The Best / Die Beste

Rating: Null/10 (5 November 2003)

Well,
as an avid non-fan of musicals, what can I say? This just has it all - the beautiful scenery, the plot and the way the music is interwoven into it. And WHAT music, at that!
Never is the music out of place (apart from, perhaps, in the gazebo as the young lovers perform "I Am 16 Going On 17" or when the Matron Nun delivers her piece of advise to "Mary"... or when...) OK OK OK So, it's not 100% water-proof, but the longevity of the piece and the brilliant performance of each and every one (the Countess's withdrawal from the marriage to the Captain must be one of the most graceful ones ever - especially considering the era!) surely makes up for any possible flaws.
The anti-Nazi theme has been done a squillion times, but to manage to base a musical on the every-day chaos that ensued the Anschluss (especially with such an "obedient" perspective such as the Austrian, rather than - let's say Russian, Polish etc.), with such panache, has got to be applauded.
I don't know about you guys out there, but I would rather watch this one over and over, than watching the - obviously - more realistic Saving Private Ryan or similar even a second time. Just to hear "Do-Re-Mi" makes me believe I actually was a kid around the time.
And although I may be just that now (a kid), I certainly wasn't back then...