Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

onedof-llc An ignorant savage wrote "controversial conductor" about Wilhelm Furtwängler in the annotation to this page of the IMDb. Wilhelm Furtwängler had created not just an orchestra of a new vision of musicianship. Wilhelm Furtwängler had given to all people on Earth their identity of a civilized race. Nobody ever before or since had penetrated so deeply into the nature of music, the most sophisticated human creation. Nobody was able to enplane to us, humans what we are and what we can be so elegantly and clearly. But of cause we the listeners must make an honest effort to listen and try to understand. That is what the creators of the movie had done. I am thankful to them for their work that they had performed for me.There are two episodes in this movie that show us all in comparison to Wilhelm Furtwängler:1. A photograph showing Dr. Joseph Goebbels and Dr. Wilhelm Furtwängler talking to each other. A street bully, a thug Nazi and one of the most civilized and attractive humans who ever lived. 2. Wilhelm Furtwängler is trying to wipe his hand after a had shake with Goebbels while still bowing to the crowd of Nazis at their last concert in Berlin in April 1945.Both these Germans are the members of the same our human race. This film is a respectable effort to understand significance of Wilhelm Furtwängler.

dusan-22 As for this film, I was only impressed by the fact that Hollywood still makes its propaganda pieces made with Frank Capra style, even though amazed by Harvey Keitels and Stellan Skarsgård's acting, beautiful as always. I can tell the same on the following roles of Moritz Bleibtreu and Birgit Minichmayr, fantastic acting talents. I believe that Istvan Sabo made a truly well developed theater piece screened for all times. Harvey's and Stellan's monologues are just cream on the whole post war cake served, whatever taste is. What really went beyond control if you ask me is American feature film voice and picture of God, judge and jury represented so well by Harvey Keitel. Most monstrous hypocrisy served by the state film policy, whose country didn't even liberate Europe from the Nazis but just came to get their political piece of cake (almost) after the Soviet triumph, is sooo pathetic. The worse is when the mass murder come to judge the serial killer and then find his brother to play the law with him once the serial killer is eliminated by someone else. I guess everybody has to play their roles. Citizens of the country whose ancestors exterminated over 80 million native Americans just to get their land is judging Nazi Germany for exterminating 6 million Jews that were left to die until the interest didn't move their troops to Europe. Officer of the country that killed over 6 million civilians only in Vietnam and Korean war together talks about responsibility of an artist? What about the responsibility of John Wayne, glorified figure of the greatest civilian massacre in human history? What about Barry Sadler and Merle Haggard the hippie hater whose music was encouraging US boys to throw napalm over Vietnamese women and children? Is napalm better than gas chambers of the Nazis? And what about "Birth of Nation" and D.W. Griffith? Isn't he the one of the greatest establishers of American feature film? D.W. Griffith the clan's man ... Well, examples are many, many of them probably worse than the poor attempt to make a plot for this film as nobody ever trialled these people and on contrary - they have been glorified until today. Pity for wasted talent. I will be what an art lover suppose to be when faces tyranny of evil according to this movie and will disregard positive vote. 0 out of 10.

peapulation Here is an arty film of the new millennium. One that reflect upon whatever happened in the last century, and one that in fact deals with the favourite theme of the arty films based on the 20th century: the aftermath of the second world war. It is an interesting period to be talking about, particularly when it deals with such a delicate matter as the inquisitions of the people that were suspects of having been members of the Nazi Party. America on one side, the nation that wants to capture all the Nazis, and Russia, that wants to keep the talented ones. In other words, the country of Germany, stunned by what had been the Nazi period, stunned by whatever they had been kept obscure of, being screwed from both sides.Here is a film where you can't take sides, because the filmmaker takes it for you. Szabo makes it very clear that Dr. Furtwangler is not evil. In fact, this is what we think in Music Box by Costa-Garvas, which is why until the end, we must wonder whether Szabo is playing us, fooling us in actually believing in the kindness of strangers. And on the other side of the good side is the Harvey Keitel side, who makes no gimmicks of the fact that he is playing on the evil, tough side.The outcome is not goofy, it's cheesy. Us being told that we are wrong. Us being told by European filmmakers that Americans were bold. Of course, that is probably true. Perhaps Furtwangler wasn't a buddy of Hitler's. But were the Americans wrong in seeking revenge. under such a dubious and biased ligght, we cannot take sides, when we are not given an opportunity to take sides. Keitel's Maj. Arnold hates the Nazis not because of what they did, but because he is brainwashed. And if that wasn't enough to prove his instability, we get his shakiness when he catches his two associates out on a date, and he is angry at the fact that the woman didn't pick him.The film plays out more like a stage play than a film. In fact, the film is based on a stage play. That wouldn't even be so bad, because Skarsgard is really good at playing the guy we must pity and Keitel is really good as playing the guy we must hate. It's all set out for us. The sides have been picked, we have been cheated. This is another film where the filmmaker manipulates our thoughts, which wouldn't even be so bad. But when the film drags on and is sucked dry of inventiveness as this one, it shouldn't be forgiven. In fact, the only parts where the film flows are the interrogatory scenes, that display Maj. Arnold's rude and aggressive methods that are good at drawing out attention. And Skarsgard is good as the helpless victim.The photography is not perfect, strange, because he decides not to move the camera itself so much, and yet, he doesn't take his time to think through the mise-en-scene. I suppose, however, that you could be doing worse, counting that there is no character in the play that is particularly sexually appealing, which is ever so important on the silver screen.WATCH FOR THE MOMENT - When, after the second time, Skargard's character gets up off his seat. He is angry, scared, defeated. He has no chance is succeeding. That is a brilliant performance. Too bad it's an easy performance, for the rest of the film.

jmax-11 The movie explores big questions in life, such as what is the right thing to do in an evil place, like Nazi Germany. The astonishing element for me was Skarsgård's performance as Wilhelm Furtwängler, the German orchestra conductor. In his portrayal of the conductor's internal struggles, suppressed anger and despair, words were secondary; it was all there in the silent elements - his posture, his face. Keitel was good, as others have observed, in exhibiting a commonly observed feature of zealots who, in pursuit of a better world, become brutal in their righteousness. Another testimony to Szabó's depth and skill as a director.