Georg Elser (Christian Friedel) examines the venue for a Nazi rally, where he hopes to kill Hitler, in the German drama 13 MINUTES. Photo by Bernd Schuller. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics ©
– By Cate Marquis –
We all know there were attempts to assassinate Adolf Hitler in Germany late in World War II but what if he had been assassinated in November 1939? Think how history would have changed, particularly for Jews.
Such as assassination attempt actually was made, by a lone man using a time bomb planted at a beer hall where Hitler was scheduled to speak. Hitler did speak as planned but cut his remarks short, leaving only an unlucky 13 minutes too soon. The bomb went off as designed, killing several Nazis but not Hitler or his top officials.
13 MINUTES tells the story of that assassination attempt and the man who built and planted the bomb, Georg Elser. The German-language drama unfolds like a thriller, under the direction of Oliver Hischbiegel, perhaps best known for DOWNFALL, the 2004 Oscar-nominated drama about Hitler’s final days in his Berlin bunker.
Superb acting, along with evocative and gripping storytelling fill this film, with fine photography by cinematographer Judith Kaufmann capturing all the atmosphere and period details of the small rural town where Elser grew up.
READ THE FULL REVIEW AT ST. LOUIS JEWISH LIGHT:
http://www.stljewishlight.com/features/article_f76dc63e-829d-11e7-99f1-9f037a750839.html
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