Excellent film! I wish Americans made movies like this.
Stephen M. Keohane | MA USA | 12/07/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a story partly about how the Catholic Church has been maligned and mistreated vis-à-vis its so-called collusion with Nazi Germany. When viewed in light of the political "numbers game", actually they (including Pius the Pope) may have been weighing the greater good vs the greater bad in decisions/non-decisions they made. Who are we (USA) over 2000 miles away to really understand a Vatican and Europe surrounded and intimidated by Nazi soldiers every day?
Specifically, this is a movie about the real imprisonment of scores of Catholic priests in the infamous Dachau Concentration Camp. It centers on political intrigue. But, more so though, it is about faith and courage in the face of certain death.
A very powerful movie. I am amazed that it was actually made by Germans, indicating a sincere sorrow for their country's past sins and a willingness now to confront these head on.
It's one of the very best movies of the Nazi era genre I have ever seen. It's a fast moving thriller of a film. It is in German, with very good English subtitles. Bravo Zulu to all actors. Excellence.
A hidden gem of a film! Thank you German friends! I wish we in America made such films with such depth."
"
Volker Schlondorff (The tin drum and the young Torless) proves once more why he is a famed and hyper talented filmmaker, and in the meantime one of the last surviving directors of the generation of the post war, whose troubled spirit and the whole necessity to express themselves has remained present despite sixty years have elapsed since those awful years of Nazi opprobrium.
From the autobiographical novel of a priest, Volker built a superb portrait, a struggling film, a striking drama where the pain, the suffering and the desperation will become the departure point and the delicate decision.
Kremer will just dispose of nine days to make his choice. Devastating and hard to forget drama, with absorbing and arresting images. You will notice the other side of the horror in Dachau.
Mesmerizing and supreme picture. Don't miss it.
"
A searing portrayal
Asherville | Midwest | 01/23/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"of life in Dachau and occupied Luxembourg. There are no absolute, clear-cut answers for Father Kremer (brilliantly acted by Ulrich Matthes). The film is an exceptional examination of the consciences and actions of two men in particular, Kremer and Gephardt (very well-played by August Diehl). A stark and sometimes brutal piece, I cannot imagine that a person could be unchanged after seeing it. Americans could learn much from this film -- it takes enormous courage to look at ourselves with such brutal honesty. The German filmmaker, Schlöndorff, clearly knows what that means....and isn't afraid of it, perhaps because that's the
only way we learn anything genuine about ourselves."
Unique and Excellent
Richard Jaurigui | California | 11/16/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is an awsome true story about a Catholic priest and his fellow clergy that suffered persecution in the nazi consentration camps during WWII. It depicts the battle of wills between the persecuter and the persecuted. The acting is superb and its a good production. I recommend this dvd to all. It gives a lesson of heroism in the midst of despair, very dramatic and educational. Its hard to find good films of this kind. It is unique and worth the price."
WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO DIE FOR??
Loves To Read | Twin Cities, MN USA | 12/22/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The film begins in the Dachau concentration camp, one of the most brutal. We stay there long enough to meet Father Henri Kremer and his fellow clergy prisoners and to experience the day to day brutality and persecution they endure. One day, Henri is asked to follow the guard. Fearing the worst, a fellow pastor was just hung from a cross, he heads toward the area where the crosses are set up. Instead, he is redirected to the Commandant's office where, to his utter amazement, he is given his release. He boards the train to his home in Luxembourg. Trudging his way home in the snow from the station, he is picked up by the head of the Gestapo, Herr Gebhardt and told to report to his office promptly in the morning where he will discover, it's not a release he was given but a nine day pass. So begins Day one of nine in which he is to persuade the Bishop of Luxembourg to cooperate with the Nazis or he and his fellow clergy will be transferred to a death camp in the east. Will Father Kremer compromise his faith to save his and the others' lives? Every day he must report his progress to Gebhardt, personally, who uses every psychological trick he knows to persuade Henri to cooperate. Gebhardt is really Evil incarnate. It is a showdown between religion that would use power to dominate and control versus faith that seeks to serve and to love. It is the ultimate showdown of good and evil-the one with the weapons and the power and the one with love and faith. This is a powerful story that never lets up. It is intense to the end. What would you do in the same situation? Do you believe anything that you would be willing to die for? WWW.LUSREVIEWS.BLOGSPOT.COM