Spoilers…but really not unless you lived under a rock.

How to describe a movie about this topic positively without sounding like a terrible person…that’s my conundrum. A similar issues was faced by the writers of this movie and boy did they do a good job. Somehow this movie about such a bad thing ended up being enjoyable to watch.

The writing was good. Normally movies based on reality can go one of two ways. They can either be too documentarial (which totally should be a word tyvm) or they can be a little too Hollywood. This movie was well-balanced. It treated the subject with the respect and honesty it deserved but still somehow managed to bring moments of levity that didn’t feel out-of-place. I was impressed that I could laugh without feeling like a terrible person. It didn’t really get that heavy in tone. Instead, the most poignant moment of the movie for me was a comment about “good Germans”.

The acting was decent. It was a little overdone by some people and a little boring by others. Really nobody stood out as irreplaceable actors. They all did good enough but nobody shone. Basically, nobody deserves praise but nobody deserves censure. It’s obvious why people were cast in certain parts. I was neither overwhelmed nor underwhelmed or whelmed at all really. The acting existed merely for the story.

They didn’t really try anything special with this movie. No cinematographic tricks or lighting or odd music. It was just a good movie with good pacing and a balanced script.

Verdict: It wasn’t an amazing film and it isn’t even close to the best film out there for experience, story, weight, etc. And you really don’t need to see it in theaters. You could probably see it with mixed company but maybe still consider before watching it with kids because you may have to explain some things to them. But honestly, if you don’t see the movie it wouldn’t hurt you. It reminds me of Doubt in that I feel the same level of positive passivity with recommending it.