Nackt unter Wölfen

The film is based on a novelization of the true story of a boy who was brought to Buchenwald with his father (not a stranger as depicted in the film) near the end of the war, while the mother and sister were killed in Auschwitz. The novel was written by a man who himself was a prisoner at Buchenwald for eight years, which lends credibility to the scene he paints. Nevertheless, some aspects of the situation in the camp and some dramatic events in the story were implausible. For me this undercut the grim realism and emotional impact of the film. It turns out that the actual story is both more tragic and morally ambiguous (search "buchenwald boy guardian" to learn more), whereas the film rather simplistically aims to depict "the best and worst of humanity."

Based on a novel under the same name, this movie is a combination of (1) events that took place just before the liberation of the Buchenwald concentration camp; and (2) a fictional story that concerns the hiding and savior of a little boy.

What is especially impressive in this movie, is how well the Buchenwald concentration camp has been reconstructed. The viewer gets a real good idea on how the camp must have looked like.

Since most of the storyline takes place in de administrative buildings of the camp, the viewer unfortunately does not get a realistic view on the harsh and difficult life in the barracks where the prisoners lived. As such, this movie is unfortunately not representative for the extremely difficult life in the Buchenwald camp.

A big plus of this movie, are the very good actors. The uniforms, vehicles, weapons and other props are excellent and make the experience all pretty genuine to the mid-1940's WW2 times.

Overall, I score this movie 7.5/10, making it an 8-star IMDb rating.

This is a superbly done film but don't watch it if you're already in a downer. Or you don't have access to a stiff drink. It is grim and graphic. The violence and horror are simply stated but not exploited. It also gets beyond the Holocaust, portraying the seldom documented horrors the Nazis inflicted on non Jewish political prisoners. Nobody knows what life in the camps was like unless they had lived through it. But this may come closer than most such pictures. Dark and unrelentingly morbid, it is still a worthwhile watch but not an easy one. You will finish watching by pondering how an educated, civilized nation like Germany let this happen and by asking yourself how you might have reacted to the many moral dilemmas posed in the story. Not a film to enjoy but certainly one to watch!

Is not bad, but not a masterpiece. It's good that was made by germans. Hollywood would made it worst. Tells a truth in the end. Not all the germans were nazis and not all the nazis were bad. There are always good people ready to sacrifice themselves surrounded by wolves.

It is a great movie. The movie gives a good picture of what really happend. The movie is also exciting.

I recommend you this movie for sure!