In Tranzit

First of all, anyone should watch this movie not because of the plot, but because one needs to learn history from alternative viewpoints.

What is remarkable about this movie, is that it depicts accurately the Soviet policy of killing any prisoner of war by starving, exposure, sentenced execution of simply random killing. One of the dark secrets of the Allies is that they never respected any Geneva conventions and were notorious for committing crimes against humanity.

So some prisoners (the minority) did survive because of luck. There were a few righteous among the nations that helped them with extra food or clothing at a great risk for themselves, so I am glad this movie pays tribute for those compassionate ladies.

IN TRANZIT is one of those forgotten films the viewer wants to love: an all but unknown bit of history based on a true story that offers a different insight into the universal damage inflicted upon all peoples by WW II. The problem with this production is the embarrassingly weak script by Natalia Portonova and Simon van der Borgh, the unfocused direction by Tom Roberts and the bumpy editing by Paul Carlin. Beautifully photographed by Sergei Astakhov in a manner that emphasizes the brutality of Russian winters, setting a perfect matrix for the drama, this film had potential, but even the isolated acting contributions of a few seasoned actors cannot hide the weak script and the annoying pacing.

1946 and a Russian Women's prisoner of war camp lays unused until it is determined by one evil Russian officer Pavlov (John Malkovich) that it will become a camp for German prisoners of war to ferret out occult members of the Nazi SS group that inflicted such agony on the Russians. The camp is run by a group of angry Russian women soldiers and one Russian physician Natalia (Vera Farmiga) who together with Citizen Zina (Natalie Press) represent the humanistic side of the suffering Russian victims of the German brutality. And so it is German men, including the handsome Max (Thomas Kretschmann) who shares a mutual attraction with Natalia and the enigmatic Klaus (Daniel Brühl) among others, versus the Russian women: role reversal and gender dominance changes create the drama. One key mute figure is Andrei (the brilliant Russian actor Yevgeni Mironov), the psychologically damaged husband of Natalia, who in many ways represents the tragedy of the entire WW II on mankind. How these two groups of people interact and survive the conditions imposed on them forms the story.

Though Farmiga and Kretschmann, Press and Mironov overcome the awkward script in an attempt to suffuse this film with palpable tragedy, the result is a bumpy ride through the obvious pitfalls of amateur film-making. It could have been an important film, but is remains a minor though interesting insight as to the extended effects of war on people's psyches. Grady Harp

I expected much much more from this film. It is a good picture of what Russians camps were during and after the war concerning German POWs. But there is unfortunately something wrong in it, the relationship between characters is ankward, cheesy, too smooth, it lack pain, tragedy, at least for this kind of topic, surroundings, I guess the producers of the film wanted to bring something available for widest audiences, and not wildest...I am sure that a pure German movie would have been more powerful, grittier. There is too much romance here, too American. I am dead sure that life in those camps in Soviet Union, in 1945 and after, were far fra more awful.

Drama post-WWII film about German soldiers in a concentration camp with superb interpretation and tension enough.

Directed by Tom Roberts from a screenplay by Natalia Nightingale-Grey and Simon van der Borgh, In Tranzit has the following synopsis: Set in Leningrado, 1946, in the chaotic aftermath of WWII, a group of German prisoners are sent to a female transit camp by the cruel Russian Commander Pavlov (John Malkovich). When the guards are given the task of weeding out the SS officers, they play a bitter game of cat and mouse with the prisoners. Natalia (Vera Farmiga) and the inmate Max (Thomas Kretschmann) feel a great attraction for each other while the prisoner Klaus (Daniel Brühl) attempts to convince Max to denounce some prisoners to please and obtain privileges from the Russians. Each group slowly learns that situations are not what they seem; prejudices are sometimes unjustly held; and love can be found in even the harshest places. From her greatest enemy came her greatest love !

From the beginning the film seems to develop like the typical story of concentration camps with the particularity that prisoners are Nazis, the plot then takes an intriguing tack when they must cope with the hostility of the Soviet female inmates and guards, suffering a undisguised resentment from their previous criminal activities. The film turns out to be decent enough, dealing primarily with the relationships between German prisoners and their guards, who are mostly Russian women, adding brief intrigues about who the snitch is. This is a well-paced and well-acted movie. However, it is marred by a terrible ending with a bizarre and twisted plot that is not well developed.

.Alongside the two main characters: Vera Farmiga, Thomas Kretschmann, John Malkovich giving engaging performances, there is a long list of supporting characters - many of them in their early days and who would later go on to develop successful careers, such as: Daniel Brühl, Natalie Press, Patrick Kennedy and John Lynch.

This unknown film was professionally directed by Tom Roberts , but it failed at the boxoffice, and that's why it was distributed straight to DVD in several countries. Tom is a craftsman, writer, producer and director who has filmed both for television and the big screen, including his following works: ¨Hebron Exposed - A Weapon of Life¨, ¨Every Last Child¨, Alfred and Jakobine¨, ¨Mandela: The Prison Years¨, ¨Ghosts of the 7th Cavalry¨, ¨ Frontline¨, ¨Dispatches¨, ¨Wide Angle¨, ¨ Witness¨ , ¨Time watch¨, among others. In tranzit (2008) rating; 6.5/10. The movie will appeal to WWII enthusiasts.

Yikes! Just watched it in Russian. Fortunately I speak enough Russian to understand the voice-over; wish they had kept it in the original English and just added Russian subtitles. Kretschmann, Bruhl, Farmiga and Press all give excellent performances; Evegeny Mironov does the most amazing "silent" performance since his Russian version of Kafka's "Metamorphosis". I have no doubt that anti-German sentiment was running high in 1946 in Leningrad; nevertheless, surely there was some hope or ray of sunshine in all the gloom. I am beginning to understand why this film was not marketed in America. Unless you lived through those times, or are a student of history, the subject matter of this film may not have much appeal. Still, for you history buffs out there, don't miss some fine acting in this film.