John Rabe: Critic Reviews

Despite its gruesome scenes of hundreds of Chinese prisoners of war being lined up and executed and its ostentatious shots of severed heads, the movie is less than indelible.

Everything seems glossy and muted, like a romantic novel without romance and Rabe's tragically forlorn and unappreciated existence after the war is not shown.

It is a tale of a true hero, even if in its minor details it's less than entirely true. For a movie with ambitions as big as "John Rabe," that doesn't just make it good. That makes it epic.

Cello-scored pantomimes of resilience and grief can make us feel, but it's not always evident who or what that serves.

An effectively epic and sometimes moving rendering of a momentous event that easily could have remained a historical footnote.

One of the main virtues of John Rabe is to demonstrate that, however much we know about the worst of all wars, it still has little-known corners that can amaze us.

Despite the emotive subject matter, pic is often too sluggish dramatically, and never knits together its stock Western characters into a satisfying whole.

There are many powerful moments, including a mass beheading, before the film turns into a sappy, Frank Capra-esque affair.

Drawn from Rabe's diaries, the film is rich in telling and ironic details.

John Rabe preserves history while painting a portrait of a most complicated hero.

Despite a reliance on docu-drama contrivances, a reasonably intelligent, impressively mounted account of a little-known act of twentieth-century heroism.

Thanks to Tukur, what we get here is still something: a stunning portrait of a good man caught in a widening inferno.

One of the few films so far this year that deserves to be called an epic. Great acting and superb sets and cinematography make this a great success.

Deftly incorporated into the narrative is archival footage from the Nanking Massacre -- a stark reminder of the horrifying true events on which the film is based.

An often contrived, melodramatic and pedestrian war drama slightly elevated by Ulrich Tukur's captivating performance, exquisite production values and a modicum of suspense.

Portrait of altruism in the face of staggering odds by a righteous group of foreigners, movingly and passionately enacted as full individuals, not plaster saints.

Reduced to obscurity after the war, Rabe deserves to be remembered for his role in shielding hundreds of thousands in a "safety zone" on company grounds. But the film will help little in securing his legacy.

Gallenberger has an astute visual sense, and he's good at transmitting lots of information with a single image.

This is a story of courage and integrity, and the phlegmatic Ulrich Tukur does well by a quiet hero ignored for over half a century.

Unusual portrait of a Nazi and German businessman who is known in China as a living Buddha for saving 250,000 citizens of Nanking during the Sino-Japanese war.

Think of this once-removed re-creation as a melodramatic shoehorn into unspeakable despair.

Ulrich Tukur is an actor of great restraint and yet great expressiveness... John Rabe offers a unique perspective on the rape of Nanking.

In Gallenberger's film, the Chinese are allowed onscreen as victims only.

Boasting impressive production values, engaging storytelling and a standout lead performance by German star Ulrich Tukur, John Rabe will receive enthusiastic word of mouth from select arthouse audiences.

A great story that needs to be seen.