Reviews & Ratings for
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60 out of 77 people found the following review useful:

Not a mere thriller, but a movie with contents

Author: (deathslasher.gamer@gmail.com) from Switzerland
28 September 2015

I've been to the premiere at the Film Festival in Zurich and I was moved by the movie, not because of the love story, but because of the irrefutable truth. The movie left me thinking and researching about its topic: Colognia Dignidad, a cult in Santiago de Chile. It conjures many ethical questions and portrays what humanity is capable of. The movie grips and doesn't let go of you till the end. The contents is real, except for the love story that forms the golden thread. One has to imagine that the movie portrays the life and the ways of Colognia Dignidad almost like a documentary without felt exaggeration, but it is still a movie with a story. Superb acting by Emma Watson and Daniel Brühl made the movie an even more intense experience. The only criticism I can make is that the love story is average in comparison to the rest. I believe that the characters actions don't always make much sense. All in all, it's one of the best movies I've seen this year and cannot be compared with the commercial films normally shown in cinemas.

33 out of 43 people found the following review useful:

Particularly memorable Q&A when a German diplomat voiced his opinion

Author: michaeljtrubic from Canada
18 February 2016

When a German Diplomatic official attends the premiere in Toronto to refute the premise of the film its a sign that the material strikes pretty close to home.

Very memorable Q&A at the 2015 Tiff. Hats off to the director that didn't flinch at all when confronting the questioner.

Its one of those films that you can honestly say "real life is stranger than fiction"

Its obvious that the film makers used this convincing story to attract the very talented cast. Even the despicable bad guys (and gal) were very well cast in addition to our heroes.

I'm glad this film wasn't released amidst the flurry of films prior to the awards season. Everyone should take the time and let this material and these performances sink in.

Well done. Good work.

24 out of 36 people found the following review useful:

A Pretty Great Cult Expose

Author: maxmanthedon from United States
18 February 2016

Colonia was no simple thriller. This gripping movie stands perfectly as a deconstructing look at the sickening evils that really happen in our world. It stands as a great expose of the human mind and the sickening things that we as people are capable of. It is a testament to mankind's evil heart. Standing as an example of the ignorance and violence in religion and cult life. Not only was this film revealing (and therefore shocking) but it was also well written, and well casted, Emma Watson in particular standing out as she usually does. The films director is also a talented man who I hope to see more from in the future. A great example of independent film, Colonia was gripping and kept me interested all the way through. Would highly recommend.

15 out of 19 people found the following review useful:

"Colonia" takes a little-known chapter in history and spins it into an interesting and entertaining tale of romance and danger.

Author: Dave McClain (dave-mcclain@hotmail.com) from United States
19 April 2016

A religious cult in Chile run by ex-Nazis?!? It may sound like a bizarre work of fiction, but the location portrayed in the historical drama "Colonia" (NR, 1:50) was all too real (except for the fictional romance at the center of the film). But before I get into my plot summary, I think that a little historical context is in order: In September 1973, a U.S.-backed military coup wrested control of the government of Chile from democratically-elected socialist president Salvador Allende and placed power in the hands of army commander-in-chief Augusto Pinochet. Under his 17-year rule, dissidents were persecuted, arrested, kidnapped, deposed, tortured and murdered. Pinochet's government used the remote Colonia Dignidad (Colony of Dignity) as a place to torture and murder some of the regime's political opponents. The public face of the colony was that of a charitable and educational organization. It was actually a religious cult where former Nazi medic Paul Schäfer imposed a strict Baptist interpretation of the Bible on all of his followers, many of who had emigrated with him from Germany. He forced them to live in dormitories segregated by gender, and with parents separated from their children, whom Schäfer sexually molested.

Daniel Brühl plays Daniel, a political activist from Germany who has been living in Chile for a few months working with a group of young people supporting President Allende. Daniel's girlfriend, Lena (Emma Watson), is a flight attendant who takes advantage of her week-long stopover in Santiago to spend time with Daniel. When a military coup suddenly drives Allende from power, the new government starts rounding up political dissidents, including Daniel – and Lena, who happens to be with him when he's arrested. In a soccer stadium, a man wearing a black hood identifies Allende supporters, including Daniel, who is whisked away in a van. Lena is able to trace the markings on the vehicle to the secretive and remote "Colonia Dignidad" compound, about 200 miles south of Santiago. She makes her way there and asks to join. "I want to know the way of the Lord," she says, wearing a small cross around her neck.

In her attempt to rescue her lost love, Lena is sacrificing her freedom – and putting her very life at risk. A harsh old woman named Gisela (Richenda Carey) takes her to meet the cult's leader, German expatriate and lay preacher Paul Schäfer (Michael Nyqvist). "Once you join us, you must remain," explains Schäfer. Lena agrees, in spite of observing his Christian fanaticism and some of his innate creepiness. Gisela relieves Lena of the small bag she had brought with her, gives her a few items including a set of linen, and assigns her a bed in the female dormitory. Most of the women show no interest in talking to the new arrival, but Lena befriends another young woman named Doro (Jeanne Werner) and, later, another named Ursel (Vicky Krieps). As Lena joins the women in their daily work in the fields and in other food preparation activities, she learns what she can about the camp and keeps her eyes peeled for Daniel.

Daniel has survived severe physical abuse at the hands of the Chilean secret police in the colony's subterranean torture chamber, but he is a bit worse for the wear. Besides his physical injuries, his speech is slurred and he now talks and acts like a child. Lena finally catches sight of Daniel when she steals a glance through the window of the colony's assembly hall during a men's meeting and is obviously concerned about his state of mind. Soon after, at a rare meeting with the cult's men and women all together, Lena takes the risk of approaching Daniel, hoping that the two of them can come up with a plan to escape the cult, something no one has done before. But there's much more at stake than "just" the fate of two young lovers. Besides the terrible ways that Schäfer uses and abuses his followers, it turns out that he's also into some other nasty business that further reduces even the slim chance that Daniel and Lena have to get away for good.

"Colonia" takes a little-known chapter in history and spins it into an interesting and entertaining tale of romance and danger. The story is perhaps best understood as a combination of "The Boys from Brazil", M. Night Shyamalan's "The Village" and Ben Affleck's Oscar-winning "Argo"… if you can imagine that. This film's unusual setting contributes to its originality, as does telling a story in which it's the woman who comes to rescue the man. The actors are well cast, and this accomplished multi-national ensemble consistently offers up lived-in performances. The direction, by Florian Gallenberger (who won an Oscar for his 2000 live action short film "I Want to Be…"), sometimes feels a little disjointed, but he mostly keeps things moving and builds some serious tension into the movie's plot. The script (co-written by Torsten Wenzel and Gallenberger) is creative and smart. There may not be much actual dignity in the Colonia Dignidad compound, but this film dignifies itself with some quality story-telling. "A-"

8 out of 9 people found the following review useful:

What an intense adventure!

Author: Gordon-11 from Earth
22 April 2016

This film tells the story of two German citizens who are in Chile under Pinochet dictatorship. They get locked up in a camp of a religious sect, and get mistreated, abused and tortured.

The story is super engaging, keeping me glued to the screen from start to finish! I applaud Lena's courage to go into the camp just to see her boyfriend, though it can also be argued that it is the silliest thing to do. It shows that love is blind, and rational decision is clouded by love. The conditions in the camp is horrible, made worse by the wicked headmaster who wrongly uses religion to control and abuse people. There is one scene that vaguely suggests sexual abuse, but it is so vague that I had doubts until the words appear at the end of the film.

The ending is super intense. I find myself grabbing onto my chair, leaning forward and simply hoping that things will work out. The desperation of the characters transmit through the screen to me, and I just hope so sincerely that they will make it.

I didn't expect such an intense adventure. I enjoyed watching 'Colonial" thoroughly.

12 out of 18 people found the following review useful:

Very Suspenseful

Author: jsb-70129 from San Diego, Ca
17 April 2016

I really can't imagine a bad review here if so has to be nitpicking. I found this movie to be well acted as well as extremely suspenseful . Anyone giving this movie a bad review is not giving the people that were actually tortured and killed in real life any respect IMHO....Loved the acting and suspense of this roller coaster ride of a movie ! I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a movie to get entertained by. If you love history and docudramas you will love this movie. Nail biting historical high intensity . You definitely will not be disappointed and that's coming from someone quite critical of movies.

4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:

Sacrificial torture and secret worlds, there is no shortage of surprises in 'Colonia'

Author: cinemacy from United States
27 April 2016

Inspired by true events, Colonia is a Hollywood-style thriller about a couple who finds themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time- the torture prison of a religious cult under the influence of the Chilean secret police in 1974. At a time when Chilean youth began revolutionizing in the streets, one man's involvement with the movement along with his girlfriend's association in his anti-government views causes the couple to put their relationship and love for each other to the test. Directed by Academy Award winner Florian Gallenberger (Shadows of War), Colonia opens in theaters Friday, April 15th. Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" accompanies archival footage of protesters rioting in the streets while the film itself is saturated in prime colors- magenta and royal blue. This juxtaposition of violence and R&B gives an artistic edge to the film's opening scenes, but unfortunately, this visual isn't sustained throughout the film. We meet our protagonist Daniel (Daniel Brühl), up on stage pumping up the masses of people, when, out of nowhere, he spots a bright yellow flight attendant's outfit (like a ray of Mr. Withers' sunshine) from the muted colors of the crowd. The woman is Lena (Emma Watson) and they immediately embrace. Their relationship isn't made entirely clear, but she only has four days in town and they plan on spending it together.

While enjoying their time together, Daniel receives a phone call that shifts the political tide and changes everything. This results in chaos erupting in the streets, leading to their capture by the Chilean soldiers. Daniel gets abducted and taken to a hidden cult in a rural area called Colonia Dignidad, run by ex-Nazi Paul Schäfer (Michael Nyqvist). Left with no other choice, Lena willfully joins the Colonia as a desperate, last-ditch effort to find her boyfriend, risking her own life to bring him home as she discovers that those who enter the cult never leave.

Emma Watson and Daniel Brühl play Lena and Daniel with an innocence about them that has you rooting for their success. Watson is unquestionably beautiful and smart, her outspokenness gets her into trouble. Brühl takes a more unconventional risk with his character by playing the role of a mentally challenged person in an effort to trick his captors into thinking he is not a threat. Watson and Brühl are crucial to the film's success, but individually speaking, these roles won't likely result in a significant boost to their careers.

Colonia can't escape the comparisons to Eli Roth's The Sacrament or the documentary Kidnapped for Christ (if you haven't seen it, it's available to stream on Netflix, and is a MUST- watch), which may hurt Colonia's overall success because it is not as riveting by comparison. Audiences know what they are getting with an Eli Roth film, and a documentary has its own sense of wonderment, but Colonia tends to jump from the political thriller to love story to religious brainwashing in a patchwork way that feels a bit all over the place, and it is this "clumpy" genre blending that may be the film's weakest point. Plus, Daniel and Lena's relationship is never fully established in the beginning of the film, so we are left to wonder why she would risk her life to save this person.

At its core, Colonia is an interesting story, but not a very memorable film. It doesn't provide enough tension to overshadow The Sacrament, nor does it have the foundation to be a solid romance. The fact that it is based on a true story is what keeps the film afloat and the inclusion the smuggled archival photos of the real Colonia Dignidad at the end is a much-needed gem. Yet, even with cinema-savvy actors Emma Watson and Daniel Brühl, Colonia can't quite seem to gain the traction needed to be a standout film.

For more, visit: www.cinemacy.com

10 out of 16 people found the following review useful:

A triumph in relevant storytelling

Author: Thomas (filmreviews@web.de) from Berlin, Germany
13 April 2016

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

"Colonia" or "Colonia Dignidad" is a German English-language movie that premiered last year, but hit cinemas mostly this year, in 2016. It runs for slightly under 2 hours and was written and directed by Florian Gallenberger. Gallenberger won an Oscar in the short film category and has not really been that prolific in the last 15 years since then. And his films always had a foreign impact since then, such as "John Rabe" for example. And just like his Oscar-winning effort, this one here has some Spanish parts as well. It is about a young couple in Chile in the Pinochet years. The political background is elaborated on in the first parts of the film, but the heart and soul are really all the scenes taking place directly at Colonia Dignidad. The characters there also play a much bigger role than the supporting characters early on, the friends of the couple.

Lets take a look at the actors. Emma Watson is the lead here undoubtedly. It is her story, her love and her suffering. Even if Brühl is missing during the early scenes of Watson's character's presence at Colonia Dignidad, then he is still a co-lead and he is in over 75% of the film too. The two play their characters pretty well. I am sometimes not the biggest Brühl fan, but here he convinced me and Watson proved that she can carry a film like this as well. The two also had pretty great chemistry. The supporting characters were at least as good. Michael Nyqvist (definitely a front runner for Best Supporting Actor at the next German Film Awards) was a perfect choice as the villain here and he played his scary and unlikeable role so-so well. I guess he was the MVP for me. Richenda Carey works nicely as well and is pretty memorable. The other actors and actresses who played smaller parts were good too and the only reason I don't mention them explicitly is because their roles really weren't that major in the whole scheme of things.

Gallenberger had exactly two tasks to succeed here. The first would be depict the historical context in a way that keep audiences interested no matter how vast their knowledge about the subject is beforehand. The second task would be create characters and a story within the historical context that makes us care for them. I believe he succeeded brilliantly in both areas. I applaud him for his effort here. I personally knew the very basic facts about Colonia Dignidad and the way this organization was depicted here certainly raised my interest. I am not sure how accurate everything is, for example I doubt he was really gonna be killed the very day after they fled, but it is not a problem at all if there are sequences that were added for dramatic purpose. Still, a very large percentage of the film is accurate.

My favorite moment of the film is probably the two holding hands when they see each other again and Brühl's character showing his girlfriend this way that he has not gone insane. They took the risk to be seen and exposed because their feelings for one another were just too strong to deny them. This moment was a thing that so many romance films try to achieve, but most of them come short: a truly beautiful moment of affection and harmony in a world of drama around them. I found it much better than all the scenes with the two being together later on, but it's not as if these were bad at all either. What was the film's weakness? Was there any? I maybe would not have gone with the super-dramatic ending and the chase sequences at the airport. Possibly one plot twist to many to show us the German ambassador as a fraud. i understand that it is reality, but I still would not have minded without that really dramatic ending. I would have preferred the flight being successful and them boarding the airplane together as an ending, even if it less spectacular. The movie had enough brilliant edge-of-seat moments that delivered more than enough thrill for the runtime of slightly under 120 minutes. But this is just a minor criticism. I think this film here is a really brilliant achievement. I was very positively surprise. You really need to see it, especially if you have an interest in 20th century history.

16 out of 29 people found the following review useful:

The question of language

Author: gana-3 from Sydney, Australia
27 March 2016

Despite having found this docudrama incredibly powerful it did concern me that there were no Chilean actors in the production. Strange really given who Colonia Dignidad affected, and who were tortured, abused, held virtual hostage etc. I was in Chile at the end of the reign of the oppressive regime of Pinochet - and felt the film lacked the sound of the Chilean dialect (of Spanish). Maybe it could have included more of the direct and authentic voice of those who suffered. Or those who lived in the region. There were so many myths about the place in the media, in the streets, within the popular culture. Pity because this was a story that was worth telling.

2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:

Pleasant Surprise

Author: Arch Stanton from United States
5 May 2016

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Stumbled across this title. Looked interesting. Gave it a shot and was pleased with what I watched. Not knowing a single thing about the movie or the real history behind it, I went into this thinking it was going to be about something totally different. I was even surprised when at the beginning I saw the name "Emma Watson". I knew good things were gonna happen. So as it unfolded, I thought it was gonna be some political thriller where the boyfriend gets kidnapped by the army goons and then he has to escape. Imagine my surprise when it took a turn to Chilean/Deutschland Jonestown!!! Didn't see that coming! The old hag nazi b!tch was excellent. You just knew right away that you wanted her to get clubbed over the head with a blunt object. Thanks Emma for granting my wish. I didn't care for the love story, but it drove the film. Anyhow, I don't want to give anything away, just suffice to say - this is worth your time watching!

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