A brooding, dread-filled parable about the rise of fascism in the 20th Century, Brady Corbet's The Childhood of a Leader takes place soon after the events of World War I, telling the story of a young American boy living in France during 1918, displaced due to his father's work with the US government on the Treaty of Versailles. A story of tension and intrigue, The Childhood of A Leader meticulously details how a young boy can transform into an ego-fueled authoritarian, detailing how his disparaging environment, one in which he is neglected and borderline oppressed by his authoritarian father, would mold his beliefs and shape the man he would become. Meticulously crafted, The Childhood of A Leader is dreadfully expressionistic, featuring cinematography and sound design that perfectly encapsulate this feeling of foreboding evil. Wandering cinematography details the dark hallways and shadowy crevices of the boy's environment, while an ominous score serves as an aggressive mood setter, with The Childhood of A Leader delivering an effective mood piece that evokes this sense of emerging evil, doing so in a way which could easily draw comparisons to a film like The Omen. Loosely inspired by the early childhood experiences of other dictators of the 20th Century, Childhood of A Leader sparingly infuses the fable with archive footage from the first World War and other events of the time period, wisely injecting the film with a sense of authenticity that makes this portrait of emerging evil all the more resonant. Without going into too many narrative details, The Childhood of A Leader exhibits how a young boy can slowly form a penetrating, insurmountable ego, slowly detailing a series of events that could shape such a worldview as fascism. Early on the boy's behavior, which includes throwing rocks at bystanders, is routinely dismissed by those around him, with both his own parents and the local priest simply viewing his behavior as a way of lashing out due to his new surroundings. This of course may be the case, but as the film progresses it becomes clear that the boy is in an environment of seclusiona and privilege, with his authoritarian father setting the tone through his oppressive treatment towards his mother and the various servants of the household. His father's treatment of his mother and the ego-driven decisions he makes completely dictates the families' life, which in turn simply serves as a lesson or blueprint, so to speak, for the highly intelligent young boy. What the boy witnesses shapes his psyche, with The Childhood of A Leader exhibiting how the mind can begins to think it knows what is best for everyone and everything, forcing upon others "the proper way to do things" Extremely well crafted and featuring a brooding, ominous atmosphere, Brady Corbet's The Childhood of A Leader is an enjoyable examination of how ones environment shapes their worldview, being an intriguing fable about the rise of Fascism in the 20th century.
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June 2023
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