By eschewing a back story about and dialogue between the two escapees I assume that director Jan Nemec was trying to "universalize" them as symbols of all suffering humanity everywhere so that the viewer would have greater empathy than if she or he saw them as victims of a particular time and place. For me, though, the absence of characterization served only to further distance me from the two kids so that I felt as if I was observing their struggles rather than participating in them. The result is that I was moved by the horrendous imagery and sounds more than i was devastated by the destruction of people I felt I knew. Give it a B.
Review of Diamonds of the Night
