Reviews (40)

A World Turned Upside Down and Inside Out: Could You Survive
This is one of the best films in the genre--historial film from autobiography. Marco Hofschneider brings to brilliant life the story of Salamon Perel, a German Jew. From the days of Kristallnacht--the Night of Broken Glass, when Jewish businesses were trashed and vandalized throughout Germany, to his final reunification with his brother--to poignant to say more about this here...this is a cinematic masterpiece.

I've seen few films that capture the turmoil of adolescent identity and identification so well. True, the Nazi era is the backdrop, but the themes couldn't be more universal. In that respect, it is also more relevant today, in 2004, than during the 1980s, when it was filmed--especially in America, where the American identity has been deconstructed so as to be hardly palpable. Also, it is equally relevant in Europe, where national distinctions could meld into a Confederacy if not a Union of some power.

Politics aside, this is an intensely personal film, one where the unquestioned identity of youth (German) falls victim to oncoming War and cruel happenstance. Perel must continually revise his vision OF himself and FOR himself, and at one point wishes for nothing more than to be an Nazi, for a beautiful young German girl becomes enfatuated with him. How did he end up in this position, wearing the uniform of the Hitler Youth at an Elite boarding school in Berlin? Or lose his virginity to a high-ranking female Party member while he is escorted by train from the Eastern Front to Berlin, as a Folk Hero (Volksdeutscher Held). Perhaps you think it unimaginable. I do not.

I've seen places in German where the remnants of Jewish culture and tradition are clear as day--such as a former High School for Jews in Berlin--with Hebrew and German inscribed clearly in the stones.

No, though Germany seems to some a heartless pillar of unemotionality, efficiency, heartlessness, the German characters in Europa, Europa are as human as those found anywhere. They fall victim to their personal aspirations, desire to please, deceitfulness, betrayal...simply put, human.

Although current fashion is to think of the period as one of the "banality of evil" (attributed to Hannah Arendt, Holocaust scholar), this film exposes the period as one more of human triumph and tragedy, and that, while we grow into adulthood, our personal identity is as much at the mercy of the passage of time and events as a unique, solitary construction.

See this film! It will draw you into the themes of Life, Love, and Redemption, and be over leaving you desperate for more.

Your friend, your enemy, you....
I caught this movie originally on cable a few minutes into the film and was instantly intrigued and completely confused. A Jewish kid in the German Army? And the Hitler Youth? And in love with a German girl who says nice things like 'If there were a Jew here right now, I'd cut his throat!' right before she asks him to father her child. What the hell was going on here?

What was going on was 'Europa, Europa', an outstanding and often funny (true) story of a teen of German-Jewish extraction named Jupp who in 1939 was in the Communist Youth League in one of the Soviet-occupied Baltic territories, and ended up being captured by the Germans when they invaded the USSR in 1941. Naturally he concealed his Jewish identity and, believing him to be Volksdeutsch (a non-German of German blood, and therefore automatically a German citizen under Hitler's laws) the Wehrmacht drafted him as a soldier-translator. This begins Jupp's double life....a few months ago he was a Communist and a Jew, and now he's a German and a Nazi....just imagine this kid's confusion. The soldiers of his unit adopt him as a sort of mascot, and even when one of the soldiers discovers his secret, he does not betray him. The mutual affection between Jupp and the soldiers becomes real over time, and leads to Jupp's first crisis of identity: how can he be friends and comrades with men who believe Jews are evil, sub-human scum? Things get even more complicated when the violently anti-Semetic commander of the unit offers to adopt Jupp and send him back to Germany to join a Hitler Youth hostel. Out of the frying pan, into the fire.

Jupp finds the Hitler Youth both a dream and a nightmare. On the one hand, much of the Nazi propaganda turns out to be true -- the boys are tough, fun-loving, comradely, and loyal. They enjoy their singing, marching, and sports, and they are truly inspired by the destruction of snobbery and class privelege which was a central objective of National Socialism (Nazism). On the other hand, they sing charming songs like "sharpen your knives on the paving stone, the Jewish blood will run" and spend time in class learning to 'spot' Jews and other sub-humans through racial characteristics (Jupp is selected as a good example of Baltic Aryan blood). These kids remind you of darling young tiger cubs that will grow up into man-eaters: they are both charming and frightening.

Much of the movie is a black-comic attempt by Jupp to fit in as a loyal German youth while hiding his Jewish identity from his friends, which is tough on account of being circumcised in a society where circumcision was performed only among Jews (there are some lengths Jupp goes to to disguise this fact that will make any man watching EXTREMELY uncomfortable....I kept thinking "God, that poor kid!"). As you can imagine, when he falls for a lovely Arayan maiden, disguising this fact becomes even harder.

As the war roars towards its conclusion, Jupp is torn by the loyalty and sense of belonging he feels in the HJ/Nazi Germany and his true identity. After the defeat at Stalingrad, the mourning boys gather and sing poignantly together as brothers, and Jupp mourns with them. The fact that he is clearly not faking shows the turmoil and conflict in his young heart. Is he Jupp, the Jew, or Jupp, the Nazi?

"Europa, Europa" is different from 'Holocaust' type movies in that it injects a lot of humor into otherwise horrible situations without cheapening what happened. This is an undeniably tragic and moving film; it is also pretty damn funny. But it will also make you mad, and the really infuriating thing for the viewer is the colossal waste of it all -- the movie shows how the egalitarian ideals of National Socialism inspired, moved, and united young people, but was perverted by race hatred, anti-Semetism, and bloodlust, and ulyimately had to be destroyed at a terrible cost to everybody involved. What a stupid, criminal waste of millions of able young men, who were taught to hate people really no different than themselves. What a pity the Germans chose to forget the many Jews who served ably and courageously for their country in World War I, and bought into Hitler's insane hatred of them, a hatred which was not only stupid but hypocritical. After all, the man who in 1917 or so recommended a young Corporal Hitler for his Iron Cross First Class was a lieutnant named Hugo Gutmann....but somehow I'm willing to bet that fact never came up in any Hitler Youth class. Too bad for Jupp, and too bad for Europa.

Mesmerizing story based on true events¿
Europa Europa is set in the year before and during the World War II in Europe. The story is based on the true events of the young boy, Salomon "Solly" Perel (Marco Hofschneider), son of a shopkeeper in Poland who experienced brutality through the eye of the enemy as he had to disguise himself in order to survive as his heritage was Jewish. Initially Solly escapes the German's wearing a Nazi leather coat with the Swastika on the arm, which becomes his first disguise or act in order to survive. This continues throughout the film where Solly must hide his true identity, which deals with his circumcision, culture, and background. The constant acting by Solly leads him to begin to feel unsure about his true identity as he tries to assimilate into Nazi-German culture and reject himself. At one point Solly's feelings towards his Jewish background are close to hatred as he also struggles with the natural dilemmas of a teenager such as identity and love. Europa Europa is a dark coming of age film depicting the terrible destiny of Solly as he grows up as a pro-Nazi in order to survive and have self-discovery while hiding himself from himself. When the audience stretches their legs during the end credits there will be much room for pondering and contemplation as Europa Europa leaves the viewers with an excellent cinematic experience.

Warning - Not Much Of This Movie Is True
Mr. Perel's story - that is to say, his autobiography - is interesting and compelling. Regretably, this movie has taken literary license to an unfortunate extreme. "Leni," his girlfriend of sorts at the Hitler Youth School, was never pregnant in real life. At the end of the war, he was actually captured by the Americans in his sleep rather than the dramatic capture by the Russians depicted in the movie. He never captured a Russian position as depicted in the movie or otherwise. And, the homosexual German soldier depicted in the movie didn't merely make a casual pass at Perel - he actually tried to rape Perel on a number of occassions, once by trying to knock him out with chloroform (And yet in the end he did keep Perel's secret and they did become friends, as depicted in the movie). Not only was the movie full of drama that never happened, it also cut out significant events which did occur in real life - for example, Perel confronted his classmates and teachers at the end of the war. A very good movie, yes, but it irks me a great deal that so many "facts" were concocted out of thin air, at the expense of many true compelling events. I therefore do not recommend this movie, and instead recommmend Perel's book, and also the book "Hiding in Plain Sight" by Betty Lauer, which was published in March 2004.

I love this movie !!!
This movie is excellent! I can't believe more of my friends don't know this movie. It is truly an underrated movie by mainstream people, especially since it's a true story about a holocaust survivor. Even the music score is awesome. The music was written by Zbigniew Preisner, who has the most intense and sad music ever written for a holocaust movie. It's a crime that this movie is underrated by the mainstream. At least it won many film awards by independent film makers back in the early 1990s. There is justice afterall!!! ... Read more

Amazon.com

A bizarre and compelling story of family secrets based on the novel by Ian McEwan (who also wrote the novel upon which The Comfort of Strangers is based), this British film tells the complex tale of four children who conspire to hide their dead mother's body to avoid being split apart and sent to an orphanage. Their deception works for a while, as they become a self-sufficient family unit. Soon, however, mistrust and a deeply antagonistic relationship between the older siblings rife with sexual overtones, as well as a snooping suitor with designs on the older sister, threaten to destroy their well-constructed facade. Adapted and directed by Andrew Birkin, this offbeat film is disturbing but a riveting find for anyone interested in new discoveries from the world of international film. --Robert Lane ... Read more

Reviews (15)

incest is best
With "The Cement Garden," Andrew Birkin has created a spare, atmospheric and erotic cinematic adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel of the same name. This tale of grieving and incest is artfully shot and strangely compelling. A fateful attraction develops between Jack and Julie, the oldests of four siblings, following the death of their father and shortly thereafter of their mother. For fear that their younger brother and sister will have to go to an orphanage (in much the same vein as Jacques Fansten's "Cross My Heart"), the two bury their mother's body in a vat of cement in the cellar and proceed to take on their parents roles. While Sue, the youngest sister, deals with her pain through writing, and Tom (the younger brother, played by the director's son) begins dressing in girl's clothing, the tension between Jack and Julie builds toward an inevitable and highly anticipated climax. The film is slow-moving but hypnotic, and masterful in its poetic use of landscape. A few semi-significant inconsistencies aside, "The Cement Garden" succeeds in immersing you in its world. I especially enjoyed Charlotte Gainsbourg's performance as Julie.

I would give it 4 and 1/2 stars if I could.

Incest is fine, if its kept in the family:-)
I enjoyed the quality of the european acting.
I enjoyed the authentic scenery and the enviroment chosen for this film.
The the protagaonist is the oldest boy, well played and somewhat convincing in his pursuits.
Julie(Charlotte Gainsbourg), the oldest girl, role is done well and is very attractive, as necessary for this role.
The sibling conversations are authentic, reminding me of conversations I had with my large family.

The movie is shocking and tries hard to challenge what is left of social taboos.

What led me to watch this movie was hearing the voice of Gainsbourg, as Julie, respond to the oldest boy concerning knowing "what it feels like for a girl", in the title song of Madonna's current release.

This movie is not for the faint of heart.

The film itself is what really matters.
The DVD version was transferred from a tape rather than from a film print; tell by the image quality. There isn't much behind the scene stuff either besides a few slides of texts.
Still, I gave a 5 stars rating because not many films can pull off controversial topics like "The Cement Garden." I bought the DVD because I loved the film so, and that's all it matters.
For art film lovers, it might be worth collecting.

quality of reality is been revealed in this brits films
there are some stories based as true from this brittish movies.this movie is shocking and the way it disturbs may take you for a while to try and understand why(can this happen in real life?)this is one and the same acting you watch in (the war zone,the snapper and eye of the needle)i am a fan of every movie with good acting all over the world,but this brittish movies does really hypnotise you slowly until what can sometimes happen in real life is revealed.the cement garden is one of those films which has this aunthentic and even compelling dark stories.even here in africa where i belong(there are most shocking stories of incest taboo)but this one was well depicted in its genre.i think is watchable on dvd.

Cement casket in the garden
This was a terribly dark film. I couln't watch the whole thing. If I had, I would have contempated suicide. Not recommended. ... Read more

Reviews (28)

Not as good as "Wings of Desire", but still has charm
"Faraway, So Close" is a sequel to a perfect movie so perfect that perhaps should have been left untainted by a sequel, however, it still captures the magical feel of "Wings of Desire", but this time with a pop-thriller feel.

It cruises along the border of body and mind, and follows the two intellectual angels that have been tackled with the dillema of reality versus eternity.

The film is lengthy and at times moves slow, but offers many interesting and thoughtfull moments, and it generally provokes many thoughts long after the movie's end. A must for Wenders fans. Since a sequel has already been made to WoD, perhaps master director Wenders can cook yet another chapter in the story, but one that captures the essence of Wings of Desire.

An excellent sequel
This is much lighter and easier to follow than its progenitor, "Wings of Desire".

This movie follows Cassiel's desire to be human. While Tariel may have hade a more ideal life (family, child, job, simple pleasures), Cassiel's story is one more of what happens when humans screw up, make bad choices, or live in denial.

Can't forget Peter Falk. He reprises the best role I have ever seen him in. Also, William Defoe the Fallen Angel is something to be remembered.

A truly wonderful companion movie and also wonderful on its own. I wholly recomment buying it today.

Void of meaning; boring enough to put you to sleep
Starts out great, then descends into a horrifying hell of boredom and ambiguity and mixed up wastelands of celluloid. There was no point to this movie and it literally put me out; yep, it put me to sleep. I thought the beginning looked promising but then it turned into one of the most enigmatic wastes of time I have ever watched.

faraway
airheaded new age schtick. feel-good gobbledygook mixing philosophy, social consciousness, art cinema fetishes, international stars, history, noir, and whatnot. it tries to teach, illume, entertain, humor, and inspire. it also tries to be very hip. it just made me wanna puke.

The Berlin Ground.
The success of 'Wings Of Desire' must have prompted Wenders to come up with a sequel. It certainly makes a greater effort at garnishing a wider audience, with the addition of Natassja Kinski, Willem Dafoe & Horst Buchholz to the previous cast. The script also has the novelty of being in 4 different languages.

In 'Wings Of Desire' Bruno Ganz's transformation from angel to human could be seen as a desire by Berliners each side of the wall to overcome their imprisonment from each other. In 'Faraway, So Close', the moral confusion that Otto Sander witnesses when he crashes down from above, mirrors the uneasy turmoil of the new united Berlin. Like an East Berliner untutored in the ways of the West, he stumbles about in an unsophisticated way until his new freedoms begin to overwhelm him and he finds his only refuge in a bottle. Despite all this, he tries to find meaning and do good, but finds that in the new Germany, the only options open to an ex-angel (or an ex-communist) is the criminal underworld.

Although the film starts to lose its way in the final farcical half hour, there are some impressive performances here, especially Horst Buchholz (last seen in 'The Magnificent Seven').

Wenders last great film, his talent has since floundered in making movies with the likes of Mel Gibson. ... Read more

Description

What begins as an innocent art class becomes a steamy triangle of erotic passions and forbidden love.A beautiful Japanese girl becomes the object of obsession in a devious relationship between the wife of a German diplomat and her husband. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

berlin affaire...
good film...for as the best, oh yeah...is drama, ok...but Gudrun Landgrebe great! for this eyes...like the film, great all, congratulations Liliana Cavani...but hope the new film in this way...for the woman of the family you understand? thank's!

An Unusual Story Of Seduction During The Third Reich
It has long been fashionable in critical circles to bash the films of Liliana Cavani. Her films tend to show sleazy low life characters---------even when they live in palatial mansions. Her controversial NIGHT PORTER was unjustly accused of being deplorable, and insult to the intelligence of the average moviegoer, an offense to Jews and women, and generally condemned by everyone of cinematic importance. For me, she is the modern purveyor of film noir at it's darkest.

THE BERLIN AFFAIR tells the story of Mitsuko, daughter of the Japanese ambassador to Germany during the Nazi era. She is publicly quiet and demure, but in private, flamboyantly bisexual and seduces the wife of a high Nazi official-------and eventually the husband himself. This leads to a rather unusual ménage a trois with each member of the triangle becoming more and more jealous of the others. Eventually, this self-destructive relationship becomes harder and harder to resist in spite of the personal dangers to the individuals and their respective families and political causes.

It would be easy to dismiss this film as another sleazy sex opera from Cavani. But a great deal is going on in this film---------politically, sexually, socially, racially and artistically. There is a definite message for those willing to see it-------and it would be more fun for each viewer to find it for himself. Ignore Leonard Maltin's opinion and decide for yourself. ... Read more

Description

Mr. Ripley emerges from retirement to preside over one last deadly game, but can he persuade an innocent man to commit murder? ... Read more

Reviews (21)

Malkovich IS real Ripley
I think Malkovich captures more accurately the character created by Patricia Highsmith than Damon does. In "Ripley's Game" we see a more perverse and tactician criminal, very near of what Highsmith describes in her novels.

I also am grateful to see this film brought to the end of the 20th Century, plenty of mobile phones, terrific Alfa Romeo cars and modern costume design. The story per se doesn't have significant changes and the film is perfectly set out in another time. In "Talented Mr. Ripley" the story goes back to the 50's or 60's, that is, the time Ms. Highsmith wrote the Ripley's series.

The rest of characters are really interesting. Dougray Scott has an ascending role and not only has he got more presence in the film as it goes on, but this presence is more convincing little by little. Good job.

Another good thing is that you don't have to see the first part to enjoy completely this "Ripley's Game". Very recommendable.

"The most interesting thing about doing something terrible."
The actor, John Malkovich, interests me. At the heart of my curiosity lies this feeling that Malkovich really is a chameleon. Too many actors can just act one role--over and over again. Malkovich, however, is different in every role. So when I saw that he starred in "Ripley's Game", well, I just had to see it.

"Ripley's Game" is based on a Patricia Highsmith novel. Malkovich plays the main character--Ripley--and it's a role that allows him to stretch. Ripley is an effete art lover, living in Italy in a beautiful villa that's loaded with art, and Ripley's musician lover helps occupy Ripley's simply perfect life. Ripley, however, earned his money the violent way, and his past includes some rather unsavoury characters. One day, one of these characters, (Ray Winstone) shows up and demands that Ripley do him a small favour (and this involves bumping off a rival club owner--a Russian--in Berlin).

This is where a mild-mannered, gentle picture framer--desperate for a little cash--comes into the scheme of things.

The character of Ripley is problematic--he's a delicate, sensitive man who obviously enjoys the finer things in life--souffles, concerts, fine wines, and yet he's also a brutal killer. This is the sort of role that has to be handled very carefully--if a less-than-extremely competent actor took this role, the result would be a cliche-ridden film with a preposterous main character. Cavani's directing combined with the subtle talents of Malkovich avoided all the obvious pitfalls. I asked myself if Malkovich makes a believable baddie--and the answer is yes, I think he does. He carries off the role by a certain tone in his voice, and a certain look in his eyes. It's entirely possible to see our anti-hero, the beret-clad, Ripley garroting someone to death, and then being mildly annoyed if his expensive hand-made suit is a bit ruffled as a result. He's amoral, detached, and yet, there remains ... something--perhaps a grain of curiosity at the sacrifice of another. Four stars for this film--with one star deducted for an ending that could be seen a mile off--displacedhuman

Deliciously Perverse
John Malcovich gives an impeccable performance as middleaged Ripley, playing a perverse game making it up as he goes. Ripley's lover is a beautiful world reknown harpshicord player, who is aware of Ripley's true nature and loves him anyway. Mostly out of boredom Ripley starts a subtle game in which he seduces a perfectly good man to murder, and then steps in to save him, striking an unusual partnership which ends under unusual circumstances.

I hated it!!!
I did not like this movie. I have seen better movies on television. It was senseless and the main actor John Malkovich was terrible. He was a disgusting lover as well. I hated it and I sold my copy as soon as possible.

Searching for Patricia Highsmith
Patricia Highsmith is one of those novelists whose time, unfortunately, has come posthumously. Though she died in 1996, it has only been recently that her gifts as a novelist have been appreciated. Much of her core writing examined the psyches of homosexual characters, never exploiting them, only using their sexuality as an enhancement of their full character development. RIPLEY'S GAME, the most recent transfer of Highsmith's book to film, is part of a trilogy she wrote about the character of Tom Ripley, a sensitive, gentle soul who finds his way into the world of the wealth by means of criminal acts. In the first book of the trilogy THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY, Tom Ripley is driven by his need for acceptance not only in the (to him) inaccessible world of the wealthy, but also in his urgent need to be loved by other men. In the second novel, RIPLEY UNDERGROUND, Highsmith seems to drop the sexual overtones in favor of pushing Tom Ripley into the arms of a wealthy wife and monetary power, capitalizing on the greed for achievement overshadowing the need for love. By RIPLEY'S GAME the usual trademark Highsmith sexual innuendoes have nothing to do with Ripley, but are very much present in the life of Ripley's confidant in crime - Reeves.

This final installment in the Ripley stories has Ripley as teacher, instructing his pupil in the macabre methods of murder for gain. In the title role John Malkovich is his usual wily, brilliant, but misdirected self and his performance is superb (if similar to all of his other roles). Dougray Scott is Ripley's odd pupil Jonathan, Lena Headey his wife Sarah, Ray Winstone is Reeves, and with Chiara Caselli as Ripley's harpsichordist paramour all four add fine performances. There is beautiful photography of Berlin and Rome and the movement is kept at a keen pace by Director Liliana Cavani. So why just 4 stars? There is just not the flavor of Highsmith's lack of predictability here to justify that. But in all, it is an entertaining movie and sure to encourage more to read the works of Patricia Highsmith. ... Read more

Reviews (55)

GLORIOUS. BUT COULD HAVE BEEN AN EPIC.
Can't remember the last time I sat through a movie for a full 3 hours, but Sunshine had me riveted. What a glorious message of love and joy subordinating almost every other pursuit in our lives.

We follow the travails of a Hungarian family through three generations -- and three political/ideological regimes. The first forty minutes are replete with their own elaborate costume sets and gorgeous locales of Budapest. The second and the third generations depicted find themselves smack in the middle of the Holocaust and the follow-up Stalinisque regime. As the Sonnenchiens (the Sunshine family) live through these times with a great loss of life and blood, there're also invaluable lessons to be learnt.

I felt the movie did not sufficiently capitalize on the emotions between men and women except for the first Sonnenchiens. Instead, there's a lot of unnecessary nudity. I'd be stupid to mind seeing Rachel Weisz (The Mummy) and Deborah Kara Unger (Crash) in ecstasy but it got to be almost redundant because the man was the same, Ralph Fiennes playing a different generation. The music for such an epic could have and probably should have been much more memorable, it was just any generic symphony you'd expect from a romanticized epic-mode film.

But these are petty quibbles. Like other movies of its kind, e.g., "House of Spirits" or "American History X", Sunshine certainly has its faults, but its messages about tolerance, humanity, and redemption are absolutely glorious.

For a 3 hour film, the DVD could surely have done a lot better by breaking the movie into Sors I, Sors II and Sors III sections. It is still a very worthy rental especially if you care about period peieces, political ideas, Ralph Fiennes, or Hungary.

take my wife please
A lighthearted romp through Hungarian history, "Sunshine" follows the trials and tribulations of three generations of the Sonnenshein family. Ralph Feinnes, in great comic form here, plays all three roles: Grampa, Pops and Junior. While the director was obviously thinking of structuring this movie along the lines of Alec Guinness's great "Kind Hearts and Coronets," in which Guinness played (I think) seven roles, many times "Sunshine" seems to have more in common with an Eddie Murphy film like "The Klumps." Be that as it may, the laughs keep coming when the recipe for the fabled health drink, which has brought the family fame and fortune, becomes lost. Add a few crazy women as love interests (including Deborah Kara Unger who seems ready to reprise her role in "Crash" here) and you've got the kind of film Mel Brooks used to make before "Blazing Saddles." "Sunshine" also has its serious side, as it is set against the backdrop of WWII and Stalin's pogroms. Still, in the tradition of Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" and Jerry Lewis's "The Day the Clown Cried," the serious undercurrent never gets in the way of some inspired sight gags, fabulous one-liners (listen carefully during the "pass the salt sequence") and general silliness.

What a fantastic movie!
This movie is a must-see!
It is a relativly long movie but you won't feel the length since it is very amusing and it absorbs all your attention so well that you barely notice the passage of time.

Epic multi-generational view of the last century in Hungary
By taking a slice of Hungarian history spanning roughly the last century, this movie chooses a historical setting which provides a concentrated message of human frailty and idealism amidst social and political change. In this microcosmic world of a century of Hungarian history, we encounter some broader familiar themes of social mobility (both economically and politically) of a religious minority in a country with its own conflicted sense of national identity through different political regimes. Ralph Fiennes (of the more familiar movie "The English Patient") superbly plays multiple roles, as a male member of three successive generations of a Hungarian Jewish family, spanning the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the two World Wards to (briefly) modern post-communist Hungary. Fiennes' presence throughout this movie in multiple roles lends a curious continuity to several recurrent themes in this tale of political and family loyalty and betrayal. Haunted by the image of his impotence at watching his father being tortured and killed in front of several hundred Jewish prisoners, the leading male character struggles to expiate his guilt and avenge the shadowy forces of anti-Semitism. But his own ideals are dashed as his police interrogator role in communist Hungary leads him to confront the hypocrisy of yet another regime in which ideological purity and political expediency are hard to distinguish. With his own fanatical commitment to pursue the fascist elements in post World War Two communist Hungary, the leading character shares much in common with his grandfather's loyalty, as a high level magistrate, to the monarchy of a crumbling empire of which Hungary was a part, and with his father's blind faith in the willingness of the newly recreated Hungary to assimilate a Jew who converts to Catholicism as he also becomes a national Olympics fencing hero. In the end, all three characters of three generations of the same family become victims of different political regimes, all of which learn to use their willing victims as pawns who become betrayed with their blind loyalty. Oddly, it is the several women characters who invariably become amorously entangled with different male characters, who seem most skeptical of the promises of different regimes. Unfortunately, it is not often we find this kind of epic movie which personalizes large swathes of history through the saga of several generations of a single family - and it is often compared to Dr. Zhivago. Highly recommended.

A masterpiece of WWII storytelling
If you were appalled by films such as Schindler's List, wait till you see this one. Many people consider WWII storytelling an exhausted topic, which is simply not true, as witnessed by the popularity of The Pianist and Adrien Brody's consequent though well deserved stardom.
"Sunshine" has all the elements of a great movie. A top of the line cast, to start with Ralph Fiennes whose performance is superb (in my opinion Fiennes' greatest masterpiece). You might be put off by the length of this movie, though the story carries itself very well. Simply told, it will move you. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

A Difficult Subject, A Brilliant Result
TAKING SIDES achieves what so many other attempts at exploring the extremes of the human psyche under duress do not. That nether land of doubt that exists when aftermath 'truths' can only be postulated and not proved is the fodder from which writer Ronald Harwood (who also wrote 'The Pianist') has created a terse and tense examination of the investigation by the Allied Forces of Conductor Wilhelm Furtwangler. Was he a Nazi sympathizer or a protector of Jews during the Holocaust? Director Istvan Szabo maintains the format of the original play to keep the story confined to the interrogation room, straying only momentarily to develop the characters of this quasi-trial. Stellan Skarsgard is extraordiarily fine as the controversial Furtwangler, even taking on his body language and conducting moments to the realist edge. As the Allied Forces interrogator Steven Arnold, Harvey Keitel is brilliant - seethingly angry, a hell-bent Major who refuses Furtwangler any semblance of respect. Assisting Keitel are his secretary Emmi (in an astonishingly fine performance by Birgitt Minichmayr) and an Allied observer David (the equally fine Moritz Bleibtreu), a Jew who still holds the subject Furtwangler in deep respect. But the magic is in the duets by Keitel and Skarsgard, sparring with personal venom and personal despair. We are not given a decision as to the truth of Furtwangler's investigation, but we are told the results of the interviews. All of the music is Beethoven and Schubert and Bruckner (the use of the Adagio from the Bruckner Symphony No. 7 is especially eloquent and meaningful) and is played from recordings by Furtwangler and the Berlin Philharmonic as well as by Daniel Barenboim and the Staatskapelle of Berlin. This film is every bit as fine as the author's film of his THE PIANIST, but for some unknown reason it simply opened and closed in the theaters without making the impact it so justly deserves. Highly recommended on every level.

Art against politics : the eternal fight
The disturbing question around the inquirer Arnold is are you i nvolved or not with the Nazis? . He doesn't understand how you can face the enemie without being outside the country as others did it. Toscanini, Klemperer, Schoenberg or Bruno Walter.
Wilhelm Furtwangler holds his reasoning of keeping inside, holding the struggle face to face.
There have always been these two points of view about how deal with that. Is really the politics more important than the art? It depends on you; and how you face the life; the ancient greeks used call idiot to this kind of people who just care about his personal business; forgetting perhaps the meaning of what citizenship means.
That's why Furtwangler develops his art of cobducting. The art will always survive far beyond the politics ; due his goals are timeless ; the politics turns around another level , a minor level obviously , because the material needs of the human being concern to a major number of people than the art ; whose purpose is by its own nature more reduced, less popular , more aristocratic.
And we are then before a democratic choice ; the art has been always in a less proportion than politics. The Reinassance fact concerned juist about a few minds and men ; and it's hard to think about if the achievements made by all this reborn spiritual could have been understood by the whole population.
This film show both positions ; the trascendence against the present moment ; the aristos facing the vulgarity .
Keitel and Sanksgard sre flamboyant in every role . Szabo with his camera and enlighting are fisrt rate.
The issues delaed in this movie are timeless discussion , tht's why this picture is an important document about the awful facts after the WW2 about Wilhelm Furtwangler the greatest conductor in any age.
Watch this film and please don'nt forget that the little K inscribed himself twice with the Nazis.
Pitifully Ferenc Fricsay , the conductor designed by Furtwangler as the future conductor would die in 1962 , a fact that allowed to the little K conduct the Berlin Philarmonic till his death in 1986.

Self-Righteous Delusion & The Failure of Good Intentions.
"Taking Sides" is a fact-based account of the attempt to bring Dr. Wilhelm Furtwangler (Stellan Skarsgard), the globally renowned conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, to trial for "serving the Nazi regime". The film is based on the play by Ronald Harwood, who also wrote the script. The story takes place in 1946 while Berlin was occupied by American and Russian militaries. Major Steve Arnold (Harvey Keitel) of the U.S. Army has been assigned the task of determining who among Germany's artistic community aided the Nazi cause during the regime's 12-year reign. Dr. Furtwangler is suspect because he is not dead, and because his work was admired by prominent members of the Reich, including Adolph Hitler himself.

The events depicted in "Taking Sides" did take place, although I'm not sure how accurate the film is in the details. The character of Furtwangler has been expanded upon to serve the film's themes. "Taking Sides" is deliberately morally ambiguous, preferring that the audience decide for itself who is guilty of what. Stellan Skarsgard and Harvey Keitel are both in top form. Skarsgard is one of cinema's finest character actors, and here he plays a man who has been defeated, at least temporarily, by the tide of history and who is at a loss to comprehend attacks on his character and good intentions. Keitel is perfection as the well-meaning Major Arnold, whose own intentions lead him to self-righteous delusion. As this was a play, the film takes place primarily on one set. But the occasional change of venue prevents this from becoming conspicuous. "Taking Sides" would be worth seeing for its fine performances. Although it takes place 58 years ago, its subject matter will never go out of style. Both Furtwangler and Arnold seem to have failed in their good intentions to one degree or another, or at least been too indiscriminate in their patriotism .

The DVD: Bonus features consist of 9 interviews with cast and crew members and some behind-the-scenes footage entitled, appropriately enough, "Behind the Scenes". The interviews are all brief. Particularly worth seeing are those with actors Stellan Skarsgard and Ulrich Tukur, in which they speak about their characters. "Behind the Scenes" is just random film footage from the set without any narration. It's not actually a documentary.

I did this show
As an actor/producer who chose to do the play TAKING SIDES (on which this film is based) last May at the height of a new era of "post war" occupation by America, I feel I have particular insight into this product.

I played Major Arnold, the bullish American who is so traumatized by the Holocaust brought on by the Germans that he is assigned to interrogate artists who stayed in Germany during the war.

Furtwangler is the focus of this investigation, as the most renouned conductor of the time. Furtwangler was wealthy, loved by Hitler as well as most Germans. You see, art and culture was big to Nazi life, and though Furwangler never joined the party and actually helped some Jewish musicians escape, he chose to stay in Germany and work. It is known that Hitler so loved him that there was a standing order to not touch him (he was on a list of "immortals" that were viewed as so important they got special treatment even in times of war and hardship.) Furtwangler was openly defiant to other Nazi officials, and they hated him.

LIke many Germans, they knew what the Nazis were up to only after the fact. Then they were somewhat trapped. Furtwangler admits to knowing the brutality.

And that's the hard part of this piece. There is no clear cut answer as to whom is more right in matters. And if done well, the audience understands both "Sides" of this story. Even if they feel stronger leanings towards one side over the other.

There are many parallels to some of the issues in today's current events that make this sampling of history 60 years ago, startling. History does indeed repeat itself in strange new ways.

No doubt if you are a liberal, you will feel sympathy for Furtwangler, and agree with him that art can be more powerful than politics, and even negate the horrors of the Holocaust.

If you are a Bush fan, you will no doubt find the tactics and mindset of Major Arnold to be on par with your views.

I am a liberal, who painfully, and proudly found the humanity and soul of Arnold each and every night and presented it to an audience.

The tragedy in all this is that each side always thinks it is right. Hitler thought he was right. Saddam thought he was right. Bush thinks he is right. Michael Moore thinks he is right.

And they all have compelling arguements to back up their beleif. It is up to each of us to reach into ourselves and figure out which side we come down on.

Art vs. Morality?
This film, which concerns the behavior of the great conductor Willem Furtwangler under Hitler's regime, is only secondarily about whether Furtwangler did or did not sympathize with the Nazis. The underlying subject is the relationship between art (specifically, music) and morality: should a great artist be expected to abandon his country in order to make a moral choice? or is his duty to keep art alive in society even if it means tolerating evil to do it? And if he chooses the latter course, how can we distinguish this from craven self-interest or even complicity? These are the questions posed to the characters and to us as viewers. A terrific and unusual film, but it will bother you if you are uncomfortable with the ambiguity at its center. ... Read more

Amazon.com

This wonderful film by Polish director Agnieszka Holland (Total Eclipse), based on an autobiography by Solomon Perel, concerns a Jewish-German boy who manages to conceal his identity from the Nazis and ends up a member of their Youth Party. An admirably full experience, the film is both black comedy and horror show, with the central character taking the full measure of everyone's perspective on the war and Nazi crimes. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (40)

A World Turned Upside Down and Inside Out: Could You Survive
This is one of the best films in the genre--historial film from autobiography. Marco Hofschneider brings to brilliant life the story of Salamon Perel, a German Jew. From the days of Kristallnacht--the Night of Broken Glass, when Jewish businesses were trashed and vandalized throughout Germany, to his final reunification with his brother--to poignant to say more about this here...this is a cinematic masterpiece.

I've seen few films that capture the turmoil of adolescent identity and identification so well. True, the Nazi era is the backdrop, but the themes couldn't be more universal. In that respect, it is also more relevant today, in 2004, than during the 1980s, when it was filmed--especially in America, where the American identity has been deconstructed so as to be hardly palpable. Also, it is equally relevant in Europe, where national distinctions could meld into a Confederacy if not a Union of some power.

Politics aside, this is an intensely personal film, one where the unquestioned identity of youth (German) falls victim to oncoming War and cruel happenstance. Perel must continually revise his vision OF himself and FOR himself, and at one point wishes for nothing more than to be an Nazi, for a beautiful young German girl becomes enfatuated with him. How did he end up in this position, wearing the uniform of the Hitler Youth at an Elite boarding school in Berlin? Or lose his virginity to a high-ranking female Party member while he is escorted by train from the Eastern Front to Berlin, as a Folk Hero (Volksdeutscher Held). Perhaps you think it unimaginable. I do not.

I've seen places in German where the remnants of Jewish culture and tradition are clear as day--such as a former High School for Jews in Berlin--with Hebrew and German inscribed clearly in the stones.

No, though Germany seems to some a heartless pillar of unemotionality, efficiency, heartlessness, the German characters in Europa, Europa are as human as those found anywhere. They fall victim to their personal aspirations, desire to please, deceitfulness, betrayal...simply put, human.

Although current fashion is to think of the period as one of the "banality of evil" (attributed to Hannah Arendt, Holocaust scholar), this film exposes the period as one more of human triumph and tragedy, and that, while we grow into adulthood, our personal identity is as much at the mercy of the passage of time and events as a unique, solitary construction.

See this film! It will draw you into the themes of Life, Love, and Redemption, and be over leaving you desperate for more.

Your friend, your enemy, you....
I caught this movie originally on cable a few minutes into the film and was instantly intrigued and completely confused. A Jewish kid in the German Army? And the Hitler Youth? And in love with a German girl who says nice things like 'If there were a Jew here right now, I'd cut his throat!' right before she asks him to father her child. What the hell was going on here?

What was going on was 'Europa, Europa', an outstanding and often funny (true) story of a teen of German-Jewish extraction named Jupp who in 1939 was in the Communist Youth League in one of the Soviet-occupied Baltic territories, and ended up being captured by the Germans when they invaded the USSR in 1941. Naturally he concealed his Jewish identity and, believing him to be Volksdeutsch (a non-German of German blood, and therefore automatically a German citizen under Hitler's laws) the Wehrmacht drafted him as a soldier-translator. This begins Jupp's double life....a few months ago he was a Communist and a Jew, and now he's a German and a Nazi....just imagine this kid's confusion. The soldiers of his unit adopt him as a sort of mascot, and even when one of the soldiers discovers his secret, he does not betray him. The mutual affection between Jupp and the soldiers becomes real over time, and leads to Jupp's first crisis of identity: how can he be friends and comrades with men who believe Jews are evil, sub-human scum? Things get even more complicated when the violently anti-Semetic commander of the unit offers to adopt Jupp and send him back to Germany to join a Hitler Youth hostel. Out of the frying pan, into the fire.

Jupp finds the Hitler Youth both a dream and a nightmare. On the one hand, much of the Nazi propaganda turns out to be true -- the boys are tough, fun-loving, comradely, and loyal. They enjoy their singing, marching, and sports, and they are truly inspired by the destruction of snobbery and class privelege which was a central objective of National Socialism (Nazism). On the other hand, they sing charming songs like "sharpen your knives on the paving stone, the Jewish blood will run" and spend time in class learning to 'spot' Jews and other sub-humans through racial characteristics (Jupp is selected as a good example of Baltic Aryan blood). These kids remind you of darling young tiger cubs that will grow up into man-eaters: they are both charming and frightening.

Much of the movie is a black-comic attempt by Jupp to fit in as a loyal German youth while hiding his Jewish identity from his friends, which is tough on account of being circumcised in a society where circumcision was performed only among Jews (there are some lengths Jupp goes to to disguise this fact that will make any man watching EXTREMELY uncomfortable....I kept thinking "God, that poor kid!"). As you can imagine, when he falls for a lovely Arayan maiden, disguising this fact becomes even harder.

As the war roars towards its conclusion, Jupp is torn by the loyalty and sense of belonging he feels in the HJ/Nazi Germany and his true identity. After the defeat at Stalingrad, the mourning boys gather and sing poignantly together as brothers, and Jupp mourns with them. The fact that he is clearly not faking shows the turmoil and conflict in his young heart. Is he Jupp, the Jew, or Jupp, the Nazi?

"Europa, Europa" is different from 'Holocaust' type movies in that it injects a lot of humor into otherwise horrible situations without cheapening what happened. This is an undeniably tragic and moving film; it is also pretty damn funny. But it will also make you mad, and the really infuriating thing for the viewer is the colossal waste of it all -- the movie shows how the egalitarian ideals of National Socialism inspired, moved, and united young people, but was perverted by race hatred, anti-Semetism, and bloodlust, and ulyimately had to be destroyed at a terrible cost to everybody involved. What a stupid, criminal waste of millions of able young men, who were taught to hate people really no different than themselves. What a pity the Germans chose to forget the many Jews who served ably and courageously for their country in World War I, and bought into Hitler's insane hatred of them, a hatred which was not only stupid but hypocritical. After all, the man who in 1917 or so recommended a young Corporal Hitler for his Iron Cross First Class was a lieutnant named Hugo Gutmann....but somehow I'm willing to bet that fact never came up in any Hitler Youth class. Too bad for Jupp, and too bad for Europa.

Mesmerizing story based on true events¿
Europa Europa is set in the year before and during the World War II in Europe. The story is based on the true events of the young boy, Salomon "Solly" Perel (Marco Hofschneider), son of a shopkeeper in Poland who experienced brutality through the eye of the enemy as he had to disguise himself in order to survive as his heritage was Jewish. Initially Solly escapes the German's wearing a Nazi leather coat with the Swastika on the arm, which becomes his first disguise or act in order to survive. This continues throughout the film where Solly must hide his true identity, which deals with his circumcision, culture, and background. The constant acting by Solly leads him to begin to feel unsure about his true identity as he tries to assimilate into Nazi-German culture and reject himself. At one point Solly's feelings towards his Jewish background are close to hatred as he also struggles with the natural dilemmas of a teenager such as identity and love. Europa Europa is a dark coming of age film depicting the terrible destiny of Solly as he grows up as a pro-Nazi in order to survive and have self-discovery while hiding himself from himself. When the audience stretches their legs during the end credits there will be much room for pondering and contemplation as Europa Europa leaves the viewers with an excellent cinematic experience.

Warning - Not Much Of This Movie Is True
Mr. Perel's story - that is to say, his autobiography - is interesting and compelling. Regretably, this movie has taken literary license to an unfortunate extreme. "Leni," his girlfriend of sorts at the Hitler Youth School, was never pregnant in real life. At the end of the war, he was actually captured by the Americans in his sleep rather than the dramatic capture by the Russians depicted in the movie. He never captured a Russian position as depicted in the movie or otherwise. And, the homosexual German soldier depicted in the movie didn't merely make a casual pass at Perel - he actually tried to rape Perel on a number of occassions, once by trying to knock him out with chloroform (And yet in the end he did keep Perel's secret and they did become friends, as depicted in the movie). Not only was the movie full of drama that never happened, it also cut out significant events which did occur in real life - for example, Perel confronted his classmates and teachers at the end of the war. A very good movie, yes, but it irks me a great deal that so many "facts" were concocted out of thin air, at the expense of many true compelling events. I therefore do not recommend this movie, and instead recommmend Perel's book, and also the book "Hiding in Plain Sight" by Betty Lauer, which was published in March 2004.

I love this movie !!!
This movie is excellent! I can't believe more of my friends don't know this movie. It is truly an underrated movie by mainstream people, especially since it's a true story about a holocaust survivor. Even the music score is awesome. The music was written by Zbigniew Preisner, who has the most intense and sad music ever written for a holocaust movie. It's a crime that this movie is underrated by the mainstream. At least it won many film awards by independent film makers back in the early 1990s. There is justice afterall!!! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Outstanding German satire
This film, is without a doubt, one of the outstanding films of the year.
Excellently acted byfour actors- two young men, one young girl and a decidedly middleaged man.
It would be remiss of me to reveal the wickedly brilliant storyline.
Suffice to say, I feel nobody ,who truly loves film, should miss seeing it.
It has a wonderfully diverse musical soundtrack, which includes,
the ever intriguing voice of Leonard Cohen.
A film for all Europeans, especially Germans, who now bemoan the falling of the Berlin Wall and the spreading of capitalism!
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Reviews (2)

a non-review (just a comment)
First of all, let me state that I have not yet seen this film. The rating above is based on reviews and research on the film.I have long looked forward to seeing it and plan, at long last, to do so today.The single reviewer of the film appartently stated that "It is doubtful I will ever visit Germany as a tourist."Presumably, this means after having viewed this film?This equates to one saying I will never visit Japan because of Pearl Harbor or England because of the American Revolution.More appropriately, it is like me saying I will never visit Russia or Poland because of the murders, mass rapes and other wanton crimes that took places during the flight and explusion of the German population from Eastern Germany (Silesia,East Prussia etc.) in l945-l947.Never visiting Germany again because of events prior and during WWII to me seems like a clear case of chastising the sons for the crimes of the fathers.I look forward to viewing the film today and will enter the theatre with a completely open mind.

"I don't think I'll ever go to Germany to visit"
Director, Eytan Fox should be commended for making such brave, enlightening, and totally compelling film. Walk on Walker covers much intellectual and artistic ground and is easily the best film of the season so far. The film also features such a staggeringly real performance by sexy Israeli actor Lior Ashkenazi that viewers will, without difficulty, remember it as the best for a lead actor in quite some time. Walk on Water, although brimming with cerebral ambition is mostly a meditation on vengeance and forgiveness taking on the hardened and tough heart of Israel, where the past and the present inevitably collide in a country that still wrestles with it's demons.

Eyal (Ashkenazi) is a Mossad special agent and assassin with a rough, sarcastic manner. The movie opens with him targeting a suspected Arab terrorist on a ferry in Istanbul. He manages to pull off the hit successfully, but then his supervisor (Gidon Shemer) sends him on an unusual assignment: He is to track down a Nazi war criminal in hiding, while posing as a tour guide to spy on the old man's adult grandchildren. The younger grandchild, Axel (Knut Berger) is in Israel to visit his big sister Pia (Caroline Peters). Pia is an idealistic German émigré who lives on a kibbutz and is in flight from the darker corners of her family history. Innocent, bourgeois, and liberal, Axel and Pia are appalled by the mistakes of their German past.

When Eyal first meets them, he's initially put on edge by their naïve, noninterventionist, and tolerant ways, but as he drives Axel around the historical sites of Israel, he begins to feel a strange affinity for the kindhearted, soft-spoken boy. Driven to find out the whereabouts of their grandfather, he plants a microphone in Pia's bedroom and eavesdrops on their conversations at night. But it's all to no avail; he learns nothing and dismisses them as "Hansel and Gretel arguing." By day, he drives Axel from the Sea of Galilee to the Wailing Wall, torn between strangling this Palestinian-loving peacenik and wanting to get to know him better.

Deep down Eyal is getting sick of the life of a revenge assassin, and when he returns to Tel Aviv to find his wife dead, from suicide, he becomes even more disillusioned with killing. He's also shocked to find himself inexplicably drawn to Axel and Pia in ways that he just can't quite fathom. When Eyal finds out the Axel is gay, and witnesses him flirting, and then later sleeping with Rafik (Yusef Sweid), a Palestinian Arab in a local gay bar, he initially withdraws. But a sudden and reluctant trip to Germany forces both men to reconsider their political and erotic allegiances. The ultimate climax is both riveting and horrifying as Eyal, finally confronts Axel's Nazi grandfather, and is forced to reconsider his life as an assassin.

Walk on Water does a fine job of presenting the lives of young, modern Jews and Germans, who are constantly forced to live under the shadows of the parents' wars. But the film also effectively breaks down the gay/straight stereotypes. In one scene, Eyal asks Axel what sex with another man is really like - it makes for one of the funniest and snappiest gay/straight dialogues ever seen on film. Eyal is a butch, truculent, masculine he-man, but he possesses a formidable intelligence that occasionally allows him to show his feminine and sensitive side. It's absolutely fascinating to watch him grow as he lets down some of his many defenses and is forced to reassess his entire worldview.

Possessed with a taught, intelligent script, and some fine performances by his leads, Fox has made a formidable movie - a substantial meditation on contemporary sexual, social, and emotional politics. Two disparate cultures initially collide, but ultimately find common ground, and while in doing so, also learn to forgive. Fox raises some difficult and poignant questions about this absolution, and whether the Holocaust can continue to be leveraged for moral certainty as it inevitably recedes and fades into history. Walk on Water is thrilling film that is full of astute cross-cultural observations, while also managing to possess an enormous and significant universal appeal. Mike Leonard April 05.
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