13 Minutes (2017)

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Good movie but grossly overrated

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

13 Minutes, a ReviewIN A WORLD...OF WORN OUT SUPER HEROES, TIRED REMAKES AND SEQUELs, COMES A FILM SO SHOCKING MULTIPLEXES ALL OVER THE NATION WOULDN'T SHOW IT. FROM A COUNTRY THAT BROUGHT US THE Nazis, RELIABLE CARS AND SCHADENFREUDE COMES a film about a socialist trying to kill Hitler in 1939 in Munich?! 13 Minutes is a film so audacious that it shows that socialists were not always the bad guys. The Nazis and Socialists, along with your standard capitalist parties, were fighting for control of the hearts, minds and power in Germany, we'll say since the end of World War I because that's the point in which 13 Minutes first mentions the conflict.Spoiler alert!: the Nazis were elected to power and systematically started to remove their opponents through work camps, torture, and their favorite, murder. Mild mannered carpenter and socialist sympathizer Georg Elser, played adroitly by Christian Friedel, sees the atrocities of the Nazis. Like many Germans, he decided to resists. In his case, he planned to blow up Hitler, a fantasy many of us had in our youth. We learn all of this right in the beginning, in the trailer actually. What unfolds is the Nazis attempt to understand how this "lowly carpenter" could have done this alone. Their technique for "understanding" include various forms of torture that would have made Spanish Inquisitors sit up and take notice. What also unfolds is the cause of Elser coming to such a radical decision and his many romances, including the love of his life. I assume that more of us would have found a way to flee Germany when the Nazis started killing people in our town. I would have chosen the "flight" route myself. Not good old, crafty Elser, who patriotically, as the film plays it, decided to take action. He planted a bomb that missed his target by...some amount of minutes. I don't want to spoil it for you. The acting is one of the best things about the film. From the bit parts, to the incredibly scary Nazis (IT has nothing on these Nazis), to the love interests, to the towns people, to the socialists, they were all well played. Moreover, the portrayal of the Hitler youth was more frightening than anything I saw in IT.The costuming and settings were impeccable and the filming framed the action in a simple yet interesting manner. It is German cinema, after all, from the director who brought us the gut- wrenching "Downfall." The music was not overwrought or cloying like Hans Zimmer's "Dunkirk" soundtrack. Overall, the production values show the best of modern cinema. The parts that don't work could have been fixed with one more pass through the script. There are scenes where the leads, Elser specifically, act out of character. A line or two, five minutes more of screen time, would have solved these issues. While we know the character of Elser, his actions don't match that character in two important ways. Most people won't notice, and I wholeheartedly recommend 13 Minutes. Rating: Pay Full Price. Peace, Tex Shelters

Most films about Nazi war era is made about victims of any Other ethnic, social group and I have never heard of a common-man-German's resistance nor any Germanic people daring to act against the strict, strident Nazi forces. WWII was horrendous.This film makes that vision clear and scary, still today. Nazis, as they were clearly depicted in "13 minutes" film still inflicted fear in an audience who knew they were sitting in a safe movie theater…and yet the fanaticism and coldness, heartless obedience was shown, effectively.And without extra drama or fluff or exaggerations to get ratings or profits. This movie is a necessary 'correction' to the more popular WWII movies, those depicted with "victim-fighting-and-losing" or "victim-turns-hero-and-wins" – the popular, very common versions.These Nazis were mainly shown as males, as stiff, sharp, stone-immobile -faced and with rigid bodies, even in gestures, expressions & all their movements. Surprisingly, only very few Nazi females were included in film, to balance the understanding of which Germans submitted, why so many Germans obeyed, or how most Germans actually lived their lives within those actual Nazi enforced strictures. yet. these were believable. As was the man who refused them - and suffered strongly for disobedience.The movie tension was constant & visceral - felt strongly, throughout most of the long movie- even in flashbacks and scenes of the hero's attempts to explain himself after being caught. Torture was difficult to watch - and though this writer is mostly proud of "facing reality, no matter what it is" did close eyes and ears at 2 points to not indulge in horrors on screen.And to avoid having later prolonged effects from seeing real-life torture, as viewed on such a Big Screen - with loud sounds & music, with gore, extreme pains shown. The cruelty was so easily inflicted - and the helpless of this proud man, who was very brutally punished. For disagreeing, disobeying, failing.There are No Heroics in watching brutal humanity enjoying or obediently acting-out-orders. The inclusion of no-apparent-exaggerations- but here probably showing realistic depictions - were acted out dramatically, as subtly as is necessary, to make this film appear valid. "13 minutes" should be seen by all & anyone who has been alive - then and who escaped such pains. And equally by those who have never lived inside such war-gutted societies and with the people who collude in wars - do so for their safety - or they lived there for their benefits of being with those who are the "Winners and In Power & Control" - or are those who collude, and become collaborators. Or those who had to be there mainly for their body-survival - as occurs, in any war, any where else.Especially those of a younger demographic should view this film, which exposes Germans and Nazis more realistically than American or some other Japanese/European movies dare do. A Hero is one who acts on their own honorable, responsible, ethical convictions - not hurting others - but who act to prevent worse happening to others too, in their world/ town/ country.Not to "kill 'em all & sort them out later" . But a hero has to have serious convictions and to be personally courageous - to take personal actions that may put that person in serious danger . To do something on & with purpose - to prevent worse happening for others – that becomes a higher calling / purpose.Comparatively, all other -mostly American- movies that are Not nearly as realistic, pointed and directed to our heads, as is this one. This film is not just to provoke fear & easy emotions. Most others do not meet the level of truth & honesty, as is well depicted here.

I'm always interested in WWII history as my father served. Only having heard vaguely of this attempt in a History Channel program about the attempts on Hitler's life I had never been aware of the facts and the larger story of the man behind the first unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler. 13 Minutes depicts this brilliant lone man's attempt to end a mad man's rule reverently for history. As much as a terribly tragic story can, it also explains his despair for taking eight other lives while Hitler escaped unharmed.Aptly titled this movie drives home the point of how likely it was a 13 minute period, the time between Hitler's exit and the bomb's detonation likely allowed millions and millions of innocent deaths during Hitler's bloody reign. Equally important for Americans is the unspoken belief that the war may have de-escalated to the point where Japan may have thought better of attacking at Pearl Harbor. Of course, 13 minutes made what could have been a world altering difference.The story of Gorg Elser should be remembered. There were many Germans who never believed Hitler was a righteous leader. Of many, however, few ever acted so complete was Hitler's henchmen in their terrorizing constant threat of torture and death. Elser was a rare anomaly. So rare, Hitler himself couldn't accept a common laborer, who refused to join the National Socialist Party could conceive and carry out such a well executed bombing. There would be, in time, deadly punishment in the ranks for failure to uncover co-conspirators. This kind of evil hubris underscores the madness of Hitler's brand of vile leadership. This is a no-nonsense film that layers on, literally, nothing to make a story more incredible. It's just a vivid snapshot of a time and place where one man couldn't just stand by and watch. Christian Friedel does an admirable job of recreating how humanity can be trampled on yet survive to do something beyond the believable. His acting skills, along with the excellent writing and direction, put one in his shoes…and, it's quite uncomfortable. It's truly poignant. The Gestapo henchmen all bring the required menace to counterpoint the dire evil the Nazis defended to. It's a film to weigh the cost of regaining something right when everything is only worsening. In the end you'll celebrate the bravery, and likely forgive the collateral damage, of Georg Elser and within that there is a powerful lesson. Our world around us is still fighting. Evil forces still exist. Thus we should all watch this movie because there is so much we have yet to learn. A must see.

Movie about assassination-attempts has a natural point to use as its climax: the attempt itself. It would not be easy to keep the ending surprising if the target is Adolf Hitler, and the year 1939. This movie thankfully does not attempt to build to the grand assassination attempt, but opens with it, and spends the rest of the runtime pondering: Who is this Elser guy? What did he do? How did he do it? Why did he do it? It does this by using the interrogations as a sort of frame, and then delving into episodes from Elser's life. It does not attempt to tell his entire life story, but rather pick scenes helpfully to understand the state of mind he was in during that pivotal moment in 1939.This is an interesting story that is very much worth telling. Elser seems to be an extraordinary character, and it's one of those moments in history where everything could have been completely different. The movie has taken some shortcuts though, as is to be expected. Elser is shown as both a clever, talented man (as he was), but at also with some faults. He is shown as almost apolitical, which makes for an interesting character, but the movie would have been better if they had explored what is known about Elser's actual relationship with Nazism.Over all it is a movie worth seeing, even though it is easy to be bored by all of the movie about the brave men who fought Nazism, as they often spend very little time on how Nazis also were people. Good vs evil is a misrepresentation. That said, this movie handles much better than many other movies with similar subjects.