The Birdcatcher

A young Jewish girl, against seemingly insurmountable odds, survives the war disguised as a boy. The film portrays her as a young woman of immense courage and determination - and it is brought home to the viewer precisely what someone in her position might have had to endure. A beautiful, sad and thought-provoking film..worth far higher a score than it received.

Another film where it's hard to make sense of polarised viewers giving it very high or very low ratings. I always attend a Holocaust Memorial Day screening a local cinema, so I was disposed to give it a chance and make up my own mind. On the plus side, there's striking photography (as some reviews have stated); some originality in the Norwegian location; and interesting themes in relation to how people there responded to the Nazi occupation.

But as another reviewer says, it has: "An interesting premise plagued by implausible plot elements... ". Within minutes, I wondered if I'd misunderstood that Esther is supposed to be 14, as she looked far too old. IMDB indicates she was 28 when it was filmed. It doesn't matter that she's a good actress - a 28 year old won't be credible as a 14 year old child, so why cast her! We soon see a succession of scenes that are impossible to take seriously, or ramp up the melodrama far too high. In fact there's so much going on in the central family - in relation to their internal conflicts and their attempts to 'manage' relations with their occupiers - that the film might have worked better and more coherently without Esther even being in it!

A shame, though, because if someone had refined the screenplay, and the director has reined in some of the more ridiculous moments, it could potentially have been a very good film.

Great story, great mix of emotion with plot, a real soft spoken hero with a heart of steel. It is not romanticised, it shows how events can shake people as people shape events and reveals some dark history. Watch it.

True stores always have a way of cutting through the fallacy of of what Hollywood and what it overseers hope us all to believe. That's way I'm a big fan of truth telling. Oh I know liberties are taken by screenwriters and others but the core of the story still rings true in most stories. I found this movie to be enlighten well acted. Sometimes the unwillingness of some in the world to except truth as it is written becomes a hard pill to swallow but the movie The Birdcatcher goes down easy as easy as the reality it is based upon. I loved this movie and the message it sends especially to the critics who continue no to be who they really are.

This film tells a heart breaking story set during a Nazi occupied Norway. It tells the story of a brave girl who tries very hard to survive. It is easy to feel sympathetic towards Esther. Even the supporting characters are well developed, and I really feel for Aksel and his parents. In short, it is a very engaging and touching story. It is beautifully shot as well. I recommend this film wholeheartedly.