Never Look Away (2018)

Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Stars: Tom Schilling, Sebastian Koch, Paula Beer
Runtime: 189 minutes

Synopsis: German artist Kurt Barnert has escaped East Germany and now lives in West Germany, but is tormented by his childhood under the Nazis and the GDR-regime.

Performances: 4/5
Screenplay: 3/5
Costumes/Makeup: 4/5
Editing: 3/5
Cinematography: 5/5
Score/Soundtrack: 4/5

Verdict: Nominated for 2 Oscars, "Never Look Away" is a historical piece about a German artist trying to cope with his difficult childhood and artistic struggles during and after World War 2.

Technically speaking, the film is absolutely beautiful to look at and fully deserved its Oscar nomination in the Cinematography category. Caleb Deschanel (who's also the DP for the upcoming "Lion King") did a wonderful job at making almost every single frame look like a painting, which not only made the film aesthetically pleasing for the eyes but also enhanced the main theme of the movie, which focuses a lot on art. The acting was also solid for the most part, with Sebastian Koch delivering the best performance in my opinion.

However, "Never Look Away" is 3 hours long, and feels like it. I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't bored during a big part of it. The story feels a bit disconnected at times, and while it definitely is at its best when it acts as a commentary on artistic identity, it still contains a lot of plot elements and scenes I had a hard time buying.

The German movie was also nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category. And while it's probably my least favorite nominee of the lot, I'd still recommend it to pretty much anyone who doesn't mind watching a 3-hour long film and who's interested in classic or contemporary art.

FINAL GRADE: 6/10