April 12, 2013

White Tiger (2012)

White Tiger (2012)
Directed by: Karen Shakhnazarov
Country: Russia

Review: Based on Ilya Boyashov’s fictional novel “Tankman”, “White Tiger” is an eerie tale that mixes war and supernatural to portray the improbable story of one of the best Russian tank drivers of WWII. During an operation against the Germans, this tank driver got burned in 90% of his body when he was hit by a mysterious tank known as White Tiger. Practically given up for dead, he has a miraculous recovery in a few weeks, revealing a strange sixth sense that will help him to accomplish his mission of destroying White Tiger and avenge his own fate. Having lost his memory, he was renamed Naydenov and promptly reattached to military service. As a ghost, only him could see White Tiger, which according to his words was an indestructible tank commanded by dead. After these spooky revelations, the hunt begins, painted in beautiful colors and alluring visuals of destruction and claustrophobia. The film showed nerve in the way that made the absurdity of the story seem naturally serious. The performance by Aleksey Vertkov was convincing, while the music of Richard Wagner enhanced the tense moments. Even using a minimal story and a few details in the plot that were hard to swallow, “White Tiger” spread some freshness with its exquisite taste, hypnotic war scenes, and final mention of an abominable philosophy described by the Reich himself. An absurdly original piece of cinema.

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