Master of the Game

This WWII story of a Jewish captive who uses only his wits to turn the tables on his German captors is a fresh look at both the WWII movie and the thriller genre. About ten minutes into the film is a horrific shock that was not only unexpected, but totally set the mood for the life or death struggle for the rest of the film. (I would give more detail, but don't want to give anything away.) The acting was top notch and the director set a dark moody tone throughout the film that keeps you wondering what will happen next. It's refreshing to see a film that is gripping and makes you think!

Psychological thriller set in WWII. Totally engrossing roller coaster of a film. The tight pacing and amazing acting kept me on board the whole time. A few scenes not for the squeamish. They didn't hold back on the brutality of the film. That's what made the "game" so interesting. Every character's life depends on it. The script and direction obviously handled with great care. Definitely look for this one.

See this one. It goes on your list of movies to see with someone who will have a beer with you later and talk about it for two hours. It's a visual harmonic and 3-D mental chess game. Delving into the dark reaches of the human brain it pits several highly evolved Homo sapiens in a game of survival in the middle of a war which would keep Darwin wondering about it for years. The dialogue is all in English which detracts nothing from the movie. The contest between several Nazi captors with an appropriately evil officer in charge and their lone Jewish-American prisoner is close mental combat in the valley of death. Someone will do a stage play of it, and should.

Decided to see this at the last minute at San Diego Film Fest. So glad I did. The story is a mind bending thriller that kept me glued to my chair. Well acted, beautifully directed and amazingly written.

The story concerns a Jewish prisoner in WWII that escapes the hands of the Germans while in transit to a concentration camp, only to be trapped in an isolated cabin with four German soldiers.

The soldiers torture and keep him alive for their amusement. Before things get worse the prisoner challenges these soldiers to a bizarre mind game. Once the game begins it becomes one of the greatest mind trips I've ever seen. A must see indie flick.

I just recently saw Master of the Game, and I was very impressed. I really enjoy a movie that makes me think - and assumes I'm smart to begin with - and this movie did just that. I was totally taken in by the psychological manipulations so subtly carried out by the main character, a Jewish American known only as his tattooed number, 3264.

The movie has great rhythm and slowly and methodically draws the audience member into its mental web. I found myself silently cheering on 3264 as he reduced his captors to mush. The acting in this movie is spot on as is the direction. Although I've never heard of the director until now, I'm certain we'll be seeing more from him. He handles some very tough- to-watch scenes with great sensitivity. And although some will find this movie to be very violent, the violence befits the subject matter, and the movie would certainly suffer without it. To be honest, quite a bit of the violence is inferred, not shown, which is quite a bit more effective.

This is a smart, conversation-provoking film. I would highly recommend it. I'm not sure how long it's playing in Manhattan, but if you have a few free hours, definitely give it a look.