The first blow: Germans, French and Russians speak English. Some actors try to deliver their lines with stock Hollywood accents, others don't bother. The distortions of history and the sins against logic are legion. Here are some:
The movie states France was "overwhelmed" by Germany in 1940, and what we see of the war is German soldiers casually strolling into France and slacking French soldiers. France was defeated only after a bloody campaign with horrendous casualties including 90.000 dead and 200,000 wounded. French soldiers were badly led but fought gallantly.
Hermann Göring is presented as a grotesque buffoon. That he was not. He was competent, sinister, the epitome of evil and, unfortunately, did not indulge full time in silly fantasies.
The main character, Abel, makes friends easily with children, so he is sent from a castle/school into the countryside to find young boys and lure them into joining the paramilitary Hitlerjugend. Lured by a Frenchman speaking at best broken German? Besides, German youth did not need to be lured: not joining had very bad consequences.
The castle belongs to a member of the "old nobility," who nobly opposes the Nazis for destroying his "beautiful country" and its culture. German nobility, as any other nobility was intent on preserving their privileges. The Nazi regime filled the bill until it became clear Germany would lose to the Soviet Union. Only then some of the nobility woke up.
And, last but not least, would a Russian commander solicit the surrender of a fortified castle standing in front of his tank? Would a child trying to escape a swarm of Nazi thugs in the dark sing non stop at the top of his lungs? In Hebrew?
The movie does not let any allegory get away. Abel is Goethe's Erlkönig and, since there is a river and he carries a child across, the St. Christopher legend is dragged into play. The script was obviously written with no ear for English, and is frequently stilted and artificial. There are some fine actors in the cast but they can't overcome the clichés and are frequently over the top. Cinematography is good but some scenes are shot in sepia, others in color and still others in black and white for no reason I can see. All in all, a pretentious failure.
The movie states France was "overwhelmed" by Germany in 1940, and what we see of the war is German soldiers casually strolling into France and slacking French soldiers. France was defeated only after a bloody campaign with horrendous casualties including 90.000 dead and 200,000 wounded. French soldiers were badly led but fought gallantly.
Hermann Göring is presented as a grotesque buffoon. That he was not. He was competent, sinister, the epitome of evil and, unfortunately, did not indulge full time in silly fantasies.
The main character, Abel, makes friends easily with children, so he is sent from a castle/school into the countryside to find young boys and lure them into joining the paramilitary Hitlerjugend. Lured by a Frenchman speaking at best broken German? Besides, German youth did not need to be lured: not joining had very bad consequences.
The castle belongs to a member of the "old nobility," who nobly opposes the Nazis for destroying his "beautiful country" and its culture. German nobility, as any other nobility was intent on preserving their privileges. The Nazi regime filled the bill until it became clear Germany would lose to the Soviet Union. Only then some of the nobility woke up.
And, last but not least, would a Russian commander solicit the surrender of a fortified castle standing in front of his tank? Would a child trying to escape a swarm of Nazi thugs in the dark sing non stop at the top of his lungs? In Hebrew?
The movie does not let any allegory get away. Abel is Goethe's Erlkönig and, since there is a river and he carries a child across, the St. Christopher legend is dragged into play. The script was obviously written with no ear for English, and is frequently stilted and artificial. There are some fine actors in the cast but they can't overcome the clichés and are frequently over the top. Cinematography is good but some scenes are shot in sepia, others in color and still others in black and white for no reason I can see. All in all, a pretentious failure.