Valkyrie

"I'm a soldier, but in serving my country, I have betrayed my conscience." - Col. Claus von Stauffenberg

Valkyrie [Blu-ray]

I just watched the movie “Valkyrie”, again, yesterday. This is one of my most favorite movies! It’s very touching, it makes you examine yourself – the kind of person you are, and it revives your hope in humanity.  A thought also crossed my mind… I thought to myself… since Hitler, initially wanted to be an artist, what could have happened if he was able to pursue that career? Will WWII happen? Will he be selling his artworks, instead of using his words to convince people to go to war? Or, will Hitler be using his artworks to convince people to go to war, nonetheless? I will never know the answers to these questions but, one thing is for sure: even though so many evil things happened in WWII, it was also the age of heroes. War can bring out the best in some men. One of these brave men was Claus Von Stauffenberg, a devout Catholic. He, and other brave men like him risked their own lives attempting to save so many others. Heroes, like them, make this world a better place to live in. Valkyrie is the kind of movie that will make you reflect and ask, “What will I do if I was in that situation?” I’m really glad that Tom Cruise decided to make a movie of Valkyrie. I’m glad that he decided to immortalize these men in the hearts and minds of the people. They all deserve the honor to be remembered and to be thanked. Their efforts were not in vain because they helped people to see that, in the midst of evil, like fascism and hate, there are people willing to sacrifice their lives to fight these evils. In the end, justice will always be served.

Village of Shadows

This movie starts out interestingly. I got hooked by this suspenseful mystery about the story of “Ruiflec” (the name of a village, central to the plot). Ruiflec has a dark past that has left the village being haunted by one of its former residents. The movie begins with two cars full of friends heading to Ruiflec, as tourists. Four friends are in one car and five in the other. As they draw closer to the village, the car with four passengers, meets with an accident, and within 30 seconds, the four passengers mysteriously disappear. Both cars stall. The remaining five friends inspect the site of the tragedy but they can't find a trace of their four friends. With no working car, they decide to walk towards Ruiflec, to look for a phone, in order to ask for help. As the movie progresses, the group's number mysteriously dwindles one by one. The few that remain continue to look for their friends, while searching for clues to their disappearances. They finally discover the entity behind the mystery. This entity was a victim of a cult that hunted people for ritual offerings. This French Revolutionary cult hoped to gain immortality by killing eight people. This eighth victim was a child when he was sacrificed and returned from the dead with a vengeance and hatred. So great was this rage that it consumes everyone in its path, through the centuries, 'til this day. It would have been a better movie, with its effective elements of suspense and mystery, but the ending is very disappointing, at least for me.