Z Zentropa (aka Europa in Europe) (1992) (***, drama)
Zero Effect (1998) (***, humor, crime) (4-19-99)
Zulu (1964) (****, docudrama, war) (1-6-03)
Zentropa (aka Europa in Europe) (1992) (***, drama) (D.-Lars Von Trier, narrator-Max von Sydow, Jean-Marc Barr, Barbara Sukowa, Udo Kier, Ernst-Hugo Jaregard) In German and English with subtitles. The opening is a surrealistic night view of tracks in the onrushing heahlight of a train, trapped as by a jacklighter's spot. As the mesmerizing rails flicker by, the story begins to the hypnotic narration of Max von Sydow who also provides critical guidance throughout. A young, naive (clueless might be better) American, Leo (Barr) goes to Germany immediately after WWII. His uncle, a Pullman conductor on the Zentropa line, gets Leo a job as conductor apprentice. Kafka himself would have felt right at home in this labyrinth of post war confusion, treachery, and deceit. Throw in seduction, partisans, a blackmailing US officer, and murder, and I found myself drawn as irrevocably into the quagmire as the ingenuous Leo. Couple this nasty stew with some of the most disorienting filmmaking in years, and you have a truly unsettling evening. Some reviewers call this a comedy. Elements of humor break the tension, but I think not. I found Zentropa uneven, disturbing, disorienting, and incomprehensible at times, but never uninteresting. There are many possible interpretations of what you saw. Don't say that I didn't warn you. (2-21-94) Beginning
Zero Effect (1998) (***, humor, crime) (4-19-99) (D.-Jake Kasdan; Bill Pullman, Ben Stiller, Ryan O'Neal, Kim Dickens, Angela Featherstone) And now for something completely different. Daryl Zero (Pullman) aided by his underling Steve Arlo (Stiller) investigates a "simple" case of missing keys and blackmail of tree baron Gregory Stark (O'Neal). Only no one calls in the astronomically expensive Zero on a simple case. Zero is the world's best private eye and probably the strangest. He is socially maladjusted to the point of nonfunctionality in the presence of others when he is not working on a case. He is also a master of disguise, and no one except Arlo knows what he looks like. Additionally, he is a master of human psychology a la Sherlock Holmes.
Pullman is perfect as the quirky Zero. He is so focused on himself and his cases that he is oblivious to the feelings of his aide, Arlo. He is so strange that he is believable. Much of the droll humor comes from watching him interact as Zero and as his more rational disguised altered egos. You're never sure what you are going to get. The complex plot is interesting but, ultimately, not the main reason for watching the film. Pullman's performance is a delight. However, this is so offbeat and quirky that it is definitely not a mainstream film. I enjoyed it, but you are warned. Beginning
Zulu (1964) (****, docudrama, war) (1-6-03) (D.- Cy Endfield; Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine) Zulu is a docudrama of the defense of the hospital and missionary station at Rorke’s Drift by roughly 100 British soldiers (largely Welsh) with 30 sick and wounded in the hospital against about 4000 Zulu warriors in 1879. The British troops managed to hold off the Zulus during a sustained battle lasting from late afternoon through much of the night while suffering only 17 fatalities. The battle began within hours of the virtually total annihilation at Isandhlwana of one of Lord Chelmsford’s columns by a Zulu army; there were less than 100 British survivors out of an army of 1700; the battlefield was littered with 1329 bodies. There were more Victoria Crosses (the highest combat award) given for Rorke’s Drift than for any other single action in British history. The defense was lead by Lt. John Chard (Baker) and Lt. Gonville Bromhead (Caine).
At the time, the British and Zulu nations had some of the best combat troops in the world. The Zulus were physically massive and in superb physical shape. It was claimed, not without justification, that they could run 25 miles and directly engage in battle. They were superbly trained, extraordinarily brave, and had a discipline the equal or better than any army on earth. Their primary weakness at the end of the 18th century was that their only weapon was the close combat short thrusting spear, the assegai. They had a few captured rifles, but lacked trained marksmen.
The British troops at Rorke were involved in construction, although most had combat experience. The latter point coupled with their superb discipline was pivotal to their survival. Their primary weapon was the Martini-Henri breech loading cartridge rifle, which could sustain a fire rate of 12 rounds per minute of aimed fire and sported a 24” bayonet for hand-to-hand combat.
The British had only a few hours to fortify the station that had never been designed as a fort. They made good use of meal bags and food tins. I won’t give details of the battle, other than to indicate that once started the facts are accurate. The pitched battle for the hospital and the removal of the sick as well as the bayonet counter charges led by the British to drive back entrenched Zulus are historical facts.
That sane humans could sustain the ferocity of the attacks without fatally panicking, or take the horrendous casualties that the Zulus did and maintain integrity as a fighting unit was a tribute to their training, bravery, and indomitable human spirit. The sanity of fighting such battles is another question.
The film is epic in its scope. The build up and ultimate actions consistently gripping. The cinematography is extraordinary; you must view the wide screen edition. The acting is excellent. Here is where Michael Caine got his big break in film.
Review based on the Criterion Laserdisc in Clemons. The film is also available on DVD at Beyond Video.
Now a few historical corrections. The incidents with the missionary and the slaughter of the Boers by the Zulus are correct, but happened long before Rorke’s Drift. There were two missionaries at Rorke; one was a worthless opportunitist and fled, the other planned to leave, but by fluke ended up serving well at Rorke. The disasters for the British at Isandhlwana and for the Zulus at Rorke’s were due to insubordination on the part of underlings.
When Chelmsford left part of his army and supplies behind while he tried to make contact with the Zulu forces, they had strict orders to fortify their position and not to break up. One of the officers, Anthony W. Durnford, insisted on taking a contingent out and left an entire flank of the main body unprotected. To compound the error, the officer in command of the main force, Henry Pulleine, tried to rescue the isolated unit and further disrupted the defensive line. The Zulu strategy was to attack with a main force head on and two enveloping pincer movements sweeping around the flanks. The British were no longer prepared for this, and when their native Natal troops crumbled and fled under the ferocity of the assault, the battle was all over except for the mopping up. One of the reasons the spread out troop were less effective was limited ammunition. Ammunition had to be brought to the outlying groups in sealed boxes that were screwed down and difficult to open. In the film, the director makes no direct reference to this, but he clearly is aware of it, as there are many scenes of the troops preparing for the Zulu onslaught by opening numerous cases of ammunition. Had the British held their original defensive position, the Zulus would certainly not have succeeded, nor would they have likely continued the attack once they recognized the tactical situation. King Cetshwayo was a very savvy warrior, and it was one of his rules to never attack an entrenched position.
The battle of Rorke’s Drift should never have happened. It was attacked by a contingent of warriors led by the king’s brother Dabulamanzi. These troops had not “wet their spears” enough in the main battle and were looking for an opportunity to prove themselves. Dabulamanzi violated two of the king’s standing orders: never attack an established defensive position and do not attack across the border into Natal where Rorke was located. There was considerable support for the Zulus in Natal, and Cetshwayo feared that attacks on Natal would weaken this support. Once the battle had begun and Dabulamanzi had sustained substantial casualties, he was in the unenviable position of having heavy casualties due to violating a direct order and having absolutely nothing to show for it. Given human nature, he clearly pressed the attack in an attempt to snatch victory from defeat. Of course, by the end he had merely compounded the error and sustained enormous casualties with still nothing to show for it.
As an aside, the Zulus burning of the hospital helped them to overrun it. However, come nightfall, the building still burned and supplied enough light for the British troops to maintain a far more effective defense than if the battle had continued in near darkness, an environment that would have favored hand-to-hand combat.
Another error in the story is that the Zulus did not advance in formation towards Rorke. In the movie their marching feet could be heard coming long before they could be seen. The attack was much more spontaneous. However, what we experience is true to life. The Zulus did in fact move their armies into many battles with the troops all marching in unison. With tens of thousands of troops, they could be heard up to 25 miles away. This brilliant psychological strategy was enough to destroy the will of all but the best trained troops. The movie will give you a taste of what being on the receiving end of such a dreadnaught would be like.
Why has Rorke’s Drift achieved such a noteworthy place even though it was ultimately of no military value? First, of course uncommon bravery against insurmountable odds is the stuff of legend and humans love to enshrine it. Secondly, and probably more important, was that the British government under Prime Minister Lord Beaconsfield had to gloss over a major military catastrophe at Isandhlwana. Rather than finding scapegoats (other than the real scapegoats who were dead), it was far better to celebrate the positive victory at Rorke. This the government did most successfully.
There is an enormous amount of very diverse material on Isandhlwana and Rorke’s Drift on the internet. Just plug the names into Google and you can spend a fascinating afternoon (week if you want) following the links; there are for example many paintings. However, probably the best place to start is the superbly researched and written Rorke’s Drift by Michael Glover (Wordsworth Editions Limited) (1975) reprinted in paperback in 1998. With the exception of the information on the Zulu marching style, the historical facts come from this book. My comments only touch the surface of this richly insightful and rewarding book.
Premier Magazine in their February 2003 issue gave a listing of the top 100 action DVDs currently available. Zulu was number 100. Personally, I would have placed it higher than a number of their others, but that is personal taste.