Honest film with great performances

Rating: 8/10 (17 March 2014)

In this German/US co-production we get to see the German civilian side of the WWII conflict. There is a mix of real German and English with a German accent in the movie because English actors can't speak German and the German actors can't speak English without the accent. So they all sound a bit like when someone imitates a funny jew/rabbi accent (yes really) but you get used to it pretty quickly. It's always a bit ironic when a film pimps the virtues of the written word. Certainly when it relies so heavily on the visual presentation and acting performances (which are all excellent) as this one does. I liked the film a lot but as a lot of films these days it's quite long but it's also told at a slower relaxed pace. I would certainly recommend it as it is a very honest film: it doesn't try to tear-jerk or manipulate the audience and it's a good entertaining production.