Where Hands Touch

I'm not sure why so many people are giving this movie a bad wrap. The cinematography (though it could use a couple touches here and there) was great. The growth of the romance between Leyna and Lutz did seem a little rushed near the beginning, but when the realities of war and Nazi ideology really began to make its mark in their lives, things got especially interesting. The actors did an amazing job in portraying this too, and there were many emotional and passionate scenes that made me feel completely invested as if I were right there alongside them -something hard to get out of me. The way I see it, many people had a problem with this movie due to the setting. What many people don't seem to realize, is that this film is one of the few nowadays that doesn't completely distort the attitudes and beliefs of another time, and this is especially important when looking at a place like Nazi Germany. After World War I, Germany was completely destitute and caught in a bad financial situation of paying their debts to the Allies while continuously borrowing money from them to do so. Keep in mind, this was the war where just the sheer amount of men that had died, led to a dip in national population. All their fighting and death felt wasted to the Germans, and The Treaty of Versailles would certainly not help them any better. Their dignity and their country was so badly wounded by this, the people wanted to rebound from it, and while national pride or nationalism is not inherently bad in itself, the invasion and massacre of others is. It can't be ignored that many during this era held prejudiced beliefs, yet, unfortunately, most Germans were not aware of the extent to which blood was spilt out of discrimination. Most Germans only wanted to restore their country. In this film, these attitudes are very apparent, and although I do not agree with them, they shine light on the reality of what had happened. It showed the audience that there are shades of gray we often overlook, such as Leyna's situation of not only loving a Nazi, but being born a German of African descent in a European world. This movie is not one that takes away from history, but rather highlights the important pieces we often miss and does so wonderfully.

Maybe this is made for kids, but this felt like a Diet Coke version of WWII. The premise is interesting - two teens on opposing sides (a biracial teen female and a Hitler youth male) fall for each other. But the film felt so light in its setup and the characters were acting in ways that made it feel like there was no real danger. It has pretty cinematography and the effort is there and the overall story premise is good, but it didn't feel all that realistic to me.

I don't think the movie deserves the worst reviews it got on here. It delivered an accurate depiction of the ruthlessness of fascism, which I am unfortunately familiar with, and of love between two young people. The acting was good to brilliant in my opinion. There were some scenes that were a little too long or not exactly necessary and I can't tell if the script fits the reality of those days a hundred percent but overall, it was a good watch.

I have seen every Holocaust film ever made of any note. Schindler's List is very good; as was Seven Beauties by Wertmuller. I thought Life is Beautiful was overrated. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas was far superior to Life is Beautiful. Most Holocaust films are very powerful, but a few are stereotypical. After Sophie's Choice, which I thought was the most powerful of all Holocaust films, I had a tendency to avoid reviewing any more of them. Then this film came along, and became the best Holocaust film of all time; every bit the equal of Schindler's List. This is due mostly to the performance of the outstanding young actress, Amandia Stenberg, who overwhelms the screen in every scene she is in. She will be a talent to be reckoned with for decades to come. Why some idiots are rating this film below a 7 is beyond my comprehension, although there are a lot more stupid people in the world than there are knowledgeable ones; so that might be an explanation. Be part of the world that isn't stupid, and view this film as soon as you can; you will not be disappointed.

Someone suggested that all the low ratings from the professional critics and viewers here are the result of some kind of bias.

Seriously recoiling and critiquing lousy film making, so bad that the message is -- "I love Romeo the Nazi" -- is an expression of bias?

I think virtually all of us panning this film *want* to give it a high rating for the story it is attempting to tell. But the clichés, terrible scripting, absolutely abysmal acting do not do credit to the story of attitudes toward biracial children in Nazi Germany (or virtually anywhere in the world where they were mostly seen as genetic and social threats).

The bravery and resilience of the young woman simply do not come through at all. It was an opportunity to present her as superior in every way and instead the writers decided to overlay a sanguine and utterly not credible "Romeo and Juliet" nonsense over the story, obliterating the meaning and actual genuine drama.

We get no explanation, none at all as to why this brave young biracial girl would fall in love with a Nazi who shows no real trepidation at being part of the machinery that will kill Jews, a lot of other people, and destroy Europe.

FYI the young actress, Amandla Stenberg, is actually a good actress. Abby Cornish once again proves she has lucked into a couple of roles, but in general she is at best a mediocre to poor actress.