X
- 2019
- R
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 3 h 9 m
- 2019
- R
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 3 h 9 m
Summary Young artist Kurt Barnert (Tom Schilling) has fled to West-Germany, but he continues to be tormented by the experiences he made in his childhood and youth in the Nazi years and during the GDR-regime. When he meets the student Ellie (Paula Beer), he is convinced that he has met the love of his life and begins to create paintings that mirr...
Directed By: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Written By: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
- 2019
- R
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 3 h 9 m
- 2019
- R
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 3 h 9 m
Never Look Away
68
7.9
Where to Watch
Summary Young artist Kurt Barnert (Tom Schilling) has fled to West-Germany, but he continues to be tormented by the experiences he made in his childhood and youth in the Nazi years and during the GDR-regime. When he meets the student Ellie (Paula Beer), he is convinced that he has met the love of his life and begins to create paintings that mirr...
Directed By: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Written By: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 28 Critic Reviews
68
64% Positive
18 Reviews
18 Reviews
32% Mixed
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
4% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 28 Critic Reviews
68
64% Positive
18 Reviews
18 Reviews
32% Mixed
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
4% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
The title of Never Look Away is deliciously ironic: This is one of the most mesmerizing, compulsively watchable films in theaters right now.
While the direction may be deceptively unfussy, Deschanel does brilliant work bringing Kurt’s worldview to life, enabling us to understand his progress towards an artistic breakthrough, represented here by paintings conjured by (among others) Richter’s former assistant Andreas Schön.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 46 User Ratings
7.9
85% Positive
39 Ratings
39 Ratings
15% Mixed
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 46 User Ratings
7.9
85% Positive
39 Ratings
39 Ratings
15% Mixed
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
"Never Look Away" is a film written and directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. He also directed two previous and notable German films, one entitled "Black Book" and the second "The Lives of Others". The latter film won an Academy Award as the Best Foreign Language film in 2006 and both films received 4 stars from this reviewer because of their clarity. power and the wonderful theatrical experiences they created. One of the common threads in each of the two prior films and in this one as well is the presence of Sebastian Koch, a dominating figure on the screen. Here Mr. Koch co-stars with Tom Schilling and Paula Beer in this saga that begins in1940 under the reign of Adolph ****, moves forward through the era of the German Democratic Republic in the eastern part of Germany and then finally concludes its story in the west.
Loosely resembling the life of artist Gerhard Rickter, the film is filled with coincidences and drama that keep the viewer deeply involved as the young artist, portrayed by Mr. Schilling, looks for and attempts to find his own reality amidst the politics and autocratic regimes of the Third Reich and the GDR. The film is 188 minutes in length but never has a 3 hour plus film been so easy to watch and that is due mainly to the superb writing, directing and acting of those in it and responsible for it. Kudos, too, to Caleb Deschanel whose camera work has earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinemaphotography. I give this film a 10 rating and can easily understand why Germany made it its entry for Best Foreign Language film of 2018.
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The lines between good and evil are clearly demarcated at the outset and remain more or less fixed as the story progresses, a strategy that in no way compromises the filmmaker’s ability to mine fresh complications and surprises from his story.
Stately rather than stealthy, is no match for it, but you are borne along, nonetheless, by the clash of characters, and by the ironies of historical momentum.
If Never Look Away is no The Lives Of Others, it is also a cut above The Tourist. A strongly crafted, ambitious, occasionally absorbing dissection of a fascinating period in German culture, it is perhaps too middle-brow and broad for its own good.
Above all, it’s a meditation on art and creativity that’s by turns earnest, troubled, sentimental, and middlebrow. It’s a big, glossy affair that somehow feels rather small.
Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s film prioritizes the sentimental over the true, the tidy moral over the messy reality.
They say that an artist paints or sings what he sees. This biographical drama is perhaps one of the best examples, as it explains well, albeit painfully, the origin and training of an outstanding German artist. The little more than three hours of duration could be exhausting but not boring.
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This movie is loosely based on life and experiences of a famous German artist Gerhard Richter.
The film was nominated for Oscar in the best foreign movies category. The protagonist Kurt was a young kid when **** came to power in Germany. As a child and a teenager he witnessed horrible things. Kurt survives the war and studies socialist realism art in the East Germany. Looking for artistic (and not only artistic) freedom, he escapes to the West Germany just before the Berlin Wall is erected.
What does it take to be a true artist?
How remarkably similar was **** art to Soviet realism! And how awfully false and dishonest they are.
There is a lot to think and to talk about in this movie.
I would like it more if it were not that long (over 3 hours!). Some episodes are excellent but some felt quite cheesy and lacking depth.
Overall, it is a good movie that could have been great.
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Production Company
Pergamon Film,
Wiedemann & Berg Filmproduktion,
Beta Cinema,
ARD Degeto Film,
Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR),
Sky Deutschland,
Rai Cinema,
Sony Pictures Classics,
ARTE,
W.o.A. Film
Release Date Jan 25, 2019
Duration 3 h 9 m
Rating R
Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 2 Nominations
Golden Globes, USA
• 1 Nomination
Venice Film Festival
• 2 Wins & 3 Nominations
