Never Look Away (2018)
An art student confronts forbidden love and dark pasts. Fans of profound drama and tangled relationships will be captivated.
Genres: Drama, Romance, History
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Never Look Away(2018)
Overview
A young German artist builds a new life after leaving East Germany for the West, but memories of growing up under Nazi rule and later state control won’t let go. As he searches for his own voice, love, politics, and art collide across decades of upheaval and change.
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Review Summary
Pros: engrossing epic storytelling; moving love story; strong performances | Cons: very long runtime; heavy themes and brutality; some character thinness
Will You Like This?
You’ll likely enjoy this if you want a sweeping, emotionally intense drama about art, history, and personal truth that stays gripping even at a long runtime; Not for you if you want something light, fast, or low on nudity and harsh wartime themes.
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Full Cast & CrewFeatured Comments/Tips
So beautiful i did not want to look away for the whole three hours, and by the rolling credits i was clapping enthusiastically in my head!
That is one of the best movie what I ever see in my life. The storyline, the casting, the pictures and the music... They are simply beautiful. I haven''t enough words for describe what I feel now. That is special.
In terms of craftsmanship, “Never Look Away” is definitely a well-made movie. It also starts promisingly and focuses on an aspect of Nazi crimes that is not as well known as many others. Saskia Rosendahl makes a good impression in the first few minutes, but the film lost me a little when lead actor Tom Schilling takes center stage. The supporting actors remain strong, especially Sebastian Koch and Paula Beer. However, Schilling remains somewhat bland, which is not ideal given that he is the focal point for the majority of the three-hour runtime. I also had the feeling that director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck regularly tried to win back the viewer's attention with nudity, which I found a bit clumsy and didn't really work for me either. And the finale isn't particularly successful either, so the bottom line is that this sometimes interesting movie is ultimately rather mediocre.
This is a masterpiece. I don't speak German. So, had to watch this with subtitles. This movie was so good, I wish I spoke German, just to make sure they didn't miss anything during the translation. Saskia Rosendahl launches this movie to the moon within the first hour. The movie is three hours long. I didn't feel the time passing by. A good indication that the story deserved the three hour run. The casting was perfect. Saskia Rosendahl needs to do more movies. Seriously. I'm not a big fan of subtitles. But for this hauntingly beautiful lady, I will show up.:heart:
Melancholy. Good history. Good music and picture
The original title of the film is Werk ohne Autor.
in the end that 40 minutes wow, loved it
If you''re not sure watching this or not. Just don''t. There is no story at all.
Featured User Reviews
I was hesitating between rating this an 8 or a 9 and then I remembered the scene where [spoiler] a naked young woman bangs the edge of a thick plate against her head and says, "I'm composing a song for the führer," while blood trickles down her face.[/spoiler] _Never Look Away_ (_Werk ohne Autor_) is why I go to the cinema every day. Without this imposition, I surely would've let this long German film pass by unseen but, as it is, I witnessed this masterpiece unfold on the big screen in front of me, and now I'm imbued by its magic. German director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (_The Lives of Others_, 2007) continues to prove he is a master of his craft, and that English speaking countries haven't totally cornered the market on brilliant directing. Some of his scenes are so poignant they're tattooed inside of me like poems I've committed to memory. Inspired by a true story (there's an informative, spoiler-ridden Wiki page about the film and its origins), _Never Look Away_ has strong acting, tight plotting and breathtaking directing. I can't guarantee you the same experience as mine if you watch it on your laptop, but I can assure you that, cinematically, _Never Look Away_ is a film in the truest sense of the word.
An amazing return to directorial form, ‘Never Look Away’ is a novelistic, epic film that appears to constantly shapeshift in front of our eyes. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck has created the rare kind of work where politics, history, art and love collide into an almost operatic crescendo. Like the title suggests, it’s riveting viewing. - Jake Watt Read Jake's full article... https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-never-look-away-an-artistic-and-spiritual-epic Head to https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/sff for more Sydney Film Festival reviews.
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