I personally found this film to be interesting. If you are actually interested in Nazi Germany you will probably find this film worth your while. The film never hit you over the head with any message or displayed any bias, I found it neutral and subtle in the points it was making. It is a common error that people assume everyone involved in Nazi Germany was "evil" a "conspirator". We are exposed to Nazi Germany through our protagonist, who has just been released from prison for involvement with the Communist party, and has difficulty after 2 years adjusting to the new Nation-State and its attitudes. Despite his will to interfere, protest, change and be politically active in some form, the film shows us how futile such efforts were. Other points it greatly demonstrates is the illusion of freedom and trust given to German citizens, the genuine optimism Hitler and the NSDAP provided for the German people, and how not only freedom of action is repressed, but also freedom of THOUGHT. If you are looking for a westernized war film with explosions, sex and death, this is NOT for you. If you are willing to exercise your mind and put yourself back in time and place, you may appreciate this. Regarding the previous posts about character and plot development...I found the plot to move at its own pace...I feel we are too conditioned to fast cuts and over-exposition...this a 'thinking-film'. As for character this isn't 'Can't Hardly Wait' or 'The Breakfast Club'. The character development was Arnold's transition into self-defeat, realizing there was NOTHING of significance he could do in the mania of the charismatic "heil-Hitlering", and he can not even trust his own comrades. If you are interested in history, and an unbiased, neutral look into the zeitgeist of Nazi Germany, I would suggest giving it a watch. And then you can make your own value judgements.
other things that are fantastic about this film: the shooting, the editing, lighting and mise- en-scene, the acting, the pace (i.m.o.), the subtleties you will notice if you have active eyes and afford your attention
