaped. When she bares her psychic scars, her pain cuts deep, leaving its own wounds. If only the rest of the film had been on this level. Washington Post, 1992.
Tells a very similar story to that of Music Box (Costa-Gavras, 1989, with Jessica Lange and Armin Mueller-Stahl) which was released in Australia in May 1990, with Father released in August.
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