Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin.

I agree with other reviews that found two major faults with this movie.

AUTHOR. The movie tells us (in the scripts) that B wrote many many books about faith. Yet the movie itself never shows him writing or publishing or discussing any books. The most we see is B writing his thoughts in a journal.

ASSASSIN. Yes historically there were many failed plots to assassinate Hitler, and in fact the movie shows us such a plot. But there are no facts in the movie to show that B was ever arrested or charged with this. It's a very serious gap in the story.

BOTTOM LINE. I'm sorry, but I think B deserves a better script and a livelier story. The movie Valkarie with Tom Cruise (a non religious story) that depicts a failed assassination attempt on Hitler is a good example.

The Bonhoeffer movie could have used a lot more action to break up what were tedious conversations about faith in the face of evil.

Well-filmed and acted. However, the film spent an inordinate amount of time on Bonhoeffer's 1930 trip to New York and his supposed fascination with gospel music and jazz. In point of fact, his later prison letters reveal the lasting influence of the traditional Lutheran chorales and the hymns of Paul Gerhardt on his theology and piety. There was no mention whatsoever of his engagement to Maria von Wedemeyer (eighteen years his junior), with whom he exchanged dozens of letters during his imprisonment (1943-1945), and later published as 'Love Letters from Cell 92.' It was Maria's grandmother who funded the Confessing Church's seminary at Finkenwalde where Bonhoeffer championed a kind of 'new monasticism' for the seminarians-with traditional chorales and an ordered praying of the psalms. A plot line that wove Maria into the end of Bonhoeffer's life would have raised some compelling questions-such as, Why get engaged if the/your world is about to end? All that being said, it is good that a film of Bonhoeffer was produced, bringing his story of fighting for truth to a wider audience.

Well clarified the passion and resolve of B and the confessing church. Loved the flashback model, the cast was well selected, the film moved along well. Loved the portrayal of B's relationship with his brother Walter and the depth of family connection and love. Being that the plight of the Jewish people under Hitler was a central focus I was surprised there was no mention of B's twin sister being married to a Jewish man and moving to England. Well done over all. I shed tears and wish I will one day be as courageous as B if faced with such choices. Thanks for producing this film. I recommend it.

There was more to D Bonhoeffer's life that was not covered in the film. In contrast, there was much about his time learning about the African American culture of the 30's with jazz and church life, which I did not see tie out with his strong convictions relating to the Nazi persecution of the Jews in Germany. Would have liked to see more about his writings and better understand how pretending to join the Nazi helped him fight against them.

I learned about his life and the very sad inaction from the German Christian Church during this time. In our times, the Church, must shed light on evil and not be afraid to do so.

This captured the moral complexity of real life and the high cost of doing the right thing excellently. Despite criticisms that the writers took too much liberty with the timeline, the changes worked well for pacing the film and sticking to the main point. It felt complete, leaving the viewer heavy but satisfied.

The acting was strong and the writing was good, despite a couple (only a couple) cliché lines that still fit the moment. The actor portraying Bonhoeffer avoided the cliché perfect hero and showed the weakness of a man suffering for a hopeless cause.

8/10 - this is much better than the press.