Ship of Fools

Well-intentioned, star-packed, but overlong drama. Many people have interpreted it as an allegory, but it lacks the unifying vision that would actually bring all the episodes together and give them a dramatic payoff; the movie seems to be going around in circles for about 145 minutes, and the dwarf's final remark, probably meant to be ironic, just comes across as perfectly honest (you'll see what I mean). Arguably, Oskar Werner gives the best performance here, while Vivien Leigh looks fearfully self-conscious about her age. (**1/2)

It should come as no surprise that, the week after I fall in love with Grand Hotel, I should fall in love with Ship of Fools, which is basically Grand Hotel on a boat. Remarkably interesting characters played by remarkably good actors interact during a 26 day voyage from Mexico to Germany in 1933. Times are changing, and there's a gathering storm in Europe. There are dozens of characters and stories in the film and it would be silly to describe any of them in detail, but the emotional core of the film belongs to the ship doctor and a Spanish contessa, brilliantly played by Oskar Werner (who also gave a brilliant performance the same year in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold) and Simone Signoret. There really wasn't the tiniest bit of the movie with which I was disappointed. Perhaps my only complaint is that it didn't go on long enough. I wanted to be on that ship. I guess the best I can do is rush out to buy the novel, which I expect is even more engrossing. 10/10.