Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

Pluskylang Great Film overall

Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

Catangro After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Horst in Translation ([email protected]) "Der neunte Tag" or "The Ninth Day" is a German movie from over 10 years ago that runs for slightly over 90 minutes and was directed by Volker Schlöndorff who is still pretty famous here in Germany for directing the Oscar-winning "Die Blechtrommel". I was very underwhelmed by this one and while I am definitely not the greatest Schlöndorff fan, I can't deny he has made a couple good films and I would include this one here also as one of these I deem superior to "The Tin Drum". The best thing about it is definitely the acting. Matthes and Diehl bring their A-Game and other actors probably could not have delivered better portrayals. Both certainly elevated the material and I think that, at least back then, both count to the best Germany had to offer in their respective age groups. Hilmar Thate played a supporting character and I felt he was very good too. Then again, I may be a bit biased here as I have always liked him.The story is about a priest who is in jail at a concentration camp during the days of Nazi Germany. A German army commander offers him a deal: If he writes a letter to the Pope and encourages the Pope to approve of German politics during that era, then he (Diehl) would let him (Matthes) free and also save many of the priest's peers from being killed at the concentration camp. Of course, the priest does not believe a bit in the Nazi's claim to being the dominant race, so it is all a decision of his conscience and there is a lot of talk about the priest acting like a Judas for the good cause and for saving people's lives. Will he finally do it? I won't tell you. You need to watch for yourself.Another aspect I believe that is interesting about the movie is the fact that the Vatican is in Rome and people who know about the Italian political position in the 1930s will know that this may have complicated things a lot. Unfortunately, the basics are a lot more interesting in this movie than the actual story. The writers certainly could have made a better job here and I cannot say I approve of the script. The story offered so much more and even if the German Film Awards apparently disagree, I have to say that they did not achieve what they could have achieved here. The only true reason for watching this film is the political context, the real story it is based on and the convincing performances from the 2 lead actors. All in all, I give "Der neunte Tag" a thumbs-up and still call it a missed opportunity. Go check it out.

ma-cortes During WW2 a priest named Henry Kremer(Ulrich Matthes) imprisoned in concentration camp of Dachau is freed along a period of 9 days. He's threatened by a SS Unterstumfuhrer(August Dhiel) to convince the Luxemburg bishop(Tathe) to write a declaration for supporting the Nazi regime . The priest is affected because of his decision whether or not to collaborate with the Nazis.This is an intelligent and thought-provoking film , correctly based on real events. The director covers a wide variety of plot developments at a rare pace by means of continuous flashbacks in which remembers horrible events at concentration camp of Duchau. Excellent performances by main cast as Ulrich Matthes (Goebbles in ¨The downfall¨) and August Dhiel(Ingorious bastards). Good secondary cast as Bibiana Beglau (Legend of Rita by Schlondorff) as the affecting sister . The musical score is often despairing and screeching with surprising witty touches , it is composed by Russian musician Alfred Schnitke(1934-88). The motion picture is well directed by Volker Scholondorff. He's an expert on Nazi issues as proved in ¨Tim drum¨ , ¨The ogre¨ and this one. Schlondorff does a very unusual pictures with important insight into how the past affects the present and root causes of war. His first feature film, ¨Young Torless¨ was showed around the world and he was pretty heard by international viewers when directed ¨The lost honour of Katharine Blum¨, getting similar success his fellow-countrymen as Fassbinder, Herzog and Wenders. His reputation was greatly enhanced when his phenomenal movie ¨Tin drum¨ was awarded the Oscar as best foreign-language film. Later on,Schlondorff consolidated with ¨Circle of deceits¨. Since then his films have been less satisfactory as ¨Murder in the Bayou¨ , ¨Handmaid's tale¨and ¨Palmetto¨.Rating : Very good , Schlondorff's one the last impressive film to date. The film is admirable coherent , though in complicated narrative and never sags under its approx. hundred minutes . The movie will appeal to Nazi theme buffs

golomi After reading some of the reviews below, I could not resist the frustration and decided to register and express my own opinion on the subject. First of all, it is a great movie, very humanistic and powerful. It is a movie about inner human struggle, it has nothing to do with church propaganda or any other nonsense so cheaply expressed by some "commentators". Being myself raised and atheist (in the former Soviet Union), subsequently going through Christian transformation but eventually abandoning it and becoming a naturalistic pantheist, I found the movie extremely resonating and devoid of any propaganda at all. It is a story about life the way it was, about people cast into the horror of the state machine, powerless and nearly broken. You will see no heroics, no pretty faces, no romantic interludes, only the bleak atmosphere and a masterful portrayal of the events. The most persistent feeling the movie leaves inside is the torturous question "What character could I actually be had I lived back then?" – and the chilling realization of the answer – "anyone of them." I only hope that the History is not going to repeat itself the way it always persistently did over the past millennium.Most people are "conditioned" with the false sense of Hollywood "reality" in movies, but the real life is very different and this movie provides a great example of it. It actually is a big plus that the language is German, it adds a lot to the authenticity of the feeling. I have no difficulties following the English subtitles, the dialogs are sparse and do not divert from the main flow (needless to say, my native language is Russian). Finally, the soundtrack is simply incredible. The morons who call it "weak" should check the credits at the end – the bulk of the sound uses Alfred Schnittke's symphonic works – a perfect ornament to the gloomy and hopeless flow.If you are looking for a movie to entertain yourself, you are definitely in a wrong place. By if you are like me, looking for a movie to enhance your soul and understanding of the drama of our life, then it is definitely worth checking out. 10/10

Nirankush Mukherjee This movie has been unduly panned by IMDb critics as being Catholic propaganda, when there is hardly any. It's actually an exploration of questions on faith and morality, viewed from the perspective of Rev. Henri Kremer, a priest who has been "on leave" from Dachau to convince the Bishop of Luxemburg to support Nazism, who has been a silent opponent all throughout. At one point the film even mentions that the Pope however congratulated Hitler on his birthday - that clearly indicates the acquiescence of the Catholic world - to me that's quite the opposite of propaganda.**** SOME SPOILERS AHEAD **** The movie chronicles each of the 9 days that Rev. Kremer is allowed, and his conversations with Gestapo officer Gebhardt. When Kremer fails to convince the Bishop, he is persuaded to write a memo himself, given his own respectability due to his family status. In return he can have all the priests in Dachau released. Kremer at one point thinks he is being like Judas betraying the Christian cause (also to be noted that his personal cash upon release amounted to 30 marks), which Gebhardt, a former theology student himself, argues is a necessary evil, because without Judas there would be no martyrdom of Christ, and hence no Christianity. Rev. Kremer also learns that by giving Nazi policies the official blessing of Catholicism, he can be responsible for the deportation of thousands - although some 40 priests could be let go from Dachau. The resulting dilemma of Kremer dominates the movie.Ulrich Matthes is very convincing in the role of Kremer with his sunken cheeks and eyes, and watch the young actor August Diehl in the role of Untersturmfuehrer Gebhardt.