Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Walking With The Enemy (2013 or 2014)

This is topic Walking With The Enemy (2013 or 2014) in forum Film Handlers' Movie Reviews at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 10-12-2013, 12:56 AM:

We saw this at the Rocky Mountain Theatre Convention at the Edwards 9 in Boise, Idaho. They list "October 13" as the opening date in the IMDB website entry for it, but I.M.E. lists it as coming out next February. The studio rep didn't say when it was coming out, or if he did I didn't hear.

The presentation of the movie was good, but there were auditorium problems: The "common width" screen which had about 2 feet of empty screen at the top and bottom of the scope picture, and a green "exit" sign shining directly on the screen...and, the auditorium "floodlights" never went completely dark and were distracting.

Quite often at conventions, screenings of unknown movies like this one are added at the last minute by small eager studios (in this case, Liberty Pictures). Usually the movie contains a cast of unknowns, supported by one mid-range or sometimes "has-been" star (in this case, Ben Kingsley), and the movie is either very serious or extremely R-rated (or both). Normally, these movies have a cheap look about them and the acting is worse.

This movie fell into all of the categories above except the last two; it's a really well made film and looks great. The acting is good too, if a bit unmemorable.

I can't really articulate the whole story so I'll just paste this synopsis from the studio:

quote:
Walking With Enemy follows the heroic lives of a world leader and a young man swept up in the horrors of WWII. Regent Horthy (Ben Kingsley), the leader of Hungary, attempts to balance war and peace in his country when he is faced with ceding power or accepting the execution of his son. The German invasion and occupation of Hungary leaves thousands of his citizens in despair. One of those citizens is Elek Cohen (Jonas Armstrong) who is separated from his family and determined to be reunited with them. Disguised as a Nazi SS officer and aided by the woman he loves, Elek discovers the truth of Hitler’s “Final Solution,” and races to save thousands of his countrymen.

(Mike again) The movie depicts the horrors of the Holocaust pretty vividly, so much so that I was glad for the film to be over just so I could stop watching people being shot. It's a movie that enrages you that people could have ever treated their fellow humans in such a way. (It made me want to watch "Schindler's List" again, which of course is a far better movie.) The tacked-on love story feels kind of hollow after all the carnage on view.

If you like war movies you would probably like this one, but it's not my kind of movie. So I will give it 2.5 stars, but I think a person who likes this type of film would give it at least one more star.