IMDb RATING
5.3/10
1.1K
YOUR RATING
An unassuming young lawyer leads a fight against the Nazis near the end of World War II.An unassuming young lawyer leads a fight against the Nazis near the end of World War II.An unassuming young lawyer leads a fight against the Nazis near the end of World War II.
Majid Mehdizadeh-Valoujerdy
- Efrahim
- (as Luke Jerdy)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
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!
If youve read more than one of my review, you'll realise that they're not meant to be film critic standard. This ones not different. This isn't a bad film, but it is stretched, taking a story which is interesting, and over playing it. That said its worth a watch, as the story, whilst not entirely original, is apparently true, and reasonably well told. It could just have done with some more editing to lose about half an hour or so.
Can't remember the last time a movie left me feeling so angry. Here we had a tale of heroism during WW2, a story which deserved to be told. What we got was a rushed, ill thought out, poorly acted, badly directed mess. Let's start with the obvious; the action is set in Hungary and Poland and yet the whole thing is done in English. This lost all authenticity at the first sign of US/UK accents. Then, when impersonating a German Officer the main character loses his British accent and launches into a "Ve have vays ov making you talk" German accent. Ludicrous. Another thing, one moment we are told he is a quiet guy who keeps to himself, next minute the resistance are in his home asking for his help, then suddenly he's there in full German regalia. Where did that come from then? No explanation. The Hungarian soldiers are then treated like some kind of keystone cop characters when they had the female prisoners. Unbelievable. The actors conveyed no sense of danger or desperation or anger or determination throughout. The whole thing seemed rushed and condensed to the point where it made no sense. This could have been good and indeed should have been good. It isn't, it's woeful. Heroism disrespected.
A fairly low budget production and it shows. Too many scenes shot in the same location. Too little lighting; most scenes are way too dark, and too much loud music. Probably laid over the top to increase the atmosphere, but it's at the cost of being able to hear and understand the dialogue.
There's also too much background noise playing on a loop. I.e. The sound of troops marching. And once you've noticed it, you can't stop noticing it.
All I can say is; thank goodness for fast forward.
There's also too much background noise playing on a loop. I.e. The sound of troops marching. And once you've noticed it, you can't stop noticing it.
All I can say is; thank goodness for fast forward.
A great war drama! Based on a true story! Brilliant performance of Harvey Keitel the other actors. Amongst many other things the movie contains two very important messages:
1. "It could happen again! "
2. "An ordinary man could be a hero and achieve impossible things in unusual circumstances"
I would strongly recommend it!
1. "It could happen again! "
2. "An ordinary man could be a hero and achieve impossible things in unusual circumstances"
I would strongly recommend it!
Did you know
- TriviaAll the scenes with Harvey Keitel were shot on Long Island, New York. Harvey Keitel befriended a ninety-year-old Holocaust survivor, with whom he frequently spent time, as a part of his preparation for playing ninety-five-year-old Hungarian Holocaust survivor Sonson Kovács. Being a dedicated method actor, Harvey had to learn walking with a cane, and with a slight limp, exactly as the real ninety-year-old Holocaust survivor.
- GoofsWhen the rebels and Sonson, masquerading as SS soldiers, arrest the Hungarian police for abusing prisoners, the rifle one of the policemen was holding disappears between shots.
- SoundtracksSonson's love theme - Minuet in G Minor
Written by George Frideric Handel (as Handel)
Arranged by Wilhelm Kempff (as Kempff)
Performed by Romain Nosbaum
- How long is Chosen?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- £2,300,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $9,283
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $2,449
- Dec 18, 2016
- Gross worldwide
- $9,536
- Runtime
- 1h 45m(105 min)
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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