On M List of Movie Reviews

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Mother Night (1996)

Rate: 7
Viewed: 1/19, 3/25

MothNi
3/25: "ONE OF THE TEN BEST FILMS OF THE DECADE."

Really? Stop making me laugh. Nobody has ever heard of Mother Night. That's why it took in merely $400,000 while the budget was $6 million. No matter what, it's not a bad movie because of the strong narrative style with a touch of absurd as usual in Kurt Vonnegut's works. Even the author himself makes a cameo appearance while walking past Nick Nolte in New York City.

Could Howard W. Campbell, Jr., have done anything differently? Probably not. It's just bad luck that's made worse by each revelation. Adolf Eichmann has a strong comeback line after being asked, "Do you believe you're guilty of murdering 6 million Jews?" by saying, "About those 6 million...I don't need credit for all of them. I'm sure I could spare you a few."

The film can't have worked without Nick Nolte. A lesser actor would've turned it into boring. The most interesting part is when Campbell made his radio broadcasts that were disguised as codes. I only wonder how they were translated on the other end. One big issue is the language isn't in German. Anyway, the rest of the cast is stellar which includes Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Sheryl Lee, and Kirsten Dunst.

All in all, Mother Night comes right down to this moral: "You must be careful what you pretend to be, because in the end, you are what you pretend to be."