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Where Hands Touch
2018 122 min United Kingdom PG-13 18+
★6.5
War, Drama, Romance
Director: Amma Asante
Trailers
Description
Germany, 1944. Leyna, the 15-year old daughter of a white German mother and a black African father, meets Lutz, a compassionate member of the Hitler Youth whose father is a prominent Nazi soldier, and they form an unlikely connection in this quickly changing world.
US Gross:
$67,743
Worldwide:
$128,269
Starring
Amandla Stenberg
Actor
Jack Sandle
Actor
Abbie Cornish
Actor
Awards
3 nominations total
Key opinion
Where Hands Touch is a polarizing historical drama that attempts to explore the experiences of a biracial teenager in Nazi Germany through a romance. While some viewers find it an emotionally stirring and visually evocative work, others criticize its historical premise as problematic and its execution as superficial or unconvincing.
| Cinematography | The film utilizes striking color palettes, contrasting the lush green of natural settings with the bleak gray-blue of urban and internment environments. | |
| Score | The musical score is effectively atmospheric and enhances the film's mood without becoming overwhelming. | |
| Acting | The performances, particularly from the lead actors, are praised by some for delivering profound emotion, while others find the characters' actions and portrayals to be hollow or unconvincing. | |
| Screenplay | The premise of a romance between a biracial girl and a Hitler Youth member is highly divisive, with some viewing it as a tragic exploration of love under fascism and others condemning it as a disgraceful attempt to elicit sympathy for Nazi figures. | |
| Ending | The resolution of the narrative is controversial, with some audiences finding the climax deeply moving and others finding the sudden arrival of American forces ironic and narratively unsatisfying. |