Improve plausibility and you might have a great film.

Rating: 3/10 (16 March 2009)

Plausibility was the undoing of this film for me. The Jewish boy would never have been allowed to sit in a far corner next to the fence day after day. The concentration camp was little more than a prop. I understand the message the film is trying to make, but the entire film felt like a series of props - including actors and sets. It didn't work at all for me. When you compare the film to the intensity and complexity of Schindler's List, Grey Zone, The Counterfeiters, and It's a Beautiful Life, this film pales by comparison and represents a lost opportunity to drive home the inner struggles of a German family forced to carry out such horribly gruesome atrocities. I wish the idea had been further developed by the screenwriter. Kudos to the actors, though. They did a marvelous job with very little plot support.