Fresh
Richter makes wonderful if obvious use of the wall and the tunnel as built-in metaphors for our struggle for human connection and dread of helplessness and change.
Tom Keogh, Seattle Times
Overview
Inspired by true events, Olympic swimmer Harry Melchior defects from East Germany in the 1960s and hatches a daring plot to help his sister and others flee East Berlin through a 145-yard underground tunnel.
Director and cast
- Roland Suso Richter Director
- Heino Ferch as Harry Melchior
- Nicolette Krebitz as Friederike " Fritzi " Scholz
- Sebastian Koch as Matthis Hiller
- Alexandra Maria Lara as Lotte Lohmann
- Claudia Michelsen as Carola Hiller
- Felix Eitner as Fred von Klausnitz
- Mehmet Kurtuluş as Vittorio Castanza
- Heinrich Schmieder as Theo Lohmann
- Uwe Kockisch as Oberst Krüger
- Karin Baal as Marianne von Krausnitz
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
84%
Tomatometer
Fresh
It is the kind of superbly crafted, intelligent entertainment -- a classic suspense thriller -- that nowadays is as welcome as it is rare.
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
Fresh
Richter gives a raw, frank but sophisticated account of the excruciating logistics of this great escape, and the appalling, inspiring blend of betrayal and courage that attended the group's herculean efforts.
Ella Taylor, L.A. Weekly
Fresh
A true story few people will know, and it's told with a warm, crafty efficiency that makes for wonderful entertainment.
Michael Booth, Denver Post
Fresh
It's a gripping great-escape yarn of the sort we don't see much anymore.
Ty Burr, Boston Globe
More films
The Lives of Others (2006)
Drama · Thriller · R
In 1984 East Berlin, dedicated Stasi officer Gerd Wiesler begins spying on a famous playwright and his actress-lover Christa-Maria. Wiesler becomes unexpectedly sympathetic to the couple, and faces conflicting loyalties when his superior takes a liking to Christa-Maria.
- Runtime
- 2h 17m
- Director
- Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
- Cast
- Martina Gedeck, Ulrich Mühe, Sebastian Koch
IMDb
8.4
Rotten Tomatoes
92%
Metacritic
89
Comments
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