L'Elu

In modern times, an old man (Harvey Keitel) tells a young boy about his life during the war. It's 1943 Hungary. Sonson (Luke Mably) suffers as forced labor for the Nazis. They are hounded by the Hungarian police as the Nazis and their collaborators deport the Jews. Sonson joins a rebellion against the occupiers.

There is a scattered narrative flow with nothing new going on in this movie. It's a mistake to show Sonson as an old man which guarantees his survival through the entire ordeal. Mably doesn't have the greatest charisma and the movie doesn't give his character much substance. No other character has any substance at all. This has no tension despite the movie trying to ramp up the melodrama with the music cues at the wrong times. At most other times, this is quietly dull without the needed tension. It's also not the highest of production value. The directing is weak. It's functional at best but not much more.

I'm a sucker for a decent ww2 film & i have watched so many, some brilliant & some so woeful, that ive just turned off the tv. This, by many viewers has been given bad reviews, maybe they expect too much from a lower budget film...this is not Hollywood. But as it goes, this film is rather good, yes it has mistakes & no famous names but the story line is good & makes you really feel for the Jews & how barbaric the Nazis were & why they needed to uprise against them, the acting is just fine to me & the wardrobe is fine aswell, the music can get a little loud in places where you don't need it tbh. I've just watched it & I've rather enjoyed it.

Nicely shot and well acted, however it didn't always flow and lacked depth.

It felt like a big story was compressed into a series of convenient and simple events.

Having said that, it was still worth a watch - just don't expect an epic.

I saw this movie with my girlfriend in LA and we both thought it was a cool WW2 movie, beautifully shot and skilfully directed with a large ensemble of actors who all delivered convincing performances. We felt deeply moved by its human story of true love in times of war and it just strikes the perfect balance between our main character's inner turmoil of emotions, against the mercilessly brutal outer world. I haven't heard of this director, but he did some great work with the performances, the action scenes and with the sound. The music in particular is just heart breaking. Do not miss the chance to see this movie on the big screen! It's more relevant today then ever before!

As an Aussie who likes historical WWII dramas it's excellent The best I've seen this year.