04 January 2009

The Tunnel

As a child, I remember seeing old LIFE magazines from the 1960s with pictoral exposes of tunnels in Berlin connecting the east and west, providing an avenue of escape for east Berliners wanting to go to the west.  Although a bit sanitized for Hollywood, "The Tunnel" vividly recreates that world.  It still smacks a little of propaganda, and one does wonder whether the lessons of that border contains wisdom we haven't applied to other borders (Gaza, or Mexico).  But it is a compelling narrative, and excepting the poor quality of the DVD transfer, a worthy way to spend a couple of hours.