Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace
A true story of love, courage, and sacrifice.
The story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German clergyman of great distinction, who actively opposed Hitler and the Nazis. His convictions cost him his life. What is a moral person to do in a time of savage immorality? That question tormented Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German clergyman of great distinction who actively opposed Hitler and the Nazis. His convictions cost him his life. The Nazis hanged him on April 9, 1945, less than a month before the end of the war. Bonhoeffer's last years, his participation in the German resistance and his moral struggle are dramatized in this film. More than just a biographical portrait, Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace sheds light on the little-known efforts of the German resistance. It brings to a wide audience the heroic rebellion of Bonhoeffer, a highly regarded Lutheran minister who could have kept his peace and saved his life on several occasions but instead paid the ultimate price for his beliefs.
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Cast
Ulrich Tukur
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Johanna Klante
Maria von Wedemeyer
Tatjana Blacher
Christel von Dohnanyi
Ulrich Noethen
Hans von Dohnanyi
Susanne Lothar
Sabine Leibholz
Dominique Horwitz
Gerhard Leibholz
Justus von Dohnányi
Eberhard Bethge
Rosemarie Fendel
Ruth von Kleist-Retzow
Dieter Kirchlechner
Josef Müller
Christian Doermer
General Hans Oster
Ulli Philipp
Charlotte Friedenthal
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Reviews
Wuchak
**_A Lutheran Minister in Germany resists the Nazis during WW2_**
“Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace” (2000) focuses on what was going on behind-the-scenes in Germany from 1939-1945. It concentrates on Germans who opposed Hitler’s despotic policies, including references to the famous 20 July plot to assassinate der Führer in 1944, which brings to mind "Triple Cross" and “Night of the Generals” from the ’60s and future movies like "Valkyrie" and “Rommel.” Like those flicks and “Black Book” (aka “Zwartboek”), this is a good choice if you're in the mood for the décor and intrigues of WW2 minus the battles.
Be forewarned, though, that this is the most dramatic of them all and therefore dialogue-driven with few conventional thrills, which is understandable since the protagonist is a minister with half the story focusing on his time imprisoned by the Gestapo. Despite being television production, the acting is first-rate with Bonhoeffer being convincingly fleshed-out by Ulrich Tukur; and the Gestapo leader, played by Robert Joy, bringing to mind Christoph Waltz in the later “Inglourious Basterds.”
Winsome Johanna Klante is almost worth the price of admission as Dietrich’s young fiancée (when he was 35 in 1941, she was only 17). I also liked the commentary on justifiable lying: Was Bonhoeffer right to not tell the Gestapo the truth? Are you obligated to divulge the truth to morally compromised people with evil motives? For instance, if lying in a situation saves innocent lives, is it justifiable? An obvious example from the Scriptures is the Hebrew midwives who lied to the king of Egypt to save male babies in Exodus 1:15-21. Thus, God blessed ’em.
It runs 1 hours, 26 minutes, and was shot in Toronto, Prague and Berlin.
GRADE: B
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