The Only Way

I like war movies. I like movies about the Jews in World War II. So this movie gets 4 stars just for being a movie about the Jews in World War II. However, this is by far the worst movie of its type I have ever seen. If you aren't a fan of this type of movie, then it has no saving graces and would probably only be worth 1 or 2 points at most. As a viewer I felt no tension whatsoever, despite the topic being one which should have been dripping with tension from start to finish. This was largely down to the musical score, which was totally inappropriate for the type of movie it was. It's as if the orchestra made the score without any reference to the movie content itself. Just re-doing the musical score to something appropriate would probably lift the movie's rating a point or two.

This portrayal of Danish rescuers of Jews in World War II is the fictional story of how one family's world was turned upside down when the Nazi occupiers in Denmark (since 1940) moved against the Jews of Denmark in violation of their own agreement with Danish leaders that the Jews in Denmark would be left alone. In the fall of 1943, the Germans plotted to gather the Jews of Denmark for deportation on a Jewish holiday evening when the vast majority of Jews would be at home. Jews were so well integrated in Danish society, that no public government records identified the religious affiliations of the population. Thus, the Nazis had to steal the records from Jewish organizations in order to know where to find them. The story illustrates the surprise and refusal of many to believe a round up of Jews would actually take place. The pace of the movie is neither plodding nor frenetic. The tension builds and is enhanced by the bewilderment and on-the-spot decision-making by a specific family and their would-be rescuers. Having read the 1955 book, "October 1943", by actual rescuer Aage Bertelsen, I resonated with virtually every incident faced by those at risk. Although this is not a polished film by modern film-making standards, the content and context of the events is accurately presented. A major strength of the movie is the extensive on- location filming in Copenhagen, and the use of Danish actors.

With great acting on all accounts with other good aspect (including Art/Set decoration and Music Score) this becomes a great movie detailing about the heroism of the Danish Christians in protecting their Jews from the Nazis. All actors perform brilliantly making this a should-see movie. Especially for movies telling about Danes helping to save their Jewish population from the Nazi concentration camps.

In German occupied Denmark during WWII, since the German invasion in 1940, the Danes had mostly been left in peace. In October 1943 word gets out that thr Nazis are planning to remove the relatively small Jewish population to concentration camps. The resistance plot to help the Jews escape.

Produced by Barry Levinson, this low budget small production tells of one of the great stories of WWII, but sadly this US-Danish production lacks much in the way of powerful drama. The period detail and location work is well done.

The film begins with an auction, and one of the items is an Amati violin, which is purchased by the owner of an instrument shop, and with him is his young colleague Lars, and it's the violin, the instrument shop and the innocent Lars who become the chief victims in this film, telling the story of the German round up of Jews in Denmark in 1944, which turned out a formidable failure. They were hoping to catch all the Jews of Copenhagen in one strike, and all they got was a poor old man, as the Danes made a major contribution by standing up for every single Jew to their knowledge and helping them all escape across to Sweden. This is a true story, it is filmed in Denmark by Danes and a Danish director, and there is only one British actor in the cast, apart from Jane Seymour, who later became one of the Bond brides, but she is already excellent here. The film is very basic, there are no Hollywood tricks or special effects, and all the acting therefore gives a very natural impression. The film follows the fate of the precious violin, but we never learn what ultimately happened to it, although there are reasons to believe that the good Mr Petersen, the best actor in the film, succeeded in saving it.