simondclinch-1 There have been earlier films about tunnels under the Berlin wall, but this is by far the best. It traces the story from the building of the wall and is fact-based.This film is best watched with subtitles, because listening to the dialogue in German affords a complete suspension of disbelief. I felt as if I was actually there!The plot is deliciously unpredictable and the characters exceptionally well developed.Also the length is generous but justified by the fullness of the plot.Moreover, the plot, while lengthy, doesn't contain much distraction, so that suspense builds up from beginning to end.

lastliberal It is hard to believe that this movie lasted almost three hours. It was so compelling that you stayed glued to the screen the entire time and were surprised when it ended.The acting by Heino Ferch (Downfall), Nicolette Krebitz (All the Queen's Men), Alexandra Maria Lara (Control, The Reader), Claudia Michelsen (The Reader), and Sebastian Koch (Black Book, The Lives of Others) was superlative. There were others that contributed to making Roland Suso Richter's film the superlative treat that it was.To see the lengths that people will go through to save their loved ones is inspiring.

James Dylan This turned out to be a great movie, much better than I thought it would be. I am a fan of the spy movies of the 1960's, and this movie fits into that genre (but not quite). I am a fan of the cold war era, too, with Berlin and the wall and all that, so this movie was great to watch. There are a few things I didn't like, but they were minor, which is why I gave it an 8 out of 10.I was watching this with a buddy, and we both got caught up in it and were on the edge of our seats wondering if they would get away with it, and was much more thrilling that I thought it would be.There are several very touching scenes where people get shot, and people are looking over the wall, reaching down, trying to grab their hand and pull them up, while the shot man is gasping, whispering how he had to get over the wall before he lost his girlfriend...it was very freaking' sad and moving, especially the way the filmed it, very cool.It gets slow a few times, dabbling in the romance between two characters, but I am used to that in movies now. The version I saw was in German with English subtitles, but luckily I speak German. I thought the main character was very like Bruce Willis.

Exiled_Archangel Just finished watching this movie half an hour ago.. Couldn't write the review earlier, because I was busy crying my eyes out. I know I've said this before, but I really think this must be the best movie ever. I hardly ever get THAT sentimental for movies, but this one is really something. The story is captivating, the screenplay is flawless such that this movie never gets boring for a second in its enormous length of 167 minutes, and the acting deserves an applause. There is something I particularly like in movies: Having more than one genre without screwing up anything. Here you go.. This is anything from suspense to drama, adventure to romance.. Yet it doesn't lose its magic in any of the fields. I was particularly impressed by the performances of the main character, his sister's husband, and Mehmet Kurtulus who plays Vittorio Castanza (no, not because he's my fellow countryman), and the beardy detective guy of the state security of East Germany. I don't mean to diss any nation or commune specifically, but such a good movie can only be made with such a good and TRUE story. I'm glad I wasn't born in East Germany! On the other hand, it surely is among the finer things in life to partake in such a team play and for such a good reason. These heroes will always be remembered, and the feeling when they made it to West Berlin was probably priceless. Who wouldn't want to experience such?*** SPOILERS ***As in most films with the dense feeling of suspense throughout, this one also delivers textual comments of what happened to the characters after the last frame the film includes. To be honest, reading those got to me big time. It was so very sad to learn Fritzi and Harry didn't stay together. I guess I would pretty much lose the meaning of my life if I was Harry and lost the woman I shared so much with. And Fred putting in so much effort to move to West Germany (although he's actually West German) and then leaving it in 1964. Not as dreadful as the above one, but still sad. Funny but true, I was already planning a trip to Montreal, and if I go, I'll certainly try to find him and listen to his experiences. Last but not least, it's abysmal that Vittorio put even more effort than anyone else into the liberation process, and within a nation he doesn't even belong to, and didn't live long enough to witness the utmost success of his deeds when the Berlin was brought down. I think all these people are holy, and it would be nice of the German government to give their names to schools or streets.*** END OF SPOILERS ***All in all, this movie is absolutely fantastic, and whilst one is supposed to respect others' opinions, I believe an opinion saying this movie was bad simply doesn't deserve a trace of respect. A perfect 10/10 for this masterpiece!