The Bird Catcher

Another film where it's hard to make sense of polarised viewers giving it very high or very low ratings. I always attend a Holocaust Memorial Day screening a local cinema, so I was disposed to give it a chance and make up my own mind. On the plus side, there's striking photography (as some reviews have stated); some originality in the Norwegian location; and interesting themes in relation to how people there responded to the Nazi occupation.

But as another reviewer says, it has: "An interesting premise plagued by implausible plot elements... ". Within minutes, I wondered if I'd misunderstood that Esther is supposed to be 14, as she looked far too old. IMDB indicates she was 28 when it was filmed. It doesn't matter that she's a good actress - a 28 year old won't be credible as a 14 year old child, so why cast her! We soon see a succession of scenes that are impossible to take seriously, or ramp up the melodrama far too high. In fact there's so much going on in the central family - in relation to their internal conflicts and their attempts to 'manage' relations with their occupiers - that the film might have worked better and more coherently without Esther even being in it!

A shame, though, because if someone had refined the screenplay, and the director has reined in some of the more ridiculous moments, it could potentially have been a very good film.

Norway isn't an area that our home knows a great deal about, so it was surprising that some of their folk during WW2 actually supported Nazi Germany. I would suggest it unlikely that 1 young female would go through so much on her own. However, this pulls no punches as to how difficult is was for any jewish person living in Norwegian society during the war. In this case, we have a young girl hiding out in on a farm, the lead actress doing a very good job with her part. The ending is, perhaps, a surprise and possibly unlikely. Perhaps you will take a serious look at this movie which tells one story of a young womans struggle without any involvement of "Hollywood", it has a "no holds barred" approach to some of the realities of war. Nazi Germany had much to answer for.

A young Jewish girl, against seemingly insurmountable odds, survives the war disguised as a boy. The film portrays her as a young woman of immense courage and determination - and it is brought home to the viewer precisely what someone in her position might have had to endure. A beautiful, sad and thought-provoking film..worth far higher a score than it received.

This film tells a heart breaking story set during a Nazi occupied Norway. It tells the story of a brave girl who tries very hard to survive. It is easy to feel sympathetic towards Esther. Even the supporting characters are well developed, and I really feel for Aksel and his parents. In short, it is a very engaging and touching story. It is beautifully shot as well. I recommend this film wholeheartedly.

Great story, great mix of emotion with plot, a real soft spoken hero with a heart of steel. It is not romanticised, it shows how events can shake people as people shape events and reveals some dark history. Watch it.