A 1959 film by Helmut Kautner, "The Rest Is Silence" is a loose adaptation of Shakespeare's "Hamlet". Set in the (then) present, the film replaces Shakespeare's castles and courtyards with modern boardrooms and businesses.
If you're familiar with Shakespeare's play, you know Kautner's story: a King – in this case the head of Claudius Steelworks – is killed by his own brother, an incident which prompts the King's son to seek revenge. Superficial and lacking the nuance of the play it is derived from, "Silence" nevertheless offers some commentary on post war Germany. "Am I my brother's keeper?" characters ask, Germany's postwar recovery aligned to its very own pre-war attitudes.
6/10 - Worth one viewing.
If you're familiar with Shakespeare's play, you know Kautner's story: a King – in this case the head of Claudius Steelworks – is killed by his own brother, an incident which prompts the King's son to seek revenge. Superficial and lacking the nuance of the play it is derived from, "Silence" nevertheless offers some commentary on post war Germany. "Am I my brother's keeper?" characters ask, Germany's postwar recovery aligned to its very own pre-war attitudes.
6/10 - Worth one viewing.