Bonhoeffer

I've watched a number of documentaries lately and am often amazed at the stories of history past, but the story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer moved my heart so deeply that I will struggle to articulate my response to the film. I am struck by the conviction and courage of Dietrich. His insight on the scriptures, his sincere honesty, and his life's example to the Christian community are inspiring.

This film gave me a better understanding of what it must have been like to be a citizen in Germany during the first half of the twentieth century than anything else I've experienced. This explanation of the chain of events that led to brutal violence toward the Jewish people in Europe as well as the moral examination of the Christian response to the socio-political position of Nazi Germany answered so many of the questions I've always asked. "How could such a majority of the Germans be persuaded to support the causes of the Third Reich?" "What motivated Germans to act with such hatred?" and "What were Christians thinking and doing during this time?" The only reason I did not give the film a rating of 10 was because the person I watched the film with fell asleep so I wish it would have captured that person's attention as it did mine. I pray that the story is spread to many others either through this film or perhaps a major Blockbuster style account of these events. The good news that Bonhoeffer believed in so completely and the God he gave his life to offer so much more hope to an audience that cries out for the answer to the question "Why, God?" than a story like "Life is Beautiful" ever could. Movie producers everywhere: "Listen to the story of Bonhoeffer and watch this film".

A truly excellent film! The amount of footage, the collection of interviews and the in-depth exploration of this heroic man is remarkable. Warning! - Strong Parental guidance must be exercised.

Great, short overview of one of my heroes in life.

This documentary reviews the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer with the focus on the relationship between his religious beliefs and his personal actions. Factually, there's little in the movie that you could not get from Google. Bonhoeffer was one of a minority of Christian leaders in Germany who publicly and privately opposed the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party. What the film does is anecdotally present the growth of Bonhoeffer's theology from the conventional Lutheranism of his upbringing into a kind of social activism in which the actions of one's life are what bring one to Christ. The defining moment is when Bonhoeffer arrives in New York, intending to teach at Union Seminary, only to realize "one who believes does not flee." The film notes the irony that while Bonhoeffer did not like Reinhold Niebuhr, by the end of his life he was living the kind of social activism preached by Niebuhr.

The film itself is well-made and follows a standard documentary format, with period films, stills and interviews with surviving friends and family. Significant passages from Bonhoeffer's writing are mixed into the narrative description.

Bonhoeffer was a pastor, teacher and theologian. His life was not exciting in the conventional sense, although he did some spying against the Nazis that must have been nerve racking. And much of this film is spent relating belief and action. The question asked and answered for him was a simple one: To what extent are our actions the consequence of our beliefs? It's the question we are left to ponder for ourselves.

The story of Dietrich Bonhoffer has been waiting to be told for some time. His life had many elements that easily make for a compelling movie. His refusal to fall in line with the Nazi party, his secret machinations to help overthrow Hitler and his eventual hanging as a spy are just a few of them.

Unfortunately, this documentary does little to build any excitement and mostly relies on a number of talking heads. Most of them are theological experts and historians. Some of them are prone to wander off on verbal tangents, losing the audience and losing focus.

The more interesting speakers are the people that actually knew the man, such as his brother-in-law and the sister of his fiance. Their recollections are the most insightful and interesting.

In the few times Bonhoffer is quoted, actor Klaus-Maria Brandauer speaks the words and does an excellent job. As someone else has noted, he would have done even better to have been the narrator. The person narrating the film seems rather wooden and distant from the material.

What truly seemed to be missing from this film was a sense of what drove Bonhoffer to do what he did --- which was to essentially break stride with the rest of the German Church and draw attention to himself in a time when such actions could cost him his life (which they eventually did). He spoke out against the mistreatment of Jews and even formed his own seminary. He went against his own pacifist views to take part in a plot to assassinate Hitler. What compelled him to do these things? The movie doesn't truly attempt to get at this.

While Bonhoffer is a good attempt at telling the story of a man who gave his life for what he believed in, it's honestly a rather boring documentary that will sadly be overlooked by most who aren't already familiar with Bonhoffer's life.