Another Comment on the Spoken English

Rating: 10/10 (28 October 2008)

A stunning film, and as reported by some above, the audience at our screening was silent as the credits rolled. This was unusual for this audience (British Academy of Film and Television Arts, Los Angeles Chapter).
My wife had a telling comment. She thought the only drawback (which I now see was hardly unique) to the film was that it was in flawless British English. I asked her why. Her two reasons: 1.) it would have been even more terrifying in German, e.g., hearing Deutschland Uber Alles in German would have been gut wrenching and 2.) it would have for sure won an Oscar as best foreign language film!
On the other hand, as several other comments have pointed out, there is so much that is conveyed in this film with hardly any words, that one can overlook the use of English. My own reaction was that I was confused at first; I thought maybe this was a British family in Germany before the war. They seemed so likable, even "Father." Then, as the characters filled out and came to life, the evil ones seemed that much more evil, English or not.