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- 2018
- PG-13
- Vertical Entertainment
- 2 h 2 m
- 2018
- PG-13
- Vertical Entertainment
- 2 h 2 m
Summary Germany, 1944. Leyna (Amandla Stenberg), the 15-year old daughter of a white German mother (Abbie Cornish) and a black African father, meets Lutz (George MacKay), a compassionate member of the Hitler Youth whose father (Christopher Eccleston) is a prominent Nazi solider, and they form an unlikely connection in this quickly changing worl...
Directed By: Amma Asante
Written By: Amma Asante
- 2018
- PG-13
- Vertical Entertainment
- 2 h 2 m
- 2018
- PG-13
- Vertical Entertainment
- 2 h 2 m
Where Hands Touch
44
5.7
Where to Watch
Summary Germany, 1944. Leyna (Amandla Stenberg), the 15-year old daughter of a white German mother (Abbie Cornish) and a black African father, meets Lutz (George MacKay), a compassionate member of the Hitler Youth whose father (Christopher Eccleston) is a prominent Nazi solider, and they form an unlikely connection in this quickly changing worl...
Directed By: Amma Asante
Written By: Amma Asante
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 13 Critic Reviews
44
23% Positive
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
62% Mixed
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
15% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 13 Critic Reviews
44
23% Positive
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
62% Mixed
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
15% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
A tale of trauma and survival, Where Hands Touch is grim, compelling stuff, but the tireless humanism of the two leading characters makes it undeniably moving, aided by the careful and empathetic guidance of British writer-director Amma Asante (Belle, A United Kingdom).
Despite moments that risk subverting the vile treachery of Nazis in a bid to humanize this would-be soldier underneath his uniform, Asante refuses to erase the complexity of the situation at hand.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 11 User Ratings
5.7
55% Positive
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
9% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
36% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 11 User Ratings
5.7
55% Positive
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
9% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
36% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
This is an excellent movie that showcases the reality of what it was like to be a BIPOC young woman during an incredibly challenging time in the world - a time when to be anything but Aryan meant you were targeted daily and your entire life could be turned upside down. The realization of what is happening around them brings two characters that come from very opposite sides during this horrific event that is World War II. This is a rare scope into what life could have been like for those experiencing the bilateral terror of being mixed race and knowing that ones ability to have a future was settled upon that fate. The things that the two main characters see and experience drive them closer, but also challenge them with moral tugging moments that shape this coming of age story into something that everyone should see.
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The weight of history is a heavy burden for one film to carry, especially when freighted still further by contemporary parallels. Ultimately, Leyna is as much a symbol as a fully-drawn character, one young girl representing multitudes. Nevertheless, those who find their way to her essential story will come away not only enlightened, but undeniably touched.
While Where Hands Touch demonstrates confident filmmaking from a technical standpoint, Asante’s plot choices around the ambiguous development of Lutz feel irresponsible, especially during these risky political times that uncompromisingly demand us to be the opposite.
Asante usually excels at sharing stories audiences haven’t seen before, so it’s unfortunate that this one feels so dully familiar.
It’s a film entirely devoid of subtlety yet one that also fails to provide the grand emotion it yearns to deliver, despite the use of a sledgehammer.
Get past the “You learn something every day” aspect of writer-director Amma Asante’s follow-up to “Belle” and “A United Kingdom,” and the picture grates and annoys and falls to pieces, and not quietly. It’s so wrong. And there’s so much of it.
Hmm...yeah, that was a movie.
I don't know what's more distracting: The unnatural chemistry or the German accents. Where's Major Hellstrom from 'Inglourious Basterds' when you need him.
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Awards
Black Reel Awards
• 1 Nomination
World Soundtrack Awards
• 1 Nomination
London Critics Circle Film Awards
• 1 Nomination
