ShangLuda
Admirable film.
Livestonth
I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible
KnotStronger
This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.
Suman Roberson
It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.
Diana Gonzalez
Of course it is not a new "Schindler's List" as the protagonist is of a much smaller dedication in my opinion. This is not like "The Pianist", since the movie does not have the talent of Adrien Brody. I believe a lot of people including myself understand that it is not a GREAT movie. But still it's full of emotions, regrets, memories that many of us don't want to accept actually. I am absolutely convinced that the military drama must keep some traces (conclusions) in reasonable people's minds. If a trace wasn't left, then, the filming team did not cope with the task. No doubts this film did cope. So the conclusion is pretty simple: it is not a great but a GOOD military drama about Poland, Nazis, genocide, horror, dignity and of course love.I usually say about on-war movies that it is necessary to watch them, to remember and to be desperately willing (or to pray if you are a believer) to a similar never happens again. Never ever.7 of 10
Richard Stiek
I have never written a review on IMDb before, but I am compelled to after having watched this film with the Girl in the Green Sweater, one of the survivors in the Lvov group, and her son and fifty neighbors. The story, she said, does not veer from reality, but softens it a bit relative to what her 8 year old eyes saw.She spoke with us after the film and frankly, it is impossible to not be moved by this film. I originally was watching with my bride before going home to work some more for the day, but I stayed throughout the film and the Q&A after. Without remembering this kind of history, we cannot help but repeat its evil. Watch this film.
denis888
The Agnieszka Holland production seems to be a rather good effort to show the fate of Lwow Jews trapped in the ghetto and getting their way out through the sewer system. Some locals help, some do not. That could be a great and very exciting story. It was not. Mrs. Holland did not fulfill the main goal. Her film tends to be very prolonged, languid, too slow and too dirty. Well, yes, was is dirty, but then, do we need so much nudity on screen? Some foul language does not seem to sound natural here, too, and yes, some scenes are too slow and too blurry in delivery. Beno Fuhrmann is a great actor, but here he is not at his peak. His part is OK, but not driving, as well as some more. The film is really OK, but this is the one that you watch and then never repeat or remember much.
Kong Ho Meng
'In Darkness' proved to be a worthy Polish contender against the foreign film winner 'A Separation'. This film to me is a more successful version of 'Schindler's List' - similar in terms of the portrayal of an unlikely hero who had no reason to save the Jews but did it in the end.(Why so? Schindler's List covered a much wider span, all above ground, with a longer time frame as well, and yet failed miserably as it chose to tone down A LOT of what could have happened in reality given the weight of the situation. I expected more from it as it is not even realistically outstanding to some of the other commendable Holocaust-related work of art.) This film focuses not on the atrocities in the surface, but more on the intricate details in its core matter - things happening underground. Roughly half of the film happens inside the sewers, but with enough details that reminded me of "Hunger" even though the dire situation were not full-fledged in my opinion.We not only get to know of the conflicts between the hero, his non-Jew community against the Jews, but also the conflicting portrayal of the Jews themselves who are not all one-dimensional characters unlike in some other movies (i.e. not overly depressed or in a state of hopelessness, they actually hate each other, some of them are annoying/ traitors/ greedy etc).I too believe things are pretty toned down as well in this film, as living under the sewers in such a situation where the water rendered unusable, the stench unbearable (augmented by the stench of corpses), absence of light, hygiene and proneness to diseases/fatal accidents could easily cause multiple levels of discord and unwanted psychological behaviors.I have read that the director deviated from the real account a little as some of the characters 'killed' are actually survivors today. But in a way, maybe it is for the better as the film is already disturbing enough.Also, some of the scenes done above ground are a little bit unnatural...hence I could not grant a rating above 7 stars. But all in all, this is a well made Holocaust-related film but it is also a film about humanity that is much better than average.