THE TRUCE
A Film Review by James Berardinelli
RATING: **1/2 OUT OF ****
Italy/France/Switzerland, 1996 U.S. Release Date: 5/1/98 (limited) Running Length: 2:05 MPAA Classification: R (Violence, profanity, nudity, sex) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: John Turturro, Massimo Ghini, Stefano Dionisi, Rade Serbedzija, Agnieszka Wagner Director: Francesco Rosi Producers: Guido De Laurentiis, Leo Pescarolo Screenplay: Tonino Guerra, Sandro Petraglia, Stefano Ruli, and Francesco Rosi based on the autobiography by Primo Levi Cinematography: Pasqualino De Santis, Marco Pontecorvo Music: Luis Enriquez Bacalov U.S. Distributor: Miramax Films
When it comes to stories about the Holocaust and Hitler's final solution, most movies end with the liberation of the concentration camps, allowing the viewer to (wrongfully) assume that the arrival of freedom represented the end of the ordeal for those who were imprisoned. The truth, as depicted in Francesco Rosi's THE TRUCE, was far more complex. Many of the Jews freed by the Allied advance were a long way from home (if they even had a home), and, considering the poor state of transportation in Europe at the time, the refugees' journey became an arduous exercise in hunger, frustration, and loss. However, while Rosi's film deserves recognition for highlighting a forgotten aspect of the Jewish post-Holocaust experience, there are serious flaws in his approach. A far more powerful and better balanced depiction of this subject can be found in the 1997 non-fiction effort, THE LONG WAY HOME, which captured the Best Documentary Oscar.
THE LONG WAY HOME shows the horror and disgust with which the rescuers viewed the Holocaust victims. Allied soldiers recoiled in revulsion at what they found behind the walls of Dachau and Auschwitz. Yet in THE TRUCE, the men of the Red Army are presented heroically -- saviors come to free the mistreated and undertrodden. This almost- worshipful attitude occasionally makes THE TRUCE seem more like a piece of pro-Soviet propaganda than a legitimate dramatic exploration of what happened when the Jews were set free.
The film opens with the liberation of Auschwitz in early 1945. Among the surviving Jews is Primo Levi (John Turturro), a native of Turin who has been awaiting his end in the Polish death camp. As the gates come crashing down, Primo puts the mixed feelings of his fellow prisoners into words: "Face-to-face with freedom, we felt lost." Soon, Primo, along with hundreds of other refugees, is on a long, circuitous journey by foot and by train back to his native Italy. Along the way, Primo meets other wanderers, including a larger-than-life Greek (played by Rade Serbedzija, of BEFORE THE RAIN and THE SAINT) and a pretty Russian nurse (Agnieszka Wagner). His spirits rise and fall like the crash of waves as he remembers the events that led to his internment, considers the uncertainty of the future, and dreams of finally reaching Turin. Despair has settled deep in his soul, however, as revealed when he makes the statement, "God cannot exist if Auschwitz exists." And, while the movie ends on a positive note, Levi's life did not -- unable to cope with what he had experienced, he eventually killed himself.
While THE TRUCE tells a story that is occasionally compelling and disturbing, the film feels like it has been sanitized. In trying to inject some lighthearted humor into a tale that is inherently deeply tragic, director Francesco Rosi reduces THE TRUCE to a series of loosely-connected, semi-comic episodes. Inexplicably, supporting characters keep turning up at different points on Primo's journey to offer support and encouragement. (Serbedzija's Greek and Wagner's Galina both make more than one appearance.) And, although famine and disease are rampant, no one actually dies. On the whole, Primo's journey seems more like a trek through a land of adventure rather than a shuffle down the road of despair. There are inconveniences, but no major obstacles, and the great men of the Red Army are always on hand to offer aid and support.
Whenever THE TRUCE works, it does so largely due to the moving, introverted performance of John Turturro. The actor presents Primo as a sad, deeply thoughtful man who questions everything around him, including why his life was spared when so many others died. Other than Turturro, however, no one in the cast leaves much of an impression. Massimo Ghini is okay as Primo's glib friend, but Serbedzija comes across as an over-the-top clown and Wagner is never given an opportunity to develop her character into anything more substantial than a token prostitute with a good heart.
THE TRUCE is not an innately bad film, but Rosi makes some ill- advised choices in the way he chooses to present the story. Those who have not seen THE LONG WAY HOME will probably react more positively to this effort than those who have. When viewed in the light of the documentary, THE TRUCE does not fare well. Not only is the tone off, but the narrative seems shallow and erratic. Turturro's performance partly redeems the proceedings, but even he cannot elevate THE TRUCE to the high level at which this material deserves to be presented.
Copyright 1998 James Berardinelli
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@mail.cybernex.net
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