Ensofter Overrated and overhyped

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

ShangLuda Admirable film.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Michael Powe This documentary reviews the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer with the focus on the relationship between his religious beliefs and his personal actions. Factually, there's little in the movie that you could not get from Google. Bonhoeffer was one of a minority of Christian leaders in Germany who publicly and privately opposed the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party. What the film does is anecdotally present the growth of Bonhoeffer's theology from the conventional Lutheranism of his upbringing into a kind of social activism in which the actions of one's life are what bring one to Christ. The defining moment is when Bonhoeffer arrives in New York, intending to teach at Union Seminary, only to realize "one who believes does not flee." The film notes the irony that while Bonhoeffer did not like Reinhold Niebuhr, by the end of his life he was living the kind of social activism preached by Niebuhr.The film itself is well-made and follows a standard documentary format, with period films, stills and interviews with surviving friends and family. Significant passages from Bonhoeffer's writing are mixed into the narrative description.Bonhoeffer was a pastor, teacher and theologian. His life was not exciting in the conventional sense, although he did some spying against the Nazis that must have been nerve racking. And much of this film is spent relating belief and action. The question asked and answered for him was a simple one: To what extent are our actions the consequence of our beliefs? It's the question we are left to ponder for ourselves.

in1984 Lacks depth, perspective, and jumps around a lot. Interesting film historically and as a documentary into a seldom discussed part of Nazi Germany. Only worth watching if it shows up for free on TV.Humor shows up unintended. The most interesting parts are when history reveals one thing and the religious people they interview have interpretations completely disconnected with that reality. You laugh at their either intended deception or utter naiveté. One might say the film makes a better study of cognitive dissonance.In the end, it comes off like listening to priests excusing the activity of fellow priest sex offenders. Maybe a more accurate comparison would be the Bush administration excusing itself for lying about Iraq and the war by claiming it wasn't intentional and taking credit for the newspapers and organizations that disagreed with it from the beginning since they are American.So, while the story of Bonhoeffer provides an interesting addition to history, it really isn't worthy of a theater. It's best viewed within the context of a course on World War 2 history, so that it can be fully understood that while Bonhoeffer was a part of a group in the Protestant church that fought against Nazi Germany, most of that same church, including its leaders, supported the Nazis, just as they now support Bush at the time this film was made.

journey794 Incredible detail. It lays out Bonhoeffer's entire life; his passion for Christ, his strivings to achieve peace among churches. He was a true hero, and more people need to hear the story of this young man brutally silenced by the Nazis a month before peace was declared. As a German and a Catholic, it was particularly hard for me to watch, since the Catholic church was also outed for signing a concordance with the Nazis in 1933. But as has always been said, it is best to understand the past to prevent repeating mistakes.It is also interesting because of background information provided by the people in Bonhoeffer's life, such as a niece, nephew, close friend, and sister to his fiancee. Plus, for those who love the German language, many of his former students and some clergy speak in German on camera with a translation. Haunting and highly recommended.

Swangirl The story of Dietrich Bonhoffer has been waiting to be told for some time. His life had many elements that easily make for a compelling movie. His refusal to fall in line with the Nazi party, his secret machinations to help overthrow Hitler and his eventual hanging as a spy are just a few of them. Unfortunately, this documentary does little to build any excitement and mostly relies on a number of talking heads. Most of them are theological experts and historians. Some of them are prone to wander off on verbal tangents, losing the audience and losing focus.The more interesting speakers are the people that actually knew the man, such as his brother-in-law and the sister of his fiance. Their recollections are the most insightful and interesting.In the few times Bonhoffer is quoted, actor Klaus-Maria Brandauer speaks the words and does an excellent job. As someone else has noted, he would have done even better to have been the narrator. The person narrating the film seems rather wooden and distant from the material.What truly seemed to be missing from this film was a sense of what drove Bonhoffer to do what he did --- which was to essentially break stride with the rest of the German Church and draw attention to himself in a time when such actions could cost him his life (which they eventually did). He spoke out against the mistreatment of Jews and even formed his own seminary. He went against his own pacifist views to take part in a plot to assassinate Hitler. What compelled him to do these things? The movie doesn't truly attempt to get at this.While Bonhoffer is a good attempt at telling the story of a man who gave his life for what he believed in, it's honestly a rather boring documentary that will sadly be overlooked by most who aren't already familiar with Bonhoffer's life.