One Of The Most Ambiguous Movies Ever Made

Rating: 7/10 (10 June 2014)

Whilst the reader of this review will question my title, I implore them to read the other reviews of this movie, and it will become clear why I chose such a title. This movie is purely dependent on the person watching the movie, what he/she takes from it.
The film was made in 1971, some 43 years before I'm writing this review. I have more pros then cons about this movie, but let's start with the cons. I felt the movie did not shock me as some other movies have, perhaps this is because in nearly half a century we have wised up to the deep, dark underbelly of this world or quite simply I have been exposed to it. Further to this, the film was a bit long to watch in one sitting. Finally, the actual lingo was a bit to hard to understand, and I've lived in England for 11 years now!
The positives were I thought the actual cinematography and filming of this was pretty good, and the main protagonists acting was second-to- none. More to the point, I really adore how this movie depicts that as a criminal, he continued to get away with multiple crimes but it was only once he became good (by force, may I add) that he was well and truly eaten up by the world. Whilst harsh, it shows that the world we live in now may not have much space left for the pure of heart anymore. To follow from this, I like how the main character shows that each human is different, and how when it comes to someone's mental state, anything can trigger a reaction unexpected. The best example of this is his reaction to Beethoven's 9th symphony. I especially like how the film portrays the underhanded dealings of a government, summed up in the scene at the end with the main character sitting with the Minister, whom speaks so politically in a way that basically depicts the sneaky way in which politicians go about their business.
Whilst I only gave this film a 7, I would say it is a much watch as there is something oddly fascinating about this film, and kudos to the director for filming it in such a way that everyone has a different opinion and focal point on the movie.