Never Look Away

"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 Hitler, 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 4 stars and can easily understand why Germany made it its entry for Best Foreign Language film of 2018.