The Tin Drum (1980)

Purely Joyful Movie!

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

Danzig in the 1920s/1930s. Oskar Matzerath, son of a local dealer, is a most unusual boy. Equipped with full intellect right from his birth he decides at his third birthday not to grow up as he sees the crazy world around him at the eve of World War II.This is very much a fantasy film. IMDb says it is a war drama, which is true enough, being set in the place and time that it is. But this is less about the war and more about Oskar, which I think makes it a fantasy film. His imagination is incredible, or perhaps more incredible is the idea that none of this is his imagination at all. His ability to alter the world around him is quite interesting.The idea of a tin drum as a symbol of protest makes sense. It becomes even more interesting when put in the hands of a small child, protesting against life itself. Such an action is unheard of.

Made in 1979 this award winning German film is an adaptation of the book of the same name by Günter Grass. It is the story of Oskar who is born to a mother who loves two men and a grandmother with a past and very accommodating skirts. On his third birthday he sees how the adults around him are behaving and is less than pleased. So he makes up his mind that he will stop growing up.He is also inseparable from his tin drum – which he bangs at all occasions and needs to regularly replace. He also has a gift of having such a high powered scream that it will shatter glass – this he uses when ever he is displeased. His rejection of his family and their middle class attitudes is set against the rise of Nazism and Der Fuhrer. Even though his body will not grow his mind certainly does and that will bring its own problems.This is a truly memorable film, with acting, direction and camera work that is as close to flawless that I have seen. It is 136 minutes long but seems much shorter which is always the sign of a quality film. There are scenes that come close to bizarre but that too is used to show the absurdist nature of what was taking place at the time and beneath the pomp of the rallies, and the like, lay the very real dangers that Hitler and co would bring down on Germany. This is one of those films that all serious cinephiles need to see, I am glad I finally have.

I just finished watching this film and i deserve a medal for making it over the half way point. The tin drum is the story of a boys life who jumps himself down the stairs so that he will stop growing, he also has the power to break glass with his voice and has an addiction to his tin drum. at first this is just the film, following around this boy and his drum. i was really enjoying the film at this point but it took a turn for the worst around when his mother died of "eating too much fish" as he puts it. after this point the boy and his tin drum just continue on with life, living with random people who just seem to be fine with him living with them. the film then gets gradually more and more disturbing as he starts a sexual relationship with a 14 year old girl. the film completely relies on it being confronting, disturbing and at times difficult to watch so that its viewers that like it discard the nonsense of it because it is weird and different. this doesn't mean its good. in the end its just a series of disturbing events resulting in nothing.

Do you dismiss a movie because it is strange? Some do, and rate this film as a story about an obnoxious little boy who goes around banging a drum and breaking glass.Firstly, the performance of David Bennent as Oskar was phenomenal. As an 11 or 12 year old, he played a part from infancy to 21. Maybe he was obnoxious, but I choose to believe that he was making a powerful statement about the undesirability of growing up in a world where adults do not act very adult.Set against the backdrop of WWII, it can also be viewed as rebellion against war and fascism.Strange, sometimes evil, but nevertheless a powerful film that should be seen by all.