Customer Reviews

Naked Among Wolves

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This movie is absolutely riveting from start to finish. It is based on a true story of how a group of prisoners in the camp go to extreme risks to protect a three year old Polish Jewish boy [smuggled in a valise and who had escaped extermination in Auschwitz] from the Nazis and certain death in Buchenwald concentration camp.

Besides facing problems in keeping the boy hidden, the prisoners involved , many of whom are members of the communist resistance are also grappling with the issue of armed resistance and how they are going to go about it. The Nazis in charge of the camp suspect something is afoot and try to find the identities of the ringleaders of the resistance, whilst at the same time fearing the advancing Allied forces and what that means for them.

The acting is amazing, and the cast of characters, with familiar names like Armin Mueller Stahl as Hovel, a member of the communist resistance,do a good job of credibly portraying the various characters. The Nazis are also well-portrayed from the two officers who are evil incarnate, bent on finding the little boy and exterminating him, as well as killing off as many prisoners before they retreat, these roles are well done indeed.

Besides the main drama of keeping the boy hidden and organising the uprising against the Nazis, not much else os portrayed about the camp. Buchenwald may not be as infamous as Auschwitz, Majdanek or Dachau, but it was a grim place in its own right. It was the scene of mass murder and also medical experiments. And its history after liberation wasn't exactly a happy ending as Buchenwald was used by the Russians to house Nazi war criminals and also dissenters of the Stalinist regime.

But, despite some flaws, the movie itself is riveting and each scene is filled with a sense of desperation in line with the period in history that it portrays. A must watch for anyone interested in World War Two history. I would also recommend movies like Escape from Sobibor and The Grey Zone, both of which deal with armed resistance against the Nazis in the camps.

For historical significance this movie deserves more than 3 stars, but one should rate movies based on how much one actually liked the movie, thus my 3-star rating. (This still means I liked and recommend the movie!) I watched this after seeing Frank Beyer's "Jakob the Liar," and I think "Naked Among Wolves" is the better film. One of my nit-picks with these films is that the harshness and brutality of life in the ghetto or concentration camp is not fully revealed. The films are products of their times, I suppose. And one cannot make actors look like skeletons. The most brutal portrayl of the holocaust I have seen (in a non-documentary) is in the TV mini-series "War and Remembrance." Neither of Beyer's films comes close. Again, I'm sure that there was so much an East German film director in the 1960's and 70's could do. That criticism out of the way, I think that "Naked Among Wolves" is a fine film with interesting characters and performances.

This is a ture story although told from the communist view. the child in the movie is now 71 and lives in Israel. He was the subject of an interview published in Jewish Week or the the Jewish Forward. What I found surprising was that German communists were in the camp for as long as 11 years-meaning they were incarcerated in 1934. Jewish prisoners were shipped to auschwitz once the war was on.

"Naked Among Wolves" is noteworthy from a historical perspective as it was the first German film to deal directly with life inside a concentration camp. In 1963, the topic was still a sensitive one--but the film puts you front and center in a story of desperation and survival in the last days of the war. A small child is secretly brought into Buchenwald and members of the resistance (including a young Armin Mueller-Stahl) struggle with the practicalities of what to do with him. Putting the movement at risk as well as their lives, they try to keep the boy hidden. But a corrupt camp official has plans of his own as he charts an end game with the Americans fast approaching. The film is very well acted by a large ensemble and constructed almost as a morality play with life and death consequences. For contemporary audiences, the film might not dig into the camp atrocities as horrifically as later films have--but, really, that's to be expected. It still makes the unnerving sense of danger palpable even if it's not very explicit. Heartfelt, powerful, and suspenseful--a strong and important film! KGHarris, 6/11.

Clocking in at 119 minutes makes this slow, plodding 1963 film at least 60 minutes too long. If you believe what you see in this whitewash of concentration camp life, then you will believe that the inmates, for the most part, did little work, received plenty to eat, got to shower, shave, and get haircuts on a regular basis, and they washed their dishes after every meal!

This film curio made in East Germany during the Cold War, weakly attempts to show how badly the poor inmates at Buchenwald had it. "Naked Among Wolves" was filmed on location at the real Buchenwald, which apparently was cleaned up between 1945 and 1963. There's very little action in this film. It's mostly the inmates sitting around on their cots with clean sheets and talking and talking and talking, and did I mention that there's plenty of talking? I think the screenwriter got paid by the word. The ending, if you an stay awake that long, is even more bizarre than the rest of this "sleeper" (no pun intended). But I won't spoil it for you if you are really that determined to see this snore fest. There are lots of good German films out there, but this isn't one of them.

The package arrived on time, and it was in good condition. The cd case wasn't broken and wasn't bent at all. Good job getting your product here.