The story of Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand is my favorite romance. Ever since I first read Sabina's story in her autobiography, "The Pastor's Wife," I've hoped to emulate her. So I went into this film with high expectations, and it met almost every last one. One of my all time favorite parts of Sabina's story became the focal point of this tale, much to my delight. There were a few creative liberties taken with the story, but for the most part, to discuss them would be nitpicking. There was a healthy amount of humor, and all of that humor served a purpose to either advance the plot or to drive home an important message. And the locations they chose for filming were often quite breathtaking, being set in the landscapes of Romania (where the story takes place) and Northern Ireland.
The choice to have Raluca Botez reprise her role as Sabina, but two decades before the start of the previous film, was a bold one, but it worked for the most part. There were points when you could really tell they had an older actress playing a young woman. Emil Mandanac, on the other hand, looks like he hasn't aged a day.
I gave the movie an 80% rating on account of two primary complaints. First, I wasn't overly fond of the editing at the very opening of the movie. Scene transitions were sharp and sudden, and it could be a bit confusing in the first 5-10 minutes. It was unclear whether the movie would have exposition in the form of subtitles throughout until Sabina started narrating, and their excuse for speaking English felt, to me, as contrived as the pilot episode of Hogan's Heroes. It is, in fact, accurate to many of the Wurmbrands' interactions with people whose native tongue they did not speak, but this fact gets lost in the way they present it. The jarring transitions didn't last throughout the film, but the narration acted as a constant reminder that they were there.
Second was the unusual decision to have the Wurmbrands seemingly distance themselves from their Jewish heritage after they became Christians. The Wurmbrands made a VERY firm point about being born Jews, to the point that Richard even rejected the opportunity to hide his heritage outright when a friend in the Reich bureaucracy gave him the chance. When a few characters, one of them a soldier, ask Richard if he is a Jew, Richard answers that he is a Christian. In real life, the answer would've been, "Yes, I am a Jew, as is my Savior." They did this because the pastor who baptized and trained them, Isaac Feinstein, also wore the star without shame. It didn't sit well with me to see these unashamedly Jewish Christians correcting anyone who asked them if they were Jewish. And if I could change just one part of the film, that would be it.
Overall, this is a beautiful film with a beautiful message, and it captures the love between Richard and Sabina wonderfully. I came for the romance and stayed for the message. It truly is a wonderful summary of what it is to be a Christian, especially in times of trial and persecution. "The heart of the gospel is forgiveness."
