I love this movie so much

Don't Believe the Hype

Admirable film.

Blistering performances.

I saw rather a lot of East European 60s cinema back in the day but had never heard of this one. Seems it only came to light recently so that explains that because otherwise I was bound to have stumbled upon it as it is such an amazing film. From the stunning opening credits, beyond the startlingly close-up shots of a family visit to the zoo, and on as the cremator of the title goes from seeming curious, to creepy and downright cuckoo, and worse. Spellbinding imagery plus the doings of this extremely worrying man hold ones attention throughout as this caring family man leads us and everybody else to the abyss. There are so many ways in which the director ensures that we follow his narrative flow despite ourselves. This is a very uncomfortable film to watch. The way the cremator has to touch everybody, dead and alive, the way he must comb his hair after that of a corpse and then his own family but there is so much worse to come.

The 1960s were an interesting time for Czechoslovakian cinema. It seems that they were making some amazing films about WWII and the Nazi era. I think the best of these was "The Shop on Main Street" but "Closely Watched Trains" was also an intriguing film. As for "The Cremator", it, too, is very good--but it's one you might have to force yourself to stick with, as the film, stylistically, is hard to love. But you need to stick with it--it's worth your time.The first thing I noticed about this movie was its deliberately 'artsy' style. Too many oddly framed closeups and an insistence on a roving camera made me initially hate the film. However, over time it began to grow on me. "The Cremator" is the story of Kopfrkingl---a really weird guy who loves his job of running the crematorium just before Czechoslovakia was absorbed by the Nazis in 1938. He is very philosophical and really loves the Tibetan "Book of the Dead". As a result, he believes his job is freeing souls from suffering so that they can be reincarnated to a better life. He also slowly comes to embrace the upcoming Nazi regime--a problem since his wife is half-Jewish. This problem their children slowly come to haunt this loving family man.What I liked was not only the weird places the plot goes and how Kopfrkingl solves his problem with Nazis, but the creepy way he's portrayed. I loved his use of the comb throughout the film--you just have to see it to know what I mean. It is truly an unusual and inventive plot. Strikes against it are the camera-work as well as the clothing and fashions. Yes, once again the history teacher within me rears its ugly head, but the folks in the film did NOT look like they were from 1938 but the 1960s. Their hair and clothes were all wrong--odd details to have missed and probably something that won't bother the less detail-obsessed out there. Still, overall it's very worth seeing--just force yourself to stick with this one despite its rather flat beginning.

This film is hypnotic. The soothing voice of the lead character, coming out of his cherubic always sweetly smiling face, almost lulls the viewer into a serene calm--if not for the fact that we know in our guts that this is the calm a cobra induces in its prey before the kill. This is, after all, Czechoslovakia on the eve of being taken over by Hitler, and the main character runs a crematorium. We know what is coming next. And yet, we cannot take our eyes from the screen; we are filled with foreboding.Like the best of Fellini, the director, Juraj Herz, frames virtually every scene perfectly; a collection of stills taken from this black-and-white masterpiece could fill a photographic art gallery with a distinguished collection indeed.How could the holocaust ever have happened in the middle of the most "civilized" culture in the world, the cradle of elegant music? How could rational "civilized" human beings have abetted this monstrosity? This film provides a fable that can help us answer these most important questions. But do not think this movie is some boring treatise on the banal roots of evil. It is a very entertaining horror film that will keep you spellbound.

Really unbelievable this film is stated as horror/comedy here on IMDb. Braindead is horror/comedy. This is pure horror. If Kopfrkringl's sick mind doesn't scare you, nothing does. This is a holocaust movie. But unlike Pianist or Shindler's list this movie is about cremator. About man who finds idea of burning thousands of murdered people every day very attractive. Director Juraj Herz have done brilliant piece of work by creating atmosphere of fear and madness so deep and believable. Because in fact there had to be some Kopfrkringl who actually done these things during WW2. This movie flows like honey (or some Lynch's work) with no boring spots and no disturbances in its rhythm. One scene traverses into another almost seamlessly. And in the end you can see mass murderer who thinks he is dalailama and you'll believe it's possible. That's why Cremator is REAL horror.