Review of Diamonds of the Night (1964) by Zoran S — 21 Feb 2009
Diamonds of the Night is one of the most harrowing and brilliant films ever made about WWII and the Holocaust. (Certainly, it is the best film of the Czech New Wave) At only 60 or minutes, it is an intense yet economical nightmare, not a single shot is wasted.
There isn't much story here: Two Jewish youths escape a train taking them to a concentration camp only to be caught by a mob of old possibly senile men. Stylistically, though, the film plays like an impossible union of Robert Bresson, Luis Bunuel, and Franz Kafka.
The effect is truly horrifying. Like the other brilliant war film Come and See, this is one of those rare films that make you feel that you've peered into the hell of history and that you'll never be able to escape from its images.
This review of Diamonds of the Night (1964) was written by Zoran S on 21 Feb 2009.
Diamonds of the Night has generally received positive reviews.
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