Le neuvième jour

In World War II, after a period living hell on earth in the concentration camp of Dachau with other catholic priests, Father Abbé Henri Kremer (Ulrich Matthes) gets a nine days leave to return to his home town for his mother's funeral. Along this period, the SS Gestapo lieutenant Gebhardt (August Diehl) tries to persuade Henri, who was born in silver-spoon and member of an influent Luxembourgian family, to convince the local bishop to give-up resisting to the Germans and write a letter to the Vatican in the name of the Catholic Church of Luxemburg convincing the Pope to support Hitler and the Nazi regime. The ambivalent Henri questions himself and the bishop what he shall do.

Based on a true story, "Der Neunte Tag" is an awesome movie and another impressive example of the powerful German cinema, of which I am a great fan. The philosophical duel between the characters of Ulrich Matthes and August Diehl is simply fantastic, with magnificent silence and dialogs. Sometimes, silence associated to the expression of the face is more significant than words. The direction is stunning and very realistic, particularly in the concentration camp; the music score and the cinematography are very beautiful; and the performances are perfect, with the two lead actors deserving nominations to the Oscar. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "9o Dia" ("9th Day")

I have no great sympathy for the Catholic Church, but I found the movie quite moving while watching it. There were some rank-and-file Catholic (and Protestant) clergy who spoke up against Nazism. They paid a heavy price - in part because there wasn't an outcry on the part of the higher-ups in the church hierarchy. They were more interested in keeping their perks and playing nice with the powers-that-be. This silent betrayal is very well conveyed in the movie.

Unfortunately some of the other dramatic elements don't work as well. I think the movie would have been stronger if Henri Kremer's relationship with his family -- his sister especially, who was willing to put her life on the life so he could flee to freedom -- had been more fleshed out. They don't even show their parting! So although I was interested throughout the movie, it was not quite satisfying.

I do not at all understand how someone can dismiss this film as a "Catholic propaganda movie". That's utter rubbish. I was raised catholic and have converted to paganism but this was still an excellent movie. It does not try to push the catholic faith onto anyone. What it is about is, simply, one man's principles. In an awful time, in the face of torture and abuse, when he is being confronted with the most persuasive arguments and when no one could blame him for taking the easy way out and saving himself, can he stand by what he believes? Will he save himself and then live the rest of his life hating himself for it? This movie was completely engrossing from beginning to end. It absolutely gripped my emotions and my mind and held me riveted. It also left me thinking about it and haunted by it long afterward. I cannot recommend this movie highly enough. Brilliant. I found myself both attracted to and repelled by the character of the Nazi sent to persuade him. Amazing subject matter beautifully executed.

After reading some of the reviews below, I could not resist the frustration and decided to register and express my own opinion on the subject. First of all, it is a great movie, very humanistic and powerful. It is a movie about inner human struggle, it has nothing to do with church propaganda or any other nonsense so cheaply expressed by some "commentators". Being myself raised and atheist (in the former Soviet Union), subsequently going through Christian transformation but eventually abandoning it and becoming a naturalistic pantheist, I found the movie extremely resonating and devoid of any propaganda at all. It is a story about life the way it was, about people cast into the horror of the state machine, powerless and nearly broken. You will see no heroics, no pretty faces, no romantic interludes, only the bleak atmosphere and a masterful portrayal of the events. The most persistent feeling the movie leaves inside is the torturous question "What character could I actually be had I lived back then?" – and the chilling realization of the answer – "anyone of them." I only hope that the History is not going to repeat itself the way it always persistently did over the past millennium.

Most people are "conditioned" with the false sense of Hollywood "reality" in movies, but the real life is very different and this movie provides a great example of it. It actually is a big plus that the language is German, it adds a lot to the authenticity of the feeling. I have no difficulties following the English subtitles, the dialogs are sparse and do not divert from the main flow (needless to say, my native language is Russian). Finally, the soundtrack is simply incredible. The morons who call it "weak" should check the credits at the end – the bulk of the sound uses Alfred Schnittke's symphonic works – a perfect ornament to the gloomy and hopeless flow.

If you are looking for a movie to entertain yourself, you are definitely in a wrong place. By if you are like me, looking for a movie to enhance your soul and understanding of the drama of our life, then it is definitely worth checking out. 10/10

It showed just all the considerations that the Vatican and the clergy had to make and how complicated and not black and white their decisions were based upon. Not everything is as obvious as it seems. And it was not a Catholic based excuse movie for decisions made, it was just the facts. And it wasn't just the church that had to make these difficult considerations in WW2, but many governments and institutions. When your dealing with a madman who can like current day Putin, kill tens of and hundreds of thousands of people because of a single slight, you certainly have to be careful in your decisions. Just as the NATO decision on a no fly zone over Ukraine decision is. Sure we want to do it but is it worth starting WW3 over? Decisions I'm certainly glad I'll never have to make.