Amrum

Press Quotes

"Faith Akin's tale is ‘Stand By Me' in the shadow of a fading Nazi regime. This modest, impressive and moving film should be taken seriously by the Germans when it co-mes time for a submission into the Oscar International Film race. Newcomer Jasper Billerbeck is a natural and his performance never hits a false note. Veteran German actress Tonke perfectly portrays the bitterness of the Third Reich defeat."
DEADLINE

“Generous, classical and soul-stirring. Poetic and elegantly spare… graceful and profound…superbly portrayed by impressive newcomer Jasper Billerbeck. Offers a taste of a near-extinct big-screen film about the innocence of childhood, its loss and endurance.“
VARIETY

“Delicate, rather heartbreaking coming-of-age story. Shot in a crisp, classic style that brings out all the subdued, brackish beauty of this North Sea haven, with a keen eye for figures in the landscape.“
SCREEN INTERNATIONAL

"The film is beautifully shot, delicately shaded and at times almost unbearably poign-ant; where The Zone of Interest backed away from its characters to chilling effect, Am-rum leans in and asks us to consider the lingering effects of the totalitarian brainwash-ing of a populace as the beliefs that have been forced upon them begin to crumble.There's nothing showy about Amrum, but it can leave an audience shaken. Akin has fashioned a rare film that relies on the power of simplicity to tell a story that is any-thing but simple."
THE WRAP

“A quiet masterpiece.”
BLICKPUNKT FILM

“The first gem of the festival. A magnificent war drama told from a child's perspective.”
LE FIGARO

“Deeply personal, historically resonant. Billerbeck, in his first major role, is a revelation. Akin's pic is a heartfelt and visually arresting tale. Its strength lies in its honesty, its unflinching gaze, and the poetic way it captures the fragile space between youth and ideology, nature and violence, memory and history.“
CINEUROPA

„Lovely. A film that explores how memories shape us—and how often we decide at an early age what type of person we're going to be.“
TIME

„Its message is loud and clear.“
INDIEWIRE

“A bracingly mature and thoughtful film. Conveyed with skill and grace.”
NEXT BEST PICTURE

"It's strength lies in the delicate balance between its historical dimension and the intimacy of its narrative. A powerful work about the loss of innocence and resilience, carried by magnificent cinematography and the astonishing performance of young actor Jasper Billerbeck."
LE POINT

“A fine... historical film that doesn't gloss over its era.”
DER SPIEGEL

“A minimalist work of affection.”
DIE WELT

“The first overlooked masterpiece outside the competition. With Amrum, based on the childhood memories of his mentor Hark Bohm, Fatih Akin has created a modern answer to Rossellini's Germany Year Zero... Thanks to Akin's unpretentious, clear-eyed direction, his refusal of superficial emotionality, and the film's overwhelming yet kitsch-free landscape photography, Amrum possesses exactly these qualities.”
FRANKFURTER RUNDSCHAU

“A deeply intense story of a German childhood at the end of the Second World War... An incredible amount actually happens, although the film always remains modestly at eye level, drawing a very unique strength from this—something never before seen in Fatih Akin's otherwise exuberant and often pleasurably undisciplined cinema.”
THE SPOT MEDIA

"By far the director's best film."
A VOIR A LIRE