It takes long enough to start to pick up that I began to seriously doubt its reputation. Once the film does begin in earnest, however, it's immediately so acridly biting in its wry, sardonic dark humor that it's almost not funny at all - and therefore, paradoxically, only more so. This stirs together absolute absurdism recalling Monty Python (replete with jaunty musical themes) with the most severely critical, primarily anti-war ethos of films like Stanley Kubrick's 'Paths of glory.' The French colonists and their attitudes would be infuriating, despicable and villainous, if not for the fact that they are total bloviating fools. The hot-blooded excitement to violence, the chest-beating jingoism and militaristic bluster, the racist colonial assumption of right to rule and commanding superiority, the literal elevation and easy living of an arbitrary select few while countless others do all the real work, the emphatic disregard for or corruption of intelligence and reason in the face of possible action and questioned allegiance, and more: filmmaker Jean-Jacques Annaud leaves nothing out of his original story, and screenwriter Georges Conchon keeps these notions foremost in mind in penning his screenplay. The result is uneven as the picture doesn't maintain the same level of electric vitality throughout its ninety minutes, but 'Black and white in color' is nonetheless a stark, shrewd takedown of all such thoughts.
The cast is a joy as all lean into the utmost hot air of their ridiculous characters, and all the work of the crew - sets, props, costumes - help to bring the story to vivid life. The various strains of horrid racism that are woven into this tapestry are especially ugly, but part and parcel thereof, and moreover benefit from such mindful dispensation that they only feed into the overall tenor of the feature. I think it's only reasonable to observe that the plot at large is decidedly loose in its construction, presenting more as a broad image rather than a distinct, solid thread, and this accentuated not least in the way that the timeline of the proceedings, and even characterizations, become particularly scattered and amorphous. To whatever extent this is true, however, the scene writing handily picks up the slack, and outside of the core ideas it's the chief strength of the screenplay. Like a series of short sketches tied around central tenets, the movie serves up a delicious feast of piercing, incisive satire; though the whole is a little lax in how it's stitched together, the end result is roundly entertaining all the same.
Given the subject matter, let alone the achingly dry tone and relaxed form of the tale, I can understand how this won't appeal to all. If I'm being honest, I think I'm marginally let down insofar as I had high expectations based on the premise and its acclaim, and ultimately it's not entirely what I anticipated. For whatever imperfections one may cite, however, much more so than not this is superb and smart in its cutting judgment of war, militarism, colonialism, and all that goes hand in hand with these concepts. As a matter of personal preference it won't meet with equal success for all comers, and for my part I think it stops short of being a must-see. If you do have the chance to check out 'Black and white in color,' however, it's well worth anyone's time.
The cast is a joy as all lean into the utmost hot air of their ridiculous characters, and all the work of the crew - sets, props, costumes - help to bring the story to vivid life. The various strains of horrid racism that are woven into this tapestry are especially ugly, but part and parcel thereof, and moreover benefit from such mindful dispensation that they only feed into the overall tenor of the feature. I think it's only reasonable to observe that the plot at large is decidedly loose in its construction, presenting more as a broad image rather than a distinct, solid thread, and this accentuated not least in the way that the timeline of the proceedings, and even characterizations, become particularly scattered and amorphous. To whatever extent this is true, however, the scene writing handily picks up the slack, and outside of the core ideas it's the chief strength of the screenplay. Like a series of short sketches tied around central tenets, the movie serves up a delicious feast of piercing, incisive satire; though the whole is a little lax in how it's stitched together, the end result is roundly entertaining all the same.
Given the subject matter, let alone the achingly dry tone and relaxed form of the tale, I can understand how this won't appeal to all. If I'm being honest, I think I'm marginally let down insofar as I had high expectations based on the premise and its acclaim, and ultimately it's not entirely what I anticipated. For whatever imperfections one may cite, however, much more so than not this is superb and smart in its cutting judgment of war, militarism, colonialism, and all that goes hand in hand with these concepts. As a matter of personal preference it won't meet with equal success for all comers, and for my part I think it stops short of being a must-see. If you do have the chance to check out 'Black and white in color,' however, it's well worth anyone's time.