Le Réseau Edelweiss Pirates

A very interesting and realistic bit of history about German society during the Nazi regime,specifically the brutality of the SS in the last year of the war and often overlooked domestic resistance to the dictatorship. It's "realistic" because it's a true story. It's also a low budget production. Yet the acting is solid and they managed to assemble period correct vehicles, clothing, uniforms, props and sets. Technically the only disappointment are the hand held digital cameras instead of shooting it on film. Then again it looks better than a 16MM film. Once the story gets going I stopped noticing how it was shot. The only missing element is the famous assassination of the SS chief in Cologne that sets up the last part of the story. It's an odd omission. But the film is based on the personal recollections of a member of the Edelweiss Pirates. So perhaps he was not privy to any first hand knowledge of that courageous act of resistance. Nonetheless it's a film that provides viewers with some rare insight into a part of German society that opposed the Nazis during the years of that brutal dictatorship. It's an aspect of WWII history that isn't explored by enough films on that subject.

While the title makes it sound like a combination of The Sound of Music and a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, this is actually a serious film about the real-life Edelweiss Piraten, a loosely organized gang of German anti-Hitler youth who harassed the Nazis and hid Jews and others who were in trouble.

It's the last days of World War II, bombing raids are nearly a daily threat, but the Nazis are still very much in charge. The youths use the bombing raids as cover for their guerrilla activities, and not all of them survive. Both they and the people they are protecting are constantly in danger, especially when, like the main character, they have gung ho Nazi sympathizers in the family.

The characters are half-starved and living in rubble, but they still manage to keep their integrity and fighting spirit, all the more remarkable, since they would have spent most of their lives under Hitler.

In many ways, a genuine oddity. It's a period film, yet made with a very modern, handheld shakycam style, where you can barely tell what's happening, as most of the action is missed by the camera whipping past it. Some of the sound is poor, so you have to rely on subtitles, even if you can understand the German. Despite these obstacles, there are some fine performances trying to get out, and it's a heart-rending story of survival in the face of adversity that makes you very glad that you haven't had to live through it yourself. Probably worth a look for German language fans and WW2 completists, but a tough proposition for general film watchers.

It shows that not all germans were nazis during that time.

A Steady Cam master class that reflects the gritty realism of this true story. For most of this film there is very little light just the dark sad facts of the WW2 end times in 1945 Germany as it collapses to the occupation by the Allies.

The young actors do a great work reflecting the difficulties of living under a dying third Reich. Fight scenes between the Edelweiss Pirates and the Hitler Youth as well as the Gestapo are well done for a company clearly keeping an eye the finances!!

Nico Von Glasow - Brucher has clearly learned a lot from his training with Fassbinder with some excellent intimate camera shots and the same plaudits to Kristin von Glasow whose script tells a true and well told story.