The Birdcatcher

Despite the "critics" churlish reviews, I found this a touching film with the underrated Sarah-Sofie Boussnina superb once again in the leading role.

very moving tense and beautiful.

There is something about this film that resonates. It is well directed, with good cinematography and music. It tells a story of both the primeval and the enduring humanity amongst evil in its better sweet story of survival and love.

Great movie, intriguing and moving. Forgot the critics, it endlessly amuses me how they can laud sci-if movies and then say that a drama like this falls short because it's not believable.

Forget the critic reviews this is a heart rendering tale that will keep you engaged once you get past the first half hour or so. An unlikely scenario perhaps but the engaging none the less. The lead character discards her wet bright red coat that could be dried to keep her warm but symbolic of her life changing and never bright again as it drifts down the river. The barren winter landscape beautiful but inhospitable much like living in her homeland now controlled by Nazi's. Every character coming together in scenes yet virtually all having different goals that can never be reconciled. All having secrets. The ending both tragic and poignant at the same time. Our heroin escaping what most Jews could not in Nazi occupied territory while many of her enemies she had to endure silently did meet their end. The anti climax showing the girl now a woman that lost so much but never lost her humanity.

I found this more watchable, even at times moving, than the critics did. The ending especially touched me, the Jewish girl's quiet kindness to the woman who both helped to protect her disguise and betrayed her husband and nation. I am not a movie critic by trade, but I did help design and teach a college course called Literature and History of the Holocaust, have written and spoken on the subject, travelled to Poland and other eastern European countries, visited the sites of several death camps as well as several museums, and befriended a man, now gone, who survived Auschwitz. Most movies can't come close to the actual horror, but this one makes a decent attempt to convey something of the courage and resourcefulness of a Jew in hiding and those who at huge risk helped her stay hidden and ultimately survive.

An interesting story which follows a young Jewish girl as she attempts to flee to Sweden during Nazi reign. Not a spectacular watch but intriguing all the same.

Watchable movie with very good cinematography but I didn't find the acting went very deep as it rarely does any more. People going through war suffer from so many things (and much more so in those days): constant fear, great fatigue, huge emotional and physical pains, with much caused from seeing the death and torture of loved ones... these things are constantly alive in their hearts and minds so it should be underlying in each scene however I didn't see or feel it in any, maybe there was a little attempt but far from the depth needed to seem real or to be moving. I understand it's not easy for people today to imagine the horrors and discomforts of war, especially growing up in the comfort of wealthy western countries but because of this, the movie lacks depth or complete believability. It's also the cause for not being able to feel much empathy for anyone. No tears were shed here, sad to say. It's not completely devoid of emotion if you use your own imagination but the film would be much better if the director knew how to get the level of performance needed from each actor as the actors surely couldn't/didn't do it on their own. It would have been painful, tiresome work but it would have been a much better a film. Perhaps they just had little time to rehearse.....

I loved this movie, the story and especially the protagonist, the young girl who carries this story, with a good cast to back her up. The tension is almost constant, but she is also a 13-year old Jewish girl who wonders about love and Hollywood, while posing as a boy to hide her identity on a farm frequented by Nazis.

Ignore the bitter critics. If you're looking for a poignant and gripping World War 2 film, this is it. Sure, some plot points need some polishing. But the acting and cinematography make up for it.