an important story rendered without emotion or angst

Rating: 4/10 (9 March 2014)

Sometimes you can assemble the best actors for a movie, and it just won't work. In this case it seems like the only thing that keeps you engaged at all is the fact that such talented actors are involved. But the performances are without any drama or convincing emotional weight. It's like everyone is completely immune to getting excited about anything at all. Sad scenes don't convey sadness, happy scenes likewise do not convey happy emotions really, and all of the characters are one dimensional. The only exception is the performance of Kate Blanchett, who is subtly convincing as a french art scholar with insider info on what the Nazis did with the stolen art. Even still though, she seems unmoved by imminent possibility of death when an officer fires repeatedly at her and it just doesn't seem reasonable. Everyone's just too damned even tempered, patient and considerate about everything. No dramatic tension is created in the ensuing plot really, but one knows the story is real and huge in its full meaning. We all wanted to hear the story of these heroes of "culture preservation", and indeed the story is remarkable, but the presentation of it in this flick leaves a great deal to be desired.