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Movies / On DVD / The Ninth Day
The Ninth Day

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The Ninth Day (2005)

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Reviews Counted:34

Fresh:28

Rotten:6

Average Rating:7.1/10

Consensus: Fueled by tension-filled performances and dialogue, this Holocaust film brings up morally ambiguous, thought-provoking issues.

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Theatrical Release:May 27, 2005 Limited

Synopsis: Noted German director Volker Schlondorff's (THE TIN DRUM) highly compelling THE NINTH DAY provides a unique examination of historical events that took place during the Holocaust. Interned at the... Noted German director Volker Schlondorff's (THE TIN DRUM) highly compelling THE NINTH DAY provides a unique examination of historical events that took place during the Holocaust. Interned at the Dachau concentration camp near Munich in 1942 for anti-Nazi activities, Henri Kremer (Ulrich Matthes), an influential Luxembourg priest, endures terrible hardships along with thousands of his clergymen. Mysteriously, Kremer is released and sent back home to his family in Luxembourg for nine days. Upon his return, the local up-and-coming SS chief, Gebhardt (August Diehl) charges Kremer with a difficult assignment: convince the Bishop of Luxembourg to sign an agreement with the Nazis, thereby providing an integral link between Hitler in Berlin and the Pope in the Vatican. These scenes between the young, eager Gebhardt and the older, stoic Kremer simmer with friction and meaningful import. The great challenge is that the Bishop, like Kremer, opposes Nazi racial doctrine. Failure to execute within nine days means a return to Dachau for Kremer and the endangerment of the lives of his family and fellow clergyman at the camp. However, while success provides assured safety for all those people, it also would represent the ultimate corruption of his own faith. Based loosely on the memoirs of Jean Bernard, a real Catholic priest, THE NINTH DAY is a complex and thought-provoking film. [More]

Starring: Ulrich Matthes, August Diehl, Hilmar Thate, Bibiana Beglau

Starring: Ulrich Matthes, August Diehl, Hilmar Thate, Bibiana Beglau

Director: Volker Schlöndorff

Director: Volker Schlöndorff
Screenwriter: Volker Schlondorff, Eberhard Gorner, Andreas Pfluger
Producer: Juergen Haase
Studio: Kino International

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Release:

Nov 30, 1999

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for The Ninth Day

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1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating)
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Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
12/06/05
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

In Volker Schlöndorff's somber moral thriller, a Roman Catholic priest, temporarily released from Dachau, finds his conscience tested when the Nazis try to co-opt him.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/26/05
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

In this cat-and-mouse Faustian fable, Mr. Diehl and Mr. Matthes are singularly fascinating as tension-filled incompatibles.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
06/09/05
Andrew Sarris
Andrew Sarris
New York Observer
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The film’s effectiveness hinges almost entirely on the performance of Matthes.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
07/30/05
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

The dark, rotting interiors and sunless winter skies create a festering atmosphere of unexpiated guilt as Kremer ponders the question of how a decent man is to navigate the rivers of hell.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
11/10/05
Bill White
Bill White
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

A much more intimate WW2 drama than Der Untergang, and even though it is not as strong, it is at least as interesting.

Full Review Source: european-films.net | comment Comment
11/30/04
Boyd van Hoeij
Boyd van Hoeij
european-films.net

An absorbing Holocaust drama that suggests the forces that drive us toward good or evil are constantly warring within all of us.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
06/16/05
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

While the pacing is a bit slow, the story line is engrossing.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
06/16/05
Colin Covert
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune

This film is powerful, concise, fully sustained.

Full Review Source: New Yorker | comment Comment
05/23/05
David Denby
David Denby
New Yorker
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This is moviemaking on the highest dramatic, psychological, and moral plane.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
05/26/05
David Sterritt
David Sterritt
Christian Science Monitor

A fresh way to illuminate another worthy dark Holocaust story.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
02/06/06
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

A thoughtfully written drama of ideas with vivid performances by August Diehl and Ulrich Matthes.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
07/07/05
Derek Elley
Derek Elley
Variety

A morally complex and emotionally satisfying drama about the vagaries of Catholic response to the Third Reich.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
07/07/05
Ella Taylor
Ella Taylor
L.A. Weekly

This powerful film celebrates individual acts of conscience in barbarous times.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
03/01/07
Erica Abeel
Erica Abeel
Film Journal International

A taut, dialogue-driven play that should be required viewing in college ethics classes.

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
05/29/05
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve

It's no wonder Schlöndorff favors close-ups; with Mattes on screen, The Ninth Day gets right to its emotional core.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
11/11/05
Jeff Shannon
Jeff Shannon
Seattle Times

Schlondorff's greatest tools in forging this character study is taste, balance, and a pro's inherent sense of dramatic construction.

Full Review Source: Cinema Signals | comment Comment
06/18/05
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

A grim meditation on faith and betrayal that focuses on a relatively obscure corner of Holocaust history: the fate of the Catholic clergy under the Third Reich.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
05/27/05
Ken Fox
Ken Fox
TV Guide's Movie Guide

An accomplished, confident work.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
07/23/05
Kevin Thomas
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Dark and depressing as the film is, it is thrilling to watch Henri work through his moral qualms as he battles the smooth tongue of evil.

Full Review Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel | comment Comment
11/17/05
Laura Kelly
Laura Kelly
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
 
 
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