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Well-filmed and acted. However, the film spent an inordinate amount of time on Bonhoeffer's 1930 trip to New York and his supposed fascination with gospel music and jazz. In point of fact, his later prison letters reveal the lasting influence of the traditional Lutheran chorales and the hymns of Paul Gerhardt on his theology and piety. There was no mention whatsoever of his engagement to Maria von Wedemeyer (eighteen years his junior), with whom he exchanged dozens of letters during his imprisonment (1943-1945), and later published as 'Love Letters from Cell 92.' It was Maria's grandmother who funded the Confessing Church's seminary at Finkenwalde where Bonhoeffer championed a kind of 'new monasticism' for the seminarians-with traditional chorales and an ordered praying of the psalms. A plot line that wove Maria into the end of Bonhoeffer's life would have raised some compelling questions-such as, Why get engaged if the/your world is about to end? All that being said, it is good that a film of Bonhoeffer was produced, bringing his story of fighting for truth to a wider audience.

I have never really understood the back and forth with timeline's, a glimpse into the past should correlate with what is taking place in the present. Otherwise just play it out in chronological order (just my opinion). We both left the theater (my wife and I) about so much, I was able to get more context in one paragraph on Wikipedia (IE: spent 1.5 years in prison and was tried for participating in the attempt on Hitler and more). The message is good and needed, especially today with so much division in our country. I love what Angel Studio's does, getting quality productions out in the main stream and I will continue to support them. This is just my honest review, not trying to be critical.

As a "docu-allegory," this is a solid 7; the historicity is woven in pretty well, and the fictionalized account of his death deeply Christian and compelling. But as a biography, basic mistakes (referring to the Eastern Front years before Barbarossa) and moving the ultimate scene of his death from Flossenburg with his co-conspirators to an anonymous isolated farmhouse with a random group of strangers are a bridge too far. Perhaps Germany restricts such things, but to me it was a missed opportunity to not use Flossenburg for those critical scenes, much as Sophie Scholl--the Last Days used the actual guillotine that killed Scholl in the movie. At times, Bonhoeffer simply does not come through as the erudite theologian that he was, but more as a proof-texting Protestant. That said, this is a "must see" if you're willing to accept broad deviations from history, and not anticipate a deep theological journey. Lingering to watch the cavalcade of quotes at the end is more than worth the time. Bonhoeffer reminds us that every generation faces its evil; that every individual must either act, or let evil have its way; and that Christ is the One to guide that choice. And that is truly a timeless message.

I love Angel studios productions. But this was strenuous to keep up with, the bouncing back and forth in time was difficult to follow, and truthfully I fell asleep several times. I wanted to like it, but just couldn't recommend this one. I did not previously know this person, and this movie did not help me understand his importance to history. Scattered, broken, no continuity. It would leave your head spinning but so slow its all you can do not to nod off. Acting was good, characters believable, but the storyline was just too broken. Too hard to keep up with. Not enough reasons to understand and care about the main character.

"Bonhoeffer" is a movie with an important message for the United States in 2024 -- sadly! The importance of standing up to the forces of evil, repression, hatred, discrimination and fascism cannot be said loudly or often enough.

As a "bio pic," the film takes historical liberties in retelling the life of theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, but does a credible job of portraying his deep faith, the fervor of his Christian convictions, and his dedication to the anti-Nazi struggle which ultimately cost him his life. Pastor Bonhoeffer was indeed a mid-century hero, and this film presents him as such.

The movie's biggest shortcoming was in failing to capture and represent the great drama and conflicts that underlaid Bonhoeffer's personal relationships and passionate religious/political commitments. Emotionally the story fell flat (for me) at key junctures, even to the extent of lacking much affect at points of high drama. As a result I didn't feel as connected or engaged to the title character as I wanted to be.

Nonetheless, I recommend this film; it deserves wide viewership.

This film is a powerful and well-produced exploration of a man and his deeply held convictions, delivering a poignant message about the moral responsibility to speak out against wrongdoing. The story is compelling, with themes that resonate on a deeply ethical level: the idea that remaining silent in the face of evil is itself a form of complicity. While the pacing at the beginning could have benefited from tighter editing, the narrative quickly finds its footing, drawing the audience into its moral and emotional depths. The performances are remarkable, with the actors bringing genuine authenticity and intensity to their roles. What stands out, too, is the unexpected production value-far exceeding typical expectations for a film of this nature. It's a thought-provoking and beautifully crafted piece of cinema that stays with you long after the credits roll.

I agree with other reviews that found two major faults with this movie.

AUTHOR. The movie tells us (in the scripts) that B wrote many many books about faith. Yet the movie itself never shows him writing or publishing or discussing any books. The most we see is B writing his thoughts in a journal.

ASSASSIN. Yes historically there were many failed plots to assassinate Hitler, and in fact the movie shows us such a plot. But there are no facts in the movie to show that B was ever arrested or charged with this. It's a very serious gap in the story.

BOTTOM LINE. I'm sorry, but I think B deserves a better script and a livelier story. The movie Valkarie with Tom Cruise (a non religious story) that depicts a failed assassination attempt on Hitler is a good example.

The Bonhoeffer movie could have used a lot more action to break up what were tedious conversations about faith in the face of evil.

This captured the moral complexity of real life and the high cost of doing the right thing excellently. Despite criticisms that the writers took too much liberty with the timeline, the changes worked well for pacing the film and sticking to the main point. It felt complete, leaving the viewer heavy but satisfied.

The acting was strong and the writing was good, despite a couple (only a couple) cliché lines that still fit the moment. The actor portraying Bonhoeffer avoided the cliché perfect hero and showed the weakness of a man suffering for a hopeless cause.

8/10 - this is much better than the press.

As a date married couple's night movie, it was fine. The imagery was marvelous. The casting was good; some even great.

But the actual story telling was pretty awful in that there were many points in the movie when we looked at each other with "what the heck?" expressions and later discussions. Too much was cued up and left hanging, or even made confusing to the point of unlikely or absurd. It's as if the screenwriter continually wrote himself into a corner, and then just jarringly jumped over an immense plot hole or critical detail, and into the next scene. You shouldn't need such a Deus ex Machina when you've got the real God in the story!

The biggest flaw, though, is that with actual well-documented history like Bonhoeffer's, the emotion should not have come from over-acting, pregnant pauses and close-up tears. It should come from the true story all by itself.

And that part, sorry to say, was mostly missing.

Having high hopes, I was disappointed in Bonhoeffer. The narrative was choppy, the pace was slow, and the plot felt disjointed. Plus, it was hard to understand the dialogue with the accents, I felt like I should've waited for it to come out on streaming and watched it at home with the captions on. However, the acting was good and the production values were excellent. I love the fact that more and more Christian-themed movies are being made today and wholeheartedly support Angel Studios, I just wish that the movies had better scripts and were more entertaining, beyond being primarily focused on inspiration.

We attended a pre release showing tonight of Bonhoeffer. I knew a little about him, but was certainly introduced to him fully in this film. It is so beautifully crafted to present the struggles of the time and the role of the church in not doing its job by remaining silent. The boldness and love of this man should speak to the heart of every Christian today. The past year has shown us that we have not learned the history of Nazi Germany and the fall from within that country experience. The more people who see this movie, the more hope we have for our own country. Studying history is meant to help us not repeat it and a movie like this can do wonders toward that end. A powerful tool well produced in every way.

Bonhoffer is an excellent movie about a man who defined and lived out "costly grace", receiving forgiveness by following Jesus and condemning sin at a steep price.

While most of the movie was well done giving insight to his childhood, family and experiences, there was a decent amount of ambiguity around his role in the assassination plot and how he helped free prisoners to Switzerland.

Overall, a somber but thoughtful film that puts its viewers in the position to ponder whether or not they would have the strength of conviction to speak truth when their country and institutions are against them. Well worth watching and another inspirational film by Angel Studios.

I've read Bonehoeffer and studied his life. Was hopeful this movie would reveal the deep faith, intellect, quiet, strong determination, pastoral writer. It did not. It portrayed DB as impulsive, an activist, rather secular; all incorrectly. It did not clearly identify the major relationships that influenced his life. It did not put Messiah and the Christian faith first and foremost. It was a movie that took great liberality in areas and salted with truth. Some social causes were true of DB but some overplayed to the producer/director/influencer's political and world-view preference (leftist). Summary: this movie did not do justice to the greatness of Bonhoeffer nor the truth of history.

I have been reading what Bonhoeffer has written as well as what has been written about him for nearly fifty years. This movie was easy to follow if you were familiar with the story of Bonhoffer's life. For those who are not familiar with the story, there are a lot of gaps in this movie. Among those were the other five people who attended the movie with me. I had a lot of explaining to do on the ride home. I feel that the 2000 movie Bonhoffer: Agent of Grace, did a much better job in this regard. That being said, I did enjoy the movie very much and would recommend it to others, advising them to familiarize themselves with Bonhoeffer before they go.

Although the message in the movie is the reason for seeing this film, the content left me unsatisfied. It's somewhat slow and consists of flashbacks and flash forwards. The acting is fine but the story itself is lacking any drama or action. There's no flow to the movie. There's nothing that makes me sympathetic to Bonhoeffer or pulls me into his story, which was what I was really looking forward to. Too much time was devoted to the flashbacks that really didn't add any real substance to understanding Bonhoeffer the man.... the ending was super powerful and hits you right in the heart- NEVER AGAIN !

Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin.

With hundreds of World War II movies, it's difficult to find stories that haven't been told already, but this one surprised me. A question I've always pondered was why the church in Germany did nothing to work to thwart the Nazi rise to power. Now I know why. The constant fear mongering that worked on all the public brought forth a terrible church that couldn't dare challenge Hitler.

Bonhoeffer, the film, concentrated on the full biography of the man from early childhood during the First World War, his time in America, until his execution just weeks before the war ended. It's a deeply moving personal drama of how faith can be challenged in the face of absolute evil. Bonhoeffer's fateful decision to move past preaching and subverting Nazi mandated church sermons to attempted assassination is heart wrenching. That question is raised repeatedly on what actions should man take in order to stop evil without the loss of one's soul.

This movie suffered from a lot of pacing issues. While his time in America was important, I believe they spent way too much time on his time in Harlem, learning to embrace a new way of professing one's faith, and learning the American jazz movement through his time with the African American population in Harlem. I think it was only included to show that not all Germans were hateful racist thugs.

Learning about this man was great, but it was a bit too slow. I think it's a good watch for Catholic / Lutheran history buffs, or casual historical context. There are quite a few movies out in 2024 that take a history lesson and politicize it by implying the same things are happening today. I say leave it up to the viewer to interpret.

Well clarified the passion and resolve of B and the confessing church. Loved the flashback model, the cast was well selected, the film moved along well. Loved the portrayal of B's relationship with his brother Walter and the depth of family connection and love. Being that the plight of the Jewish people under Hitler was a central focus I was surprised there was no mention of B's twin sister being married to a Jewish man and moving to England. Well done over all. I shed tears and wish I will one day be as courageous as B if faced with such choices. Thanks for producing this film. I recommend it.

I was able to catch a sneak preview of BONHOEFFER: PASTOR. SPY. ASSASSIN. On November 18. I know some folks will immediately discount the film because it's from a "Christian" move studio, and they assume it has a "point-of-view" that will be objectionable.

For the most part, the film just tells the story of a real-life person who happened to be a strong man of faith. Yes, his evolving ideas about God, faith, belief and organized religion are a big part of this film, but these WERE critical to Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the real-life person who was a pastor and wrote 34 books about God, faith & religion. But this movie follows a journey of faith. So what? Other movies follow the evolution of people's morals, ethics, beliefs, etc. And we don't eschew them.

The fact is, Bonhoeffer was a very interesting person (whom I knew next to nothing about) and it is very worthwhile to make a film about his extraordinary life. My frustration is that the film isn't better.

Star Jonas Dassler certainly looks the part. When you see photos of the real Bonhoeffer, Dassler is like a slightly exaggerated version of the real guy. He gives a very committed and earnest performance. I didn't always buy it, but he was solid. The supporting cast is equally somewhere just below great but just above mediocre. But the story itself is gripping and I was rarely bored. The film is 132 minutes and could have lost about 10-15 minutes of fat and been even more engaging.

Bonhoeffer is first shown as a child, playing with his older brother at an idyllic German home. A large home. His family is well off, and there are lots of happy kids. When the oldest brother loses his life in WWI, the family is certainly shaken, and young Dietrich turns to a study of religion and spends time at seminary. He goes to the US for school, where he is exposed to jazz and to the religious services in Harlem. He's never seen people expressing their faith in such an enthusiastic manner, and he's moved to distinguish between "religion" (as in "organized religion") and faith. He comes to believe that Jesus would repudiate the stuffy Lutheran church that he's a part of. And just as he begins to decry the German church, the Nazis come to power and begin to reshape that church to their own purposes. This part of the movie was most interesting to me; I've not seen a film depict that incredible ways in which Hitler embroiled key religious leaders into remaking the church and the bible for his own purposes. It sends more than a little chill up the spine. Bonhoeffer and a few of his colleagues speak out against this, with predictably unhappy results for many of them.

But dramatically (and structurally), the film is a tease. First, the film begins near the end. Dietrich is a prisoner of the Germans near the end of the war, and it's clear he and his fellow captives are expecting to be executed at any moment, yet they're kept in some strange limbo as to their fates. As Dietrich writes about his life in a diary, we are given extended flashbacks to those recollections. It's a big clumsy, for sure. Also, part of the (unwieldy) title of the film is "ASSASSIN", yet we don't get to see this part. There is an attempt on Hitler's life, and the events leading up to it are shown, but we're left scratching our heads as to Bonhoeffer earning the title "assassin." He is not. Simple as that. Either a key part of the story was left out, or the "assassin" title was given to drum up interest in the film. It's a huge failing. Also, at one point, we casually find out that Dietrich has published dozens of books, yet other than his hurried scratchings in his diary, we never see him writing nor does anyone talk about his books or his writing, other than the aforementioned brief scene. What the heck?! I gather his writings are the biggest legacy he left behind, and yet barely touched on. I can imagine, based on his sermons and such, what the writings may have touched on, but we're left in the dark.

BONHOEFFER...is a worthy film featuring a worthy subject. It's told in a clumsy manner though and while locations are often beautiful and glowing, it also often looks cheap in a TV movie way. And the most damning thing I can say...the final scene of the film left me mostly cold. In more skilled hands (director/writer Todd Komarnicki is in over his head), the film could have left the audience a blubbering mess. Instead, it is uninspired and abrupt.

I'd like to find out more about Bonhoeffer now, so I guess the movie did THAT much. But it's a near-miss for me.

There was more to D Bonhoeffer's life that was not covered in the film. In contrast, there was much about his time learning about the African American culture of the 30's with jazz and church life, which I did not see tie out with his strong convictions relating to the Nazi persecution of the Jews in Germany. Would have liked to see more about his writings and better understand how pretending to join the Nazi helped him fight against them.

I learned about his life and the very sad inaction from the German Christian Church during this time. In our times, the Church, must shed light on evil and not be afraid to do so.

It's not a waste of your time; however it will probably leave you wanting, whether you are familiar with Bonhoeffer or not. My husband and I saw this movie together since we are both Bonhoeffer/Cost of Discipleship fans. He's read the long, Metaxas biography, and I have not, so one of us went in knowing much more, and the other went in a little more blind. We were both ready to be very excited about this movie and fairly easily pleased. However, both of us left feeling that the script flowed very disjointedly (disappointing since the script writer has done some excellent jobs on other films) and didn't do justice to Bonhoeffer. Of course, he's such a complex character who did so much that there's no way we expected to be able to fully see every detail of his life on screen. However, even what was shown didn't feel like it all connected. Several minutes of the opening sequence are spent portraying his relationship with his older brother, only to have his brother's influence basically never come back up in the story. I think the script writers also leaned way too much into the Harlem Renaissance scenes without really connecting it to the plot - Bonhoeffer was heavily influenced by the black church and African spirituals in New York, sure, but jazz didn't really need to play into the story, if it was even 100% accurate. I would have rather seen that screen time go to clarifying other areas of his life, rather than adding an additional confusing thread. That said, there were some powerful moments. Both of us cried at a couple of points. The ethical dilemma's Bonhoeffer faced, along with the German church at the time, are heavy questions to still ask ourselves. The actor who played Dietrich did a good job, aside from potentially some script discrepancies with the historical figures personality. I do wish they hadn't taken the universal themes of standing up for what's right, coming alongside those who are suffering, and what it looks like to have a life transformed by Christ (shown in contexts like the Civil Rights struggle in the US and combating anti-Semitism in Nazi Germany) and over reduced it to a slide about anti-Semitism in the US in 2023 - a move that felt like it cheapened the much bigger thrust of Bonhoeffer's story. If you like bonhoeffer, you will probably enjoy seeing some highlights of his life dramatized. If you're not familiar with Bonhoeffer, you may leave the theater a little confused still (I left the movie having no idea what he actually did in the whole plot to assassinate Hitler). However, I will say that the movie made me very much want to track down an actual biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and that seems like a valuable takeaway from a movie about him regardless!

I attended the showing with two other people who were very moved by the movie and want "everyone" to see it. But they don't know Bonhoeffer well. I know Bonhoeffer well and so was bothered by the "adjustments to facts" (let's call them) and false inferences about facts throughout the movie. I accepted these as perhaps necessary when putting a life into a two hour movie, but I kept shaking my head "no" as I saw wrong things presented. If the movie helps guide people to reading Bonhoeffer himself, and not false presentations of Bonhoeffer (e.g. Metaxis), I'll give thanks, but I rated the movie a "C" on an "A - F" scale.

Imagine going back 5-10 years ago. Imagine telling someone in that past that there'll soon be a film which draws a clear, unbreakable line between the racism in the pre-1964 United States and that of Hitler's Germany. A film which depicts the German Church establishment at large as falling over themselves to please the dictator and serve "the good of the nation" over their Scripture, to preach of the "Aryan Christ" and the national revival. (The speech by Hitler's favourite Cardinal is a standout moment in its odiousness - soon underlined when we see black-and-white footage on him on TV.) A film which shows us well-off Swiss border guards sneering at Jewish refugees, demanding a massive bribe from the German protagonists to let them through. A film which praises not just punching but killing fascists. And a film, furthermore, which implies that its protagonist would not have been able to muster the ability to resist if it wasn't for the time he spent being taught to by the persecuted Black Christians in the United States.

Now, imagine telling that someone that this very film will be popularly described as associated with the RIGHT (perhaps even the FAR right) - in spite of depicting effectively NONE of its common bugbears (i.e. "Weimar fell because of its depravity" trope, popular amongst the actual far right, is tellingly absent here) and that it'll be accused of everything from support of Zionism to laying down groundwork for Project 2025. Confused yet?

As someone who is not religious, I am not deeply familiar with Bonhoeffer's story, and I am sure that as the critics point out, the film is frequently deeply inaccurate - but then again, so are many of the other history-related films which are far more acclaimed. I'll gladly concede to religious scholars that the real Bonhoeffer was much less involved in violent resistance and far, FAR more reluctant about it - but I'll in turn ask how many of them were willing to condemn either Gladiator film for twisting the Roman emperors and periods depicted into effective opposites of themselves. Or indeed, if they are willing to question how come Tolkien words like "Narya", "Palantir" and "Anduril" tend to be brought into the real world by a very particular sort of person in the same way as they willing to interrogate Bonhoeffer's misinterpreted legacy.

At times, the film's inaccuracy circles back to a different kind of authenticity - as much as the depicted assassination attempt on Hitler might have been fictional, the brief reference to captured Hotchkiss and T-26 tanks in a trophy arsenal reveals more historical knowledge than too many period films display even today. And though Bonhoeffer may have never spent any time in that particular abandoned school, the conversations held amongst (seemingly) period-accurate posters of German words designed to teach the kids alphabet bathed in spring morning light are suitably eerie. And Bonhoeffer family dynamics, such as the depiction of shared grief from the loss of elder brother, land far more effectively than similar attempts at human moments from other recent biopics like Lee.

In all, I wonder if some of this film's contemporary criticisms reflect the unique hangovers of the Biden era - first and foremost, the very particular assumption that the main form of danger from the far right will be in the form of stochastic terrorism lashing out against the "tyranny" of the society failing to go along with their plans, as opposed to actually gaining power and enacting their goals. In the latter context, I cannot see how this film can be described as anything but thoroughly antifascist.

Angel Studios proudly and successfully brings another figure of the faith to the silver screen. Well done.

I know next to nothing about Bonhoeffer... but here I see a man, raised to put his faith in God, only to be met with one of the most openly demonic forces of history - Hitler and the Third Reich. In this, his faith is tested to it's very limits and even further. And that is something that - to at least some degree - every Believer can identify with, the testing of faith. If this man can endure so much and still holdfast, then so can I in the face of much less.

The script works overtime to show us this walk of faith while also revealing the horrors of WWII. This contrast - as well as the creative choice to use flashbacks - keep you engaged, waiting for the next development in the story.

Even with these elements, it does teeter on the edge of dragging on as a two hour film. Any longer and it might have lost me. Nevertheless, the film does not shy away from Bonhoeffer's sermons and inspiring words of faith.

At some moments, I can be hard to catch some lines. Some only for being too quietly uttered, but others can be, too... intellectual... which in a way matches his status as a theologian. Even so, the film takes a very informative stance, assuming that the audience - like me - knows nothing about Bonhoeffer's life. It gives us enough details to see the full character arc from a sort of naive Believer to a tested man willing to die for his faith.

Dassler brings these qualities to life in the person of Bonhoeffer. As a German himself, he was an excellent casting choice. The rest of the ensemble does not disappoint, and the fact that there are no big name actors actually maintains the focus on the real story.

Those who appreciate true stories, biopics, WWII films, and faith films will enjoy this excellently produced film.