Matthew Dittmar

I truly enjoyed this film, the terrifying true story of Dieter Dengler having to fight for survival along with two close associates in the jungles of Viet Nam, to then have one die of disease and the other being killed by a farmer right before himself being rescued had to be one of the hardest struggles a man can be faced with. The raw harshness of the viet cong fighters torturing Dengler repeatedly trying to break him down as they did with most if not all prisoners. To Zahn’s character losing his mind to then feel like they’d come across a friendly face as they search for freedom, to then meet his end in the way he did was terrifying and a horrific portrayal of what the real men experienced through this story, through the mind of Dieter Dengler. To the ending where he’s welcomed back to a hero’s welcome and an uplifting ending to a horrific tale. The scenery, the landscapes and acting throughout the film was top notch and the 3 main characters were perfectly played by each actor. 5 stars all the way

This movie was very very well done! Amazingly accurate In it’s detail and portrayal of each character in the story! I can’t imagine how scared so many boys must’ve been that ended up being sent to the slaughter! I’m an American and absolutely loved this movie even with the majority of the dialogue being in German and a little French and no English at all. In all honesty, I don’t think I would’ve needed to hear any dialogue to be just as moved by this film. The acting was amazing, the story was amazing and horrifyingly well done. And also so unimaginably sad when you realize that this same story was certainly carried out countless times again and again during WW1. It takes a great director, an amazing production, and very good actors to portray such a story and have it done so well and have it so believable that you can imagine being in the middle of the action with Paul as he keeps losing his best friends and comrades, and truly feel his pain. Looking back at old WW1 footage of soldiers coming home from the front, with all the horrendous injuries and battle scars, many that were mental scars like shell shock, it’s amazing that so many of them were actually able to recover at all let alone make it home. This film truly showed the horror of what those men and boys had to endure to survive the war and make it back home. 5 stars for sure on this one.