The weight of what lingers

Having survived the atrocities of Auschwitz during the reign of Nazi Germany, Jack Garfein eventually made his way to the US and directed two under-seen films that, although quite tame now, pushed the boundaries of the Hay’s code in terms of their subject matter and depictions, the films being The Strange One (1957) and Something Wild (1961)

This is quite a dark and shocking story for the time of it’s release, especially considering you actually see the rape of Carroll Baker’s character, Mary Ann, take place at the start of the film. Had it been released today, it definitely would have been more sexually explicit visually, but it’s still an extremely gut-wrenching scene to watch, especially to have actually seen it fresh then during a time where it was just unheard of to see in an American film.

It’s not a great film by any means, I think Garfein’s previous work The Strange One is much more refined and clear in what it wants while Something Wild takes a more directionless approach in it’s narrative where anything can really happen and can be quite experimental at times. I wish it was a more striking work that grabbed my attention more, but the strong point of this film lies in it’s depiction of what it feels like to go through a traumatic event and the PTSD that lingers soon after.

I’m no stranger to this feeling and this film really nails down it’s depiction of having to live with a tragedy that can come so suddenly, without warning, into your life. Your perception of the world and strength to do the most basic things you’ve been doing since birth are completely flipped upside down and you feel like a prisoner trapped in your own body, reliving the horrors in your mind constantly and the stresses of having to deal with this pressure in a public environment. This bright young girl’s innocence is taken away in the span of mere minutes and right afterwards is forced to see reality in a new light and grow up in a city that’s rapidly changing for the worse.

A decent film that greatly executes the ideas behind it, I just wish it had more for me to latch on to plot-wise. The stockholm syndrome stuff could have been better executed too.