Opera senza autore

It is one of films who you just feel. Only feel. Because it is about family, past, Nazi regime, cold adaptation to the new realities, love, cinism and survive, art, truth and parenthood, about happiness and about be yourself. A beautiful film, many memorable scenes, great Sebastian Koch and Tom Willing and the fair story. And, no doubts, magnificent portraits . A film who, if you are real honest to yourself, can be only about you.

This is a fantastic movie, historical drama and philosophical essey on art at the same time. The runtime might seem a bit long, but once the movie gets your attention, it never lets you go. The well-written charcters are full of life, which delivers a complex yet relatable story throughout the history of XX. century Germany. The film is also beautiful, awesome cinematography. And an inevitable piece if you want to understand the thouhts behind modern art. While the english title is good (Never look away - the primary thesis of the movie), please also notice the original title (Art without author). Recommend 10/10

This captivating and moving movie is essentially based on encounters, fortuitous or not, of good omen or not, in Germany, GDR and then FRG.

Professor Carl Seeband (Sebastian Koch) is a brilliant gynecologist, cold and completely devoid of empathy. His 'talent' will enable him to become an imminent member of the Nazi Party and to actively work in the eugenics process in order to improve the 'racial hygiene'. Kurt Barnert (Tom Schilling) is a young artist whose inspiration seems to be animated by repressed memories of his aunt Elisabeth May (Saskia Rosendahl), who mysteriously lost her mind during the rise of Nazism in the 30s, then silently 'disappeared' just before the Second World War: Elizabeth's fate will end at a fatal meeting with Professor Carl Seeband. A few years later, Kurt Barnert will accidentally fall in love with Ellie Seeband (Paula Beer), the only daughter of Professor Carl Seeband.

Freely inspired by the life of Gerhard Richter, the film describes the three decades of a black and then red Germany, struck by two destructive ideologies, before being sold to capitalism. Without reaching the near-perfectness of Le vite degli altri (2006), this film is excellent: casting of first choice, neat photography, dialogues skillfully written, captivating scenario, a clever mix of sensual and sweet scenes alternately with cold and depressing other ones, ... As a synthesis: 8 of 10

It's a 3 hours movie but you don't perceive so long. The plot is great. The story is well depicted. The actors are very good.

The soundtrack as well so great. Very touching in some moments.

I didn't know that Germans were so good in making movies.

It's another story totally different than Dr Zivago but great as well.

I strongly recommend to watch it. Strongly.

I watched this at home on BluRay from my public library. My wife skipped, she doesn't like to see movies with subtitles.

I studied German for two years in college, while I can't converse in it anymore I was able to fit the German dialog with the English subtitles.

While there are several intersecting stories the main thread is Kurt, a boy of 8 in 1937 Nazi Germany, being exposed to various forms of art by his 20-something aunt. As he grows, and WW2 comes and goes, he develops into a quite good painter. He eventually has to escape to West Berlin to be free to develop his talents. The story extends through the 1960s.

Part of the overlapping story is of the Nazi programs to purify their race, to see to it that even Germans who had some sort of affliction were terminated, and this was the fate of his aunt who had the occasional emotional malfunction. As it turns out Kurt unwittingly marries the daughter of one of the evil doctors who it seems had named his daughter Elizabeth, the same as Kurt's aunt.

This is a really good movie and at just over 3 hours didn't seem overly long, I can't think of any scene that I would cut. However I watched it over three different sessions with some overlap each time. In the extra on the disc the writer/director explains, in English, how he modeled his story off a real German artist who developed through this same period.