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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The most chilling anti-war film ever made, March 14, 2006
This review is from: The End of August at the Hotel Ozone (DVD)
The film begins years after a modern nuclear war. An older woman leads a band of teenaged girls in a constant search for other living humans, especially men. All of their food comes from cans, as it is not safe to eat anything that grows. The girls, who all carry machine guns, have grown up without the social constraints of society.
Of the post nuclear holocaust films I have seen, none come close to "End of August" in capturing the utter devastation of nuclear war--not so much the physical destruction, but a more interior destruction. Filmed in stark black and white, "End of August" shows the utter loneliness and despair of a society that has become unravelled. This is a hard film to watch, and its ending is devastating.
I'm not sure the director intended this to be an anti-war film, but to me, there is no more graphic representation of the insanity of nuclear war.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Disturbing vision of a post-apocalyptic world, July 8, 2007
This review is from: The End of August at the Hotel Ozone (DVD)
First of all, this movie was beautifully filmed. The landscapes, settings and sequencing of scenes was amazing. That said, I found the rest of the movie fairly well-done, but certain parts were quite disturbing. Even though the characters felt flat I must acknowledge the acting challenges placed before them. I would be very interested to know if the animals shown in the movie were actually killed while filming. Some of the scenes lead me to believe this was the case. While immensely disturbing (i.e. maiming and killing a dog, twisting the head off of a snake, etc.) the message--the lack of civility (civility which comes from living in a society) and understanding of what we accept as social norms--is clear and it clearly sticks with you. It was reminiscent of Lord of the Flies in some ways except that the younger women never knew society at all. They were savage and primeval in their actions and attitudes and the only things keeping them in check is the older woman who remembers what society was like.
Overall it was beautifully shot, impressive for its scope for the time of release and the country in which it was made. But this movie is not for the squeamish and it does move kind of slow. But if you are like me and like to watch as many futuristic-post-apocalyptic-the-world-is-a-wasteland-sci-fi movies as you can, then you should check this one out.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The End of August at the Hotel Ozone, June 29, 2009
This review is from: The End of August at the Hotel Ozone (DVD)
The End of August at the Hotel Ozone is almost too obscure to approach a cult film status. I'd consider the story to be "hard" post-apocalyptic - an emphasis on description rather than fantastic nuclear war plot devices. Amazing photography of real survivors gives The End of August at the Hotel Ozone the feel of a documentary.
This is an interesting, natural film directed by Czechoslovakian Jan Schmidt.
Runtime = 77 min
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