Crítica de Película
One of the television formats that are linked to the 21st century and that is undoubtedly a phenomenon that is here to stay is reality show. And, over time, audiences around the world have seen dynamics in this format ranging from the most conventional to the most risky experiments. THE movie Today, although it is not directly related to this format, it shares many characteristics that make these programs attractive and it is an idea that no one would be surprised if it was done as reality.
Inspired by the 1971 Stanford prison experience conducted by Dr. Zimbardo, the story follows Tarek Fahd, a taxi driver who sees an ad in the newspaper about a behavioral experience in exchange for a generous sum of milestones. Determined, Tarek enrolls in the experiment, in which participants are divided between prisoners and inmates in a simulated environment. Each must assume the role that was given to them, but some of the participants will soon take their roles too far.
The idea of monitoring this experiment is certainly attractive and makes it clear in the approach what the main objective of the experiment is. headbandwhether you are familiar with the actual test or not. In any case, it is fascinating and also frightening to contemplate how all men (regardless of which side they have fallen on) who agree to undergo the experiment, being in such a reduced environment and having such striking roles that they must fulfill, go through a small dehumanization process until they assume it’s not a game. And all of this under the watchful eye of a group of doctors and scientists willing to write down everything they see on the screen and, if necessary, give guidance to try to obtain the desired results.
Within all that semi-documentary and somewhat cold treatment of the experiment, but always with Tarek as a point of reference, the tension is incredibly well built. As they have already commented to the viewer based on the interviews or the profiles of those involved, it is unpredictable to know who will ignite the fuse of violence that will end up generating a big fire. Alliances can be blown up at any time, so that those who may appear to be friends at first glance are untrustworthy. or those who could generate more doubts and be seen as more difficult people end up becoming unexpected allies, so that the psychological profiles of the characters end up being much more complex than one might think.
It is clear that the feeling of confinement as it is a prison is also very successful and is the fertile ground for all the tensions between those involved to jump upwards, first on the basis of physical and psychological humiliation, and finally using violence. The cooler lighting at first helps that sense of distance for scientific purposes, but as the footage progresses, the lighting allows the license to play with the colors, highlighting very striking yellow tones that emphasize the sickly tone that the image takes on. And the montage so typical of the early 2000s makes the movie always feel dynamic.
With such a large cast in which each character can have several surprises in store, it is difficult to point out with such vehemence who stands out above their peers. Moritz Bleibtreu like Tarek, he more than meets that multilayered character whose next moves are hard to see. But as the most memorable character, Berus, played by Justus von Dohnányi, just maintaining a face-to-face contact with Tarek throughout the movie, for being someone who ends up retaining nothing and for being ultimately the person who can give reason to the experiment.
Although in general terms the movie has a very striking pace, flashbacks that involve the character of Dora seem very heavy and that are not well assembled. The purpose of having a character with whom you feel a certain emotional attachment and some kind of connection with the outside is clear, except that they do not work well and end up weighing on the whole. Likewise, when all the violence unleashed by those designated as jailers is unleashed, there are several times when such unbridled violence threatens to devour all the intentions that the prison may have. headband. Fortunately, for the climax he knows how to overcome and give a very dignified ending to a trip full of tensions and reflections on human behavior.
