The Only Way

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.

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.

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.

Few people have rated this film, and only three have commented on it by this date of my posting. From two of the comments, it seems to me that we may be seeing an addiction to modern movie-making of the past decade or more. The modern viewing audience seems hooked on the thrill-a- minute, high-speed chase, explosive action and CGI makeup that is fast becoming the trademark movie of Hollywood.

"The Only Way" certainly has none of that. The plot was familiar. The script was minimal. The acting was OK. The scenes and cinematography were good – shot mostly in Denmark. The musical score was the only bad part of the movie. For the first two-thirds it was not suited at all to the picture we were seeing. Just when it got to the point of being a distraction, it changed. From then on, the music was excellent and seemed to fit the rest of the film right up to the end.

So, it is not a great film by any means, but it is a very good one, and an important one for the story it tells and how it tells it. I was never bored watching this film, because I never knew what came next. There was always a thread of suspense and mystery. Would the Steins make it, or would they be caught? Would someone turn them in? So, there was just the right amount of intrigue to keep one glued to the screen.

The one thing that raised this film considerably was what one other commenter lamented. A very minimal script, with brief lines, left the audience with no choice but to watch and absorb the people and their actions. And, in that, we saw the Danish people. They weren't flamboyant or boisterous. They smiled and frowned and acted like real people act and behave most of the time. But they were earnest and purposeful in their help. They acted with an unspoken understanding of what they needed to do.

This film really gives one a feeling for what the Danes were properly praised for after World War II. They were unflinching in their attitude toward and willingness to help their Jewish neighbors, their fellow countrymen. So, in "The Only Way," we see numerous Danish people reacting in a matter-of-fact way about helping the Steins and other Jews when word got out that the Nazis were coming for them. In no other country under Nazi occupation in World War II was there such widespread humanity and absence of prejudice. The Snope Web site describes it thus: "The rescue of several thousand Danish Jews was accomplished through the efforts of thousands of policemen, government officials, physicians, and persons of all walks of life."

"The Only Way" isn't an action-thriller by any means. But it does give a realistic picture of the people of one country who arose with spontaneity to help save the lives of a persecuted sect who were their neighbors and fellow countrymen. For that, this film is a gem and a priceless lesson for history.

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.