disappointment media
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • The Snake Hole
  • About

THE TOBACCONIST -- A Sometimes Frustrating Work of Historical Fiction

7/10/2020

0 Comments

 
Review by Sean Boelman
Picture
There are plenty of historical fiction films set during WWII that mix a dramatic story with real-life characters. Unfortunately for Nikolaus Leytner’s The Tobacconist, this script features too little of its inspiration and a bit too much of his theories, resulting in a movie that is passable but leaves something to be consciously desired.

The film follows a young man who is sent to be an apprentice in a cigar shop in Nazi-occupied Vienna, where he meets and befriends the father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud. Despite the tremendous potential that this premise holds, the movie too often falls back on tropes of the wise old man instilling his knowledge to the youth, not taking advantage of the intriguing presence of Freud.

That isn’t to say that the film doesn’t explore Fruedian psychology — in fact, it does so almost a bit too aggressively. The movie grinds to a screeching halt multiple times to allow the protagonist to have a dream sequence. Although Freud’s theories heavily involve the subconscious, the repetitive and overlong nature of these scenes simply won’t be interesting to the audience.

The better moments in the film are those which allow the protagonist and Freud to converse freely. The dialogue in these portions is excellent, which makes it all the more frustrating that the movie didn’t feature more of this insightful commentary. Instead, audiences get a mostly generic wartime romance.
Picture
Arguably the most disappointing thing about the film is that it lacks any real political bite. Although viewers will probably be used to toothless WWII dramas by now, this one feels particularly shallow. For a movie that apparently wants to be frank in its depictions of sexuality and violence, it pulls far too many punches in regards to what could actually be meaningful.

That said, the excellent ensemble is able to keep the movie alive. Bruno Ganz gives a phenomenal performance as Freud. It is exactly the type of big and flashy turn that a historical drama like this demands. Simon Morzé also shows a lot of potential here, but suffers in comparison to the much more commanding Ganz.

Additionally, Leytner does a very good job of periodizing the film. His visual style isn’t anything too excessively creative, but there are plenty of pretty shots and the movie as a whole is very competent. It consistently feels like significant effort was put into making the atmosphere feel as believable as possible.

The Tobacconist isn’t particularly obtrusive in any way, but that is also its primary shortcoming. There was so much potential for a World War II movie about Sigmund Freud to be interesting, but this just felt average.

The Tobacconist is now streaming in partnership with indie theaters. A list of participating locations can be found here.

Rating: 2.5/5
               
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019

    Authors

    All
    Adam Donato
    Alan French
    Camden Ferrell
    Cole Groth
    Dan Skip Allen
    Jonathan Berk
    Joseph Fayed
    Josh Batchelder
    Paris Jade
    Rafael Motamayor
    Sarah Williams
    Sean Boelman
    Tatiana Miranda

disappointment media

Dedicated to unique and diverse perspectives on cinema!
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • The Snake Hole
  • About