Never Look Away

Even when it stumbles, it remains watchable and engaging, partly because von Donnersmarck possesses an old-fashioned Hollywood showman's sensibility. Full Review

The German Oscar nominee for best foreign-language film is a triumphant return form to filmmaker Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, a treatise on love and war and the limitless reach of art that, even when it trips up, is never less than exhilarating. Full Review

In a larger sense, the film is about the postwar generation of Germans desperate for a new direction, and when Henckel von Donnersmarck focuses on the artmaking, it's powerful - a persuasive statement about the transformative power of representation. Full Review

"Never Look Away" is nothing if not classical in its approach: It is stately and composed, clear-eyed and engrossing. Full Review

One of the subtler strengths of "Never Look Away" is the canny evocation of a war-weary, defeated population who did not experience communism as a revolution but a substitution. Full Review

Admirably restrained, this is nonetheless a historical drama on an expansive canvas that, even though it runs over three hours, is always engaging. Full Review

Never Look Away is an often moving, thoughtful drama about the correlations between personal experience, politics and art. Full Review

Never Look Away is a hard film to dislike. There is just too mush [sic] quality, seriousness of intent and nobility of purpose here to not at least respect. Full Review

If you check your cynicism at the door and stick with it, you will be rewarded by a film that is ultimately a sublime experience. Full Review