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The Truce (1998)
Runtime: 1 hr 57 mins
Synopsis: Based on the novel "The Reawakening" by Primo Levi which details his harrowing account of surviving Auschwitz and his return to Italy. Adapted for the screen by Francesco Rosi. Based on the novel "The Reawakening" by Primo Levi which details his harrowing account of surviving Auschwitz and his return to Italy. Adapted for the screen by Francesco Rosi. [More]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: John Turturro, Rade Serbedzija, Massimo Ghini, Stefano Dionisi
DVD Info
Release:
Mar 6, 2003
DVD Features:
- Region 1
- Keep Case
Interactive Features:
- Scene Access
- Interactive Menus
Reviews
Contains too many characters and scenes that are familiar from other films set in the same period.
It fails to find a way of capturing the fine moral discriminations inherent to Levi's prose.
Bears witness to the courage, patience, and resiliency of Holocaust survivors. It is another chapter in the film recreation of the nightmare of World War II.
Despite experiencing some of the most barbaric treatment in recorded history, Levi chooses to believe in life, hope and that the better angels of our natures will ultimately prevail.
It doesn't smack you in the face with a powerful message, but instead works its way inside you more gradually.
Turturro's toned-down performance is contrasted with the vivacious presentation by the large ensemble, allowing us to watch the hero's transformation from a near-zombie to a life-affirming human being.
While The Truce tells a story that is occasionally compelling and disturbing, the film feels like it has been sanitized.
This is the kind of flawed yet magnificent work that only a great filmmaker can conjure up.
The film cannot replicate what Primo Levi put on the page and this tale of a man's rebirth is often, on the screen, slow and meandering.
What makes Primo Levi so special is not apparent in Rosi's film, because Levi never comes alive for us.
Despite all that Rosi and Turturro can do, the Levi we look at and listen to is not near the Levi we know.
Turturro gives what may be the screen performance of his career.


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