Das Lager - Wir gingen durch die Hölle

I bought this as I like WW2 movies to be a little different, being somewhat tired of the formulaic hollywood dross that dominates most of the film charts. I was not disappointed by In Tranzit. This is an intelligent, who dunnit type movie that stimulates the brain cells, as the female Russian inmates try to work out who are SS war criminals amongst their 50 or so prisoners. Of course, seeing as how the prison guards are female and the inmates male, relationships develop amongst them. In many ways this is more a film about emotions, than it is a movie being about bang bang your dead. Indeed my one criticism is that the DVD cover is so misleading - as there are no planes, tanks or shooting scenes. This is fine by me but I guess some people will be put off by this. For those who seek entertainment beyond body count then I advise you to purchase this understated classic. Top performance by the ever consistent Thomas Kretschmann as well. Looks like he survived Stalingrad [DVD] [1994] after all!!

The other reviewer Bobby Smith has given a very good account of this film. It is not an action war movie (it is set after the WWII) but the DVD cover would have you think otherwise, which is unfortunate but not the fault of the film makers.This is suppose to be a true story and I feel it is up to one small point, the 'search' for the SS members out of a group of 51 German Prisoners of War is a sub plot around the romance and intimacies. These grow between the German prisoners and thier all female Russian guards. There is a small however, it was pretty common knowledge that most SS (and some Wehrmacht)men had thier blood groups tattoed on thier left arms (for medical purposes). So a quick check could have solved the mystery, but toward the end of the war this practice became the exception to the rule, so its not really a 'deal breaker'. Only other gripe is that they all speak English albeit with reasonably good accents, but it tends to take away from the reality in that language would have been a barrier to communication at the beginning unless in the real true story they were all bi lingual, a petty gripe I know especially as I actually wasn't in the mood for a sub titled film.All that aside the acting is excellent from all concerned especially Thomas Kretchman, Malkovich is just Malkovich which is always enough and he does help ratchet up the tension. There are enough twists to keep the plot moving at an unnoticably reasoned pace and as such it passes the test of all good films in that you don't feel bored or check your watch. If you like plots with intrigue and a genuine attempt to make a non Hollywood style film then you will enjoy In Tranzit.

I bought the Dutch extended and uncut Blu-ray edition of this film. You just have to put up with a bit of incomprehensible stuff at the beginning of the disc and turn off the subtitles but the payback for this is in the picture quality which is superb. I can't figure out what would have needed to be cut for the UK DVD version, this edition is neither overlong nor controversial, in fact I thought it was near perfect. I am invariably disappointed by much-hyped films that fail to come up to expectation and occasionally very surprised by dark horse films such as this which exceed them. Having studied the experience of Russians in WW2 quite considerably I thought that the portrayal of Russian women, brutalised by a war in which they fought alongside men as soldiers, tank drivers and combat pilots and facing a future devoid of men who had been slaughtered on an unprecedented scale, was very realistic. I thought that the acting was superb. Malkovich can always be relied upon to carry a film, but he didn't need to here. I've never heard of Vera Farmiga but the synopsis above says she's multi-nominated for awards. I thought she was stunning and likewise the rest of the cast particularly Daniel Bruhl.My only disappointment with this edition was the absence of extras. I really wanted to learn more about the people involved, including the two real-life stories, one Russian and one German upon which the screenplay was based. The Dutch BD at least has a decent cover. The UK DVD cover is a cynical attempt to make people who would not appreciate this film spend money on it and those responsible should hang their heads in shame.

As the headline

....but I didn't. It looks great on paper - John Malkovich, Daniel Bruhl and Vera Farmiga but unfortunatly the excellent actors in this film couldn't save it from being a snooze-fest!

Good

No issues

This movie was great. Vera Farmiga and Thomas Kretschmann are two of my favourite actress/actors. I felt the movie portrayed a real life sense of danger, and how deprivation can burden one 's spirit; but from this danger and deprivation how strong a connection of love can be regardless of race, religion, or Profession. I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes to watch period pieces and love stories.

Très beau film méconnus, In Tranzit fait partie de ces films qui finissent aux oubliettes, mais ne le mérite pas, surtout pas celui là !Renversant les codes, se film de "après" guerre met les choses à l'envers. Des femmes gardant des hommes, des soldats Allemands passés de bourreaux à victimes. Ce film est touchant, renversant. John Malkovich est brulant de malice dans se rôle d'officier du NKVD. Thomas Kretschmann et Daniel brühl, intensifs de vérités dans des rôles qui leurs collent à la peau. Et les femmes ! Ah ces femmes !! Quel beautés de jeux d'actrice, Vera Farmiga en femme blessé et humaniste, un grand rôle pour une comédienne de talent. Et mention spéciale à Nathalie Press, larmoyante d’émotion pour cette jeune actrice à suivre. Un très beau film à découvrir. Non pas un film de guerre, mais d'après guerre, un drame sentimental très fort ou les rapports humains sont mis en avant. Du juif aidant les Allemands en captivités au SS planqué parmi les prisonniers pour éviter la sentence suprême, ce grand film passé inaperçus mêle bien des genres dans un cocktail au gout si bon que l'on en redemanderais. In Tranzit est un grand film à qui le temps, j'espère, rendras hommages.

It's a wonderful idea for a film, and the script COULD have been a masterpiece. But it fails in the end,regrettably. I thought the cast was superb, well chosen. Malkovich is great as the malevolent Pavlov, and Vera Farmiga and Kretschmann perform believably as the lovers caught in a complicated web of conflicting loyalties. The Soviets used women much more in combat, combat support and in the factories than the Germans ever did, and the Soviet women are used as prison guards for the German soldiers in postwar Russia in this film.These German soldiers obviously have greater loyalties among themselves, and would never reveal if any one of them had Nazi leanings. Therein lies the major film plot. Pavlov wants the Germans to betray each other, using the doctor to find out whom among them has these thoughts. The true evil of the Soviet system was based, not on what people did, but what they thought. In the end, he succeeds, getting Kretschmann to betray his fellow soldier. The mixed emotions that both the German soldier and the Soviet doctor feel is in stark contrast to Pavlov's feeling of triumph. He has a name, and a death, to turn over to his bosses.There is also a great scene where the Germans are working for a jewish manager, and, as he says, they perform "ably and efficiently, but what do you expect, they're Germans". Truly ironic. Another stark reality of the movie is the fact that, many years after the war, German prisoners (particularly engineers) were rebuilding the Soviet state that they had destroyed, constructing buildings, mines and factories.Where the film really fails is explaining all the background of the Soviet/German conflict. I suppose that's going to take another 30 minutes of film to accurately depict. By the way, I use the words German and Soviet, and perhaps I should use the word Nazi and Communist, as there were Russians fighting for the Nazis, and Germans fighting for the Communists. Complicated, I suppose.

Ce film relate l'histoire vraie de prisonniers allemands qui ont été capturés par l'armée soviétique avant d'être emprisonnés dans un camp dirigé par des femmes. Bien que l'auteur ait certainement pris quelques libéralités pour certaines tribulations comme une histoire d'amour entre un prisonnier et une garde; la haine qu'éprouvaient les soviétiques pour des allemands qui avaient tués des membres de leur famille pendant la guerre est très bien rendu comme la mission du directeur du camp de retrouver les nazis les plus fervents.