Having not read the book, I can't comment on how the movie fares in comparison.
Two serious missteps struck me immediately: First and most egregious, the dialogue is entirely in English, even when the Germans are speaking amongst themselves. The accents (when such are even attempted) are fifth-rate. That the film was not written and performed in German by German actors was a severe blow to any sense of veracity right off the bat.
Secondly, Hauer's character is far too noble to be credible. Always the consummate thespian, Hauer almost manages to pull off limning the paper-thin persona.
I'm not suggesting that skeptical Nazis didn't exist, but not to a point, I believe, where one would risk his life in the face of such an uncertain outcome and such unfavorable odds. Miranda Richardson is fairly respectable as the American reporter, but her role doesn't provide much depth either.
Setting these reservations aside for a moment, the film's strengths are the riveting central scenario, the skillful direction, and a memorably sinister music score. The opening file footage, with a narrator explaining how the alternate reality came to be, is brilliantly done. Given such a fascinating reimagination of world history, it's pretty hard not to make the film at least diverting. Actually, I found myself captivated from beginning to....well almost end: The last few scenes entail a series of events that would have people rolling in the aisles with a lesser film, but even here hardly seems less preposterous. The absurd notion that a couple of American reporters could jostle their way through throngs of reverent, chanting Nazi supporters and past a wall of elite SS to hand off some documents to the U.S. President (HIS Secret Service also seems to be conveniently out-to-lunch) as he drives past, AND that selfsame President would glance at the papers and immediately cancel his imminent meeting with "Der Fuehrer", is beyond silliness. It's the dumbed-down American "last minute rescue" version of how such an intriguing story would end. Still, at least the writer didn't cop out when it came to the fates of his protagonists.
FATHERLAND had most of the ingredients to be a great movie, but a few aspects of the production were bungled disastrously. 6.5/10
Two serious missteps struck me immediately: First and most egregious, the dialogue is entirely in English, even when the Germans are speaking amongst themselves. The accents (when such are even attempted) are fifth-rate. That the film was not written and performed in German by German actors was a severe blow to any sense of veracity right off the bat.
Secondly, Hauer's character is far too noble to be credible. Always the consummate thespian, Hauer almost manages to pull off limning the paper-thin persona.
I'm not suggesting that skeptical Nazis didn't exist, but not to a point, I believe, where one would risk his life in the face of such an uncertain outcome and such unfavorable odds. Miranda Richardson is fairly respectable as the American reporter, but her role doesn't provide much depth either.
Setting these reservations aside for a moment, the film's strengths are the riveting central scenario, the skillful direction, and a memorably sinister music score. The opening file footage, with a narrator explaining how the alternate reality came to be, is brilliantly done. Given such a fascinating reimagination of world history, it's pretty hard not to make the film at least diverting. Actually, I found myself captivated from beginning to....well almost end: The last few scenes entail a series of events that would have people rolling in the aisles with a lesser film, but even here hardly seems less preposterous. The absurd notion that a couple of American reporters could jostle their way through throngs of reverent, chanting Nazi supporters and past a wall of elite SS to hand off some documents to the U.S. President (HIS Secret Service also seems to be conveniently out-to-lunch) as he drives past, AND that selfsame President would glance at the papers and immediately cancel his imminent meeting with "Der Fuehrer", is beyond silliness. It's the dumbed-down American "last minute rescue" version of how such an intriguing story would end. Still, at least the writer didn't cop out when it came to the fates of his protagonists.
FATHERLAND had most of the ingredients to be a great movie, but a few aspects of the production were bungled disastrously. 6.5/10