Orders from Above

Exceptional, and the black-and-white adds depth to the story, enhancing its emotional resonance.

For a first-time director, especially one so young, this film is a remarkable achievement that shows real promise.

While the technical quality may not match seasoned productions, the director's vision shines through, making it compelling to watch.

Poignant despite its limitations, the narrative is delivered with raw honesty and authenticity.

However, tighter editing would enhance the pacing and overall impact.

Watched at the LA Film Fest, this promising debut reveals the director's potential for future projects.

Wish this was a good film because the subject is interesting. Worst acting, editing and every aspect of filmmaking. It's so bad it sometimes doesn't make sense.

One thing that just made my head explode was having shot locked on the character not talking while the other person waffles on for eternity.

So bad it's really a shame. Whoever made this film probably had good intentions but it fell apart.

I can't rate this more than 1 star because it's impossible to watch. You can't take an historical film serious if the quality of the script and execution of the film is this terrible.

No spoilers, its a steaming pile of crapola.

The drama Orders From Above, contains the ring of truth. This reenactment; the interrogation of Adolf Eichmann, was taken from the authentic transcripts of Eichmann's interrogation.

While the film admits that " Some characters may be composites, or entirely fictitious", Captain Avner Less, and the Colonel he reports to, are real.

However, my 5/10 rating is due to the lack of believability in the characters concerned.

It is a matter of history, that Eichmann was abducted by the Mossad and brought to Israel to await trial.

Yet none of the protagonists are Jewish; Richard Cotter, an Irish born American, portrays Captain Avner Less; Darrell Hoffman, portraying the Colonel, is from New South Wales, Australia. Even more apparent, is Peter J. Donnelly, another Australian actor, portraying German SS officer Adolf Eichmann.

The necessary inflections of speech, and pronunciation that would reflect actual Jews, and certainly an infamous German, are painfully missing.

Thus, a well done film, falls far short of the impact it otherwise would wield.

I would highly recommend this film. It is brilliantly executed and the script is very mature.

I look forward to more films by Director Vir, who I suspect will product more bigger budgeted films. If he can create this masterpiece with limited budget and in a pandemic, imagine what he will produce in a proper studio and budget.

What amazes me beside the topic is how Vir wrote and directed this controversial topic. There are very few people who knows what happened after WW2. Many assumed the maters to be closed. Very few people know about the migration to South America and even operational paper_____. I am amazed how a younger person can understand to a detail of the the intricacies of geo political historic events.

Bravo, Dir. Vir. Bravo!!!!!

I saw this film as part of the Las Vegas International Film and Screenplay Festival, and was immediately fascinated by the premise. It must be said, right off this is a big swing for all involved: writer-director, actors, from tackling the sensitive subject matter to the bold choice to shoot it in black and white. I appreciate all of it and artistically, it elevates the overall piece.

But I have to say the Australian (and British?) accents, where you wouldn't expect them, took me out of the film a lot. I do suppose the use of a specific regional accent would be better than a scenery chewing exaggerated German accent on Adolph Eichmann's part, but it really was distracting.

Also, as bold a choice as the B&W was, I hope the team goes back and revisits the grading of the film so it doesn't feel as flat or videotape-like. They made a really powerful and bold choice with black and white and captured some great light and dark. I hope they bring it out more and deepen and shade with contrast, shadows, and the like before the final release, because it is almost there.

Ultimately, still a powerful swing and I respect it very much.