Wrenching tragedy.

Rating: 10/10 (5 March 2004)

My summary was my first thought when the closing credits started running. We often refer to films as "drama," but the term "tragedy" is not used much anymore. This film can only properly be called a tragedy.
There are so many things about this film that drew me in. There are also a number of things I kept ruminating about for days afterwards. Not only is this film a rare example of a true tragedy in recent film, but it is structured more like a play than a movie. Movies tend to build to a massive climax that occurs near the end of the film. From what I remember of college lit classes, many plays have a climax dead in the middle of the performance. _Requiem_ is like that: the most intense part is in the middle. The characters die with a whimper at the end, not a bang. It is not a story of slow decline, but a story of rise and fall.
I can't write about this film intelligently. It really moved me.