The Last Rescue

[polkablues]

Now available in the US! Currently rocking a solid 6.5 on IMDb (one tenth of a point higher than the VASTLY superior Ain't Them Bodies Saints, so take IMDb rankings for what they're worth). Currently only on DVD, not Blu-ray, for some unknown reason that I'm sure is stupid.

Still due to be available at Redboxes on July 28th, so when that day comes, go hit every Redbox within driving distance of yourself and clean those fuckers out! I've got backend on this movie, so you'd really be doing me a solid.

Side note: god, that Helvetica Bold title is bland-looking. I don't know if I'm about to watch a movie or walk into a Crate and Barrel.

The poster seems to promise significantly more firebombing planes than I remember seeing in the movie, though. I'm guessing a good portion of negative reviews can be attributed to misaligned expectations. I'm sure there's an exciting way to communicate what this movie actually is, which is a low-budget war movie that feels realistic because it doesn't overreach in those ways.

In any case, I think one can understand what the movie is doing without too much trouble once it starts. And at that point it's easy to buy into. (It was for me.)

It does feel a little like the distributor believes their role is primarily to trick people into watching the movie.

[polkablues]

The kind words are much appreciated, by the way.

[polkablues]

TOMORROW


EDIT: Today.

[jenkins]

Is it exciting? How can it not be exciting? Watching this Thursday.

[polkablues]

Definitely exciting. I just wish it was being made available on blu-ray as well.

[polkablues]

I'm going to have this Redbox user review inscribed on my tombstone (after I inevitably blow my brains out because I was stupid enough to read Redbox user reviews):

"Really really st00pid movie of how bleeding-heart sissy liberals get all the GOOD people killed....." - PudbertSavannah

[jenkins]

598 IMDb user votes 

[polkablues]

Yeah, I am legitimately heartened by the fact it's holding steady at 6.4. If I were being ultra-objective about the movie, that's probably right around where I would grade it.

I'm nowhere near secure enough not to care about this shit, as it turns out. I see a post that's just "Worst Movie Ever. 1/2 star out of 5" and I can't allow myself to just assume that guy's an idiot or an asshole, I genuinely worry that I wrote the worst movie he's ever seen. I mean, I still do assume he's an idiot or an asshole, but I want the idiot asshole to like my stupid movie.

[jenkins]

The boxing scene will linger in my mind the longest and most vibrant, I suspect, although the general camerawork was also memorable for me, and I was delighted by all the martial music.

It's a fully composed piece of work, with many littered treasures. For example it's replaying now while I type this, and there's that emotional scene in the beginning with the enemy solider falling into the trenches, then the SS arriving while a doctor operates, another example. Big moments! Glad I enjoyed the end of this movie, and glad I enjoy revisiting this beginning. I'd watch this again if I owned it.

Now and then I like others ponder aspects of believability related to personality and character for this time period, but oh sometimes I'm just plain in the movie, you know, which is always a good thing and well done. Crisp moments bring crisp characters and I like, of course, how you think about your characters. Oh yeah, the Dutch angle on the SS when he's asking about having his ear itched. Nice. Noticed storytelling devices, and they were all correctly installed I'm pretty sure.

On the Behind the Scene special feature there's a part when polka says "Well, it was extraordinarily helpful to our WW2 movie that people here in Alabama are nuts about WW2." And my closing point is I think you, polka, and your co-writer and the production crew and the actors, I think everyone was aware of the movie they were making and how to make a movie. And that's what I ask for from this world xx

[polkablues]

I'm very happy right now.

The boxing scene is my favorite scene, too. It's also the one we were certain wasn't going to work because we were off schedule and had to shoot the entire scene in less than half a day.

Also, you've reminded me that I haven't watched the BTS feature yet. I should probably see what all ended up making the cut.

[Reel]

I enjoyed this a lot and was thoroughly impressed by the caliber of the production. Everyone in the cast nailed their parts and it's really well directed. Although I'm not typically a fan of WW2 movies, I found the story compelling. It's told very realistically with a lot of attention to detail, I have to ask how closely it mirrors actual events happening at the time? Were there any particular incidents involving POW's that you pulled from for this? It's got some pretty grisly violence and I'm glad you didn't pull back in that department.

SPOILERS

You guys mentioned the boxing scene, and I was SO glad that Lewis didn't just outright save Nancy in that moment, because it would've felt like such a cop out. It was a little hard to believe the Germans would treat their prisoners as honorably, though. Again, I'm not very familiar with how the military operated then. This is no slight against you, but I think the best thing the movie has going for is it is the look. It feels authentic for this region and period, and there does seem to be a palpable atmosphere of war in the air. You really lucked out with that location, must be a giant property because it never seemed like they were in the same place for too long. I do have to compliment you on your writing because there are some really powerful scenes and true to life dialogue. The faults I find in the movie are less with your script or the actors than the editing and score in a few places. There's one note in the movie that didn't seem right at all to me, though. Towards the end, when Lt. Maxwell is in a struggle with the Nazi, why would Lewis shoot? That's the most asinine idea on the planet. It's two against one and YOU'RE ARMED. Go up and give him the beating we've been waiting to see these German's get the entire movie! I guess there is an aspect where I wish there was more physically brutality than gun violence, just to drive the point home of how much things can HURT a little more. The way that Beckett is dealing with his injury through the whole thing makes that clear, but I would've thought the Nazi's would be so much meaner and give him way less sympathy. And I hate to say it, but there's no way those women wouldn't have been gang raped. I understand you're making a certain kind of movie, but those are the glaring flaws to me. I really did like it, though. I hadn't watched a war movie in a long time and it worked on a lot of levels to get that exhilaration going! Congratulations, man. Keep us posted on where else it'll be available and it's DVD release!

[polkablues]

Holy shit, thanks! I'm really glad you got a chance to watch it, and REALLY glad you liked it.

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD

It's told very realistically with a lot of attention to detail, I have to ask how closely it mirrors actual events happening at the time? Were there any particular incidents involving POW's that you pulled from for this?

The story follows the general thrust of the historical moment, but takes plenty of liberties for the sake of telling the story we wanted to tell. We actually did read a ton of personal histories from POWs, but didn't take any specifics instances from them, just a general tenor. Basically, we wanted to be respectful of the history without being beholden to it.

It was a little hard to believe the Germans would treat their prisoners as honorably, though. Again, I'm not very familiar with how the military operated then. ... The way that Beckett is dealing with his injury through the whole thing makes that clear, but I would've thought the Nazi's would be so much meaner and give him way less sympathy. And I hate to say it, but there's no way those women wouldn't have been gang raped.

One of the things I very consciously wanted to steer clear of was presenting the German soldiers as a monolithic evil. A key theme of the story is maintaining humanity in the midst of war, and that only works if you allow the enemy to be humanized as well. Obviously the Nazi commander is more one-dimensionally villainous, because we did want someone for people to really root against, but most of the soldiers they encounter are literally kids. They weren't fighting for an ideology or a cause, they were fighting for no greater reason than they were unfortunate enough to be young German men at the wrong point in history.

This is why Dittrich is probably my favorite character in the movie. He's fully bought in to the cause, he's willing to fight and die for his country, but he has a genuine sense of honor. When he experiences his enemy acting mercifully and his commander acting cruelly, the resulting dissonance forces him to make a choice about his own humanity. That was so much more interesting to me than if we had just gone, "He's a Nazi. Nazis are evil. Ipso facto."

As far as the women go, it was meant to be heavily implied that Vera was raped by Hesse during her solo time as a prisoner. Beyond that, we get into that murky area of assuming all the Germans are cruel and evil enough to participate in something like that without reservation, which simply isn't a leap I'm prepared to make, at least not within the context of the story I wanted to tell, which is largely optimistic about humanity as a whole.

This is no slight against you, but I think the best thing the movie has going for is it is the look. It feels authentic for this region and period, and there does seem to be a palpable atmosphere of war in the air. You really lucked out with that location, must be a giant property because it never seemed like they were in the same place for too long.

Agree completely. Our cinematographer is a genius and we're lucky to know him.

The property we shot on was huge; something like 4,000 acres, if I remember right. We spent a lot of time finding distinct areas within that space to make sure each sequence stood out from the others. I'm happy it paid off.

The faults I find in the movie are less with your script or the actors than the editing and score in a few places.

Yeah, the score is probably my biggest complaint. I like the actual music, I just disagree with some of the use of it, particularly how overbearing it gets in what should be quiet dramatic moments. There are points where it undercuts some really fine performances that should have been allowed to speak for themselves.

There's one note in the movie that didn't seem right at all to me, though. Towards the end, when Lt. Maxwell is in a struggle with the Nazi, why would Lewis shoot? That's the most asinine idea on the planet. It's two against one and YOU'RE ARMED. Go up and give him the beating we've been waiting to see these German's get the entire movie! I guess there is an aspect where I wish there was more physically brutality than gun violence, just to drive the point home of how much things can HURT a little more.

Interesting point. I guess the argument I would make is that Lewis panicked. Their half-assed escape plan was already going wrong, and he was rushed into making the first decision that popped into his head. I don't know if that's a good answer, but it's how I justify it in my head.

Congratulations, man. Keep us posted on where else it'll be available and it's DVD release!

Will do! My understanding is that the Redbox contract gives them exclusivity for a certain period of time, at which point we can get it on Netflix and whatever streaming and on-demand services we can interest in it. Meanwhile, the distributor is busy selling rights in various foreign markets. I'm looking forward to the streaming release, as that might be the only way people will be able to see it in HD, since it doesn't seem like a blu-ray release is in the offing.

[Jeremy Blackman]

SPOILERS

For what it's worth, it never bothered me that the Nazis were not evil-acting all the time. Made sense that there would be some mundanity to their jobs, and that they would be careful. I think it also considerably contributed to the atmosphere that a lot of that was kept contained, because we knew they could go full Nazi at any moment. They were sufficiently menacing and Germanic.

As far as the women go, it was meant to be heavily implied that Vera was raped by Hesse during her solo time as a prisoner.

Yikes, I guess I missed that too. It's been a while since I saw this, but even now in retrospect it definitely makes sense. There was something "off" about Vera as if something like that had happened.

I think I mentioned this in my original (private) review, but in recalling this movie now, I just want to reiterate how hardcore Bruno's death was. When that happened I was like "wait, what??" Even leading right up to it, I was sure there would be an interruption, someone would intervene, etc.

[polkablues]

Now available on Amazon Prime streaming. I guess it has been for a little while now, but our distributor didn't bother to let us know. The only way we found out is that my uncle spotted it while browsing for a movie to watch the other day.

[Just Withnail]

You've been Uncle-spotted! A sure sign that the film is out there, living it's life now.