Plan A

It begins: 'Based on a true story' and that's exactly what it delivers. These were extraordinary times where simple unvarnished truth would have been an incredibly powerful way of telling this particular story. Unfortunately, creative license greatly diminishes rather than heightens what should have been storytelling at its finest. The ending, in particular, betrays the integrity of real events. The high-scoring ratings here seem similarly gratuitous. Is it better than Schindler's List (8.9 and seven Oscars)? Or Life is Beautiful (8.6 and 3 Oscars)? Or The Pianist (8.5 and 3 Oscars)? The acting's is good, as are the production values and it's a decent enough film. But truth, especially given the subject matter, is infinitely more powerful than fiction.

In the immediate aftermath of WWII, camp survivor Max (August Diehl) returns to find the man, who ratted out his family, has now stolen his home. He encounters a squad of the British army's Jewish brigade. They have been tracking down and executing former SS and other collaborators. They are transferred out by the British. Max remains behind to join a local Jewish squad with a darker plan.

I am going with this as Max and the group hunt down the SS. I am less convinced that he would do what he does after that. First, he would go kill the man who stole his house which led to the murder of his family. Without that, his character makes no sense. After killing the guy, he should finish off the list. I'm more than willing to believe that he would switch sides, but by that time, I don't buy his character. The story has no tension since the plan was never pulled off in the real history. I never expected them to succeed. The first half of this movie is pretty good, but the second half runs into various overall issues. In many ways, Michael would be the better lead character.

It's unbelievable. A true story about what's right and wrong. Revenge or forgiveness. A shame that so many anti Semitic people rate it with only 1 star. It definitely deserves a much higher rating.

The circumstances and the issues as presented in this film are very accurate--- maybe too accurate for commercial success, because many viewers may be displeased at the depiction of the German population in the aftermath of WWII. As far as the postwar vigilante killings of Nazis and the course of "Plan A" itself go, the film is again quite accurate although it simplifies the narrative by skipping past some complexities. And, strangely for a movie called "Plan A," it never mentions that there was a Plan B (less sweepingly murderous) and even a Plan C (even less so than Plan B).

I found the visual aspect very impressive. More than once, I marveled that a scene looked exactly as I'd imagined it from reading the history.

The writers and actors seem able to throw important questions out at the audience while still maintaining a feeling of naturalism. My one complaint there is that when someone is asked why the Jews didn't mount more resistance against the Nazis, the movie doesn't provide as full an answer as it could have.

And although the actors gave their all, someone decided to add drama to certain scenes by overdubbing some shivery breathing that the actors obviously weren't really doing. I had to say it. But that said, the movie presents an important episode-- we are still affected today by what, in the end, did NOT happen then-- and treats the attendant questions with due seriousness.

We are watching this right now, it's strange, the first voice says a few words, he says what would you do? It's all for no reason. Isn't this happening worldwide right now? History repeating itself. Okay there's a reason but I don't agree with it: we use far too many resources that can lead to a very uncertain future for us all so we need to act before 2030.