Apt Pupil

Apt Pupil

“Apt Pupil” is a Stephen King story which uses the Holocaust as an atmospheric background to more traditional horror devices. It’s not a good sight. Once we have reached the end of the film and a survivor of death camps has finished quoting John Donne’s poem about how no man is an island, one starts wondering on what island were those filmmakers living when they put together this awkward marriage of the sacred and profane?

The movie is well directed by Bryan Singer (“The Usual Suspects”) and well acted, especially by Ian McKellen as Kurt Dussander, a Nazi war criminal hiding in America under an assumed name. The premise is interesting enough: A teenager discovers old man’s true identity blackmailing him into telling stories from his days as Hitler youth. But then people start getting buried alive in basements or thrown into ovens with cats, and you realize that this isn’t really worthy material for such a treatment.

Bran Renfro co-stars Todd Bowen who after week’s study on Holocaust realizes that there is striking resemblance between known Nazi criminal and elderly neighbor who lives down their street. Using databases accessible via internet connection coupled with dusted mailbox prints gathered off perimeter surrounding recovering victim’s residence; he comes to conclusion that indeed wanted person has been hiding all these years under our very noses.

In response Todd makes strange request saying ‘I want hear everything about them -the stories they never wanted tell us in school no one can it better than you’. Angry but trapped cupboard-ridden fugitive cannot avoid sharing memories thus allowing them revel through wickedness “Though gas came out from top still they tried climb up higher so while climbing up high enough they died piled upon each other”.

Ultimately child changes sides bit becoming rather nazi-ish himself soon thereafter brings elderly gentlemen complete nazi uniform making sure marches around kitchen saying ‘Attention! March! Face right!’ But if ever any protest comes let alone weak ones like ‘what have suffered with me is nothing compared what would happen if caught by Israelis?’

Then moving forward response from Todd shall be like “What you’ve suffered with me is nothing compared to what the Israelis would do to you. Now move!” The film does not convey any sense that old man regrets his past sins; instead it seeks make viewers believe this by way making him act even worse through character development triggered off mainly misguided youthfulness displayed therein.

A separate plot is also introduced wherein the boy lies at school and coerces a former Nazi into pretending to be his grandfather during a therapy session. Then, finally, when it’s entirely too late for the movie to rethink itself, it tries to find some moral equilibrium, this time through the poetry-quoting patient in the next bed over. The filmmakers might consider these words from John Donne: “Never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”

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