Review of Fateless

Introduction

The war genre of film is almost as old as the medium itself and ranges from Chaplin`s 1918 `Great War` film `Shoulder Arms` to Sam Mendes` 2005 Gulf War drama `Jarhead`. Within the war genre, there are many sub-genres from World War Two to Vietnam films and there may be a case for `Holocaust` films to have their own sub-genre following the critical and commercial success of Spielberg`s `Schindler`s List`, Benigni`s `Life is Beautiful`, Polanski`s `The Pianist` and now `Fateless`.

Adapted from Imre Kertesz` autobiography, from which he wrote the screenplay and directed by Lajos Koltai (who worked as Istvan Szabo`s cinematographer on 1981`s Mephisto), `Fateless` tells the story of Gyuri, a 14-year old boy from Budapest, who is taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau; here, he lies about his age in order to avoid the gas chambers and is therefore sent to the labour camp at Buchenwald.

Whereas the other `Holocaust` films were told either objectively or from an adult`s point of view, `Fateless` is seen through the eyes of Gyuri Köves (Marcell Nagy) and his experiences within the camp system. To emphasise the alienated and timeless nature of Gyuri`s predicament, the film is told in an episodic way, with short segments which fade to black before a new scene unfolds.

Video

The cinematography in `Fateless` is beautifully done - the film has a de-saturated, almost sepia look, which becomes darker as the mood dictates and emphasises the joyless and colourless world in which Gyuri exists. The anamorphic 1.78:1 transfer doesn`t disappoint and the film looks terrific.

Audio

The Hungarian soundtrack is available in both Dolby 2.0 stereo and DD 5.1 surround. There are no problems with the stereo sound but the 5.1 mix is clearer and is more suited to the surround sound of the air raids and showcases Ennio Morricone`s brilliant score which has echoes of `Once Upon a Time in America`.

Features

The `Making of Fateless` and `Discussion with Imre Kertesz` featurettes were either designed for the Hungarian release of the DVD, or from Hungarian TV and are subtitled poorly with many mistakes, although you can still get the gist of what is being said. The `Making of` is not long enough to be revealing but the feature with Imre Kertesz is extremely interesting as he lets you know exactly what he thought of `Schindler`s List`, a film which he has no respect for whatsoever, and Steven Spielberg. He also reveals how he came to write the screenplay and what input he expected to have in making `Fateless`.

The `Stills gallery` comprises 22 screenshots from the film and behind the scenes photos which play automatically, with the options of skipping through them or returning to the menu.

There is also a trailer for `Fateless`.

Conclusion

`Fateless` is an extremely intelligent and haunting film, you have as much information as Gyuri does as Imre Kertesz wrote the screenplay from his own experiences and at no point attempts to show Gyuri within the wider scope of the war.

There are, surprisingly, no moments of violence and Lajos Koltai, unlike Spielberg, does not feel the need to resort to sentiment to make you feel for Gyuri. I had not heard of `Fateless` prior to watching this DVD, which is a real surprise as I feel it is better than its counterparts and really deserves to be seen by as wide an audience as possible if only for the extraordinary performance from Marcell Nagy.