Powerful

Lack of good storyline.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

This type of film, English actors speaking with Southern English accents dressed up in Nazi uniforms, acting beastly, together with extras who have been told to act glum have been artfully brought together in one film - the director shoots the sequences as if he's following the pages of a cartoon book. I watched some 10-15 minutes of this tripe becoming increasingly irritated and disappointed that I wasted my money and and then by watching the stuff I was wasting my time. A story told by film has to grip and hold my attention for the duration. My attention is diluted by unconvincing dialogue, stylised acting by principals and/or extras and camera angles that suddenly intrude upon the narrative. The true story deserves to be produced on film by people who respect the trauma that real people endured and their heroic efforts to survive those times. There are films that convincingly portray the period, notably the Russian film 'Come and See'the German film 'Europa Europa' the Hungarian film 'Zelary.' Even films in which English displaces the language used in the original story can be credible, because the Director and Actors are talented, for example, 'The Pianist' and 'Schindler's List.'What would be the motives of the people who brought this story to the screen? are two films that told the story

Kenny Doughty and Caroline Carver play the title role of a pair of gentile house servants to a wealthy Jewish couple, Martin Landau and Judy Parfitt. Landau is some concern to the Third Reich which is now both at war with the world and just getting into the business of exterminating Jews. But this particular Jew has a large industrial concern that he built, but the firm's liquid assets are in banks quite beyond the control of the Reich. The Nazi dilemma is to get them to hand over control and maybe let them live, emigrate to Palestine as part of the bargain.Danny Webb plays Heinrich Himmler and he'd love to get control of the industrial concern for the S.S. and get to be number two in the regime maybe displace rivals, Borrman, Goebbels, Speer, and Goering. And Landau's got an art collection and if Himmler gets a hold of that, he'll have one to rival the one Goering is looting from France. So what's wrong with having dinner, breaking bread even if it is with Jews.The fly in the ointment is The Aryan Couple who turn out to be both resistance fighters and Jews. It certainly did look strange that in those times gentiles would be working for Jews when that was expressly forbidden by the Nuremberg laws. They certainly raise a few eyebrows at S.S. headquarters.The cast performs well enough, but on the whole I found the story to be bizarre at best. And it might have worked well with just Landau as the industrialist matching wits with Himmler over dinner and drinks. The Aryan Couple of the title really contributes nothing to the essential part of the story.

I recently viewed this film on cable TV. I found it interesting and it led me to do more research on some of the history of the era. Since I do not view movies from the prospect of the acting, scenery, etc. I found that this storyline does reflect what some experienced. It is certainly true that many objects'art were confiscated by the Nazis and it is certainly true that many lost their homes , businesses and lives. History later will reflect some of the same type of incidents from Iraqis who escaped Sadam's exploits. Since this movie was never to be a documentary, it does remind us of man's inhumanity toward man. And, we must never forget. Martin Landau is a great actor. While this movie may not have brought him awards, it is a chance to once again view his character-driven face which we have enjoyed in other venues.

I've seen just about every movie and documentary about the Third Reich but this added a new dimension. The Polish settings were beautiful, the attention to detail in vehicles and costumes remarkable, and the lighting, camera angles and music magnificent. Martin Landau was perfect as the wise old businessman setting up the ingenious plan to guarantee the safety of his family and his new unexpected adopted family. This movie steered clear of the depressing realities of the holocaust, which were more than ably depicted in Schindler's List and Life is Beautiful, and focused on the greed of the Nazis and the ability of some Jews to use this greed to their advantage. If nothing else, the performance of Richard Bremmer in the closing scene is outstanding. Icy cold, gaunt and totally unemotional, a stereotypical Nazi monster, his final actions in the movie are surprising and unforgettable. Kudos to the casting director for this stroke of genius. If you're a Nazi film buff, this movie is unmissable.