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Rating: 
Summary: Profoundly realistic and Un-Hollywood -like.
Review: Having walked those streets and stayed in those types of builings recently - this movie made me think about what life was like in Budapest during those times. Schindler's list was a great movie but Wallenberg has somehow been missed by Hollywood so what we have here is a very good and unsensationalized account of a true hero. The whole story was gripping. I consider myself a student of history and truly appreciate this form realistic film making.
Rating:
Summary: BETTER THAN SCHINDLER'S LIST
Review: I disagree with the previous reviewers. This movie was far better than Schlinder's List. For me it was more emotionally moving than Spielberg's List. In fact as far as I am concerned it makes Spielberg look like an amature. I also think Spielberg may have stolen the little girl's red coat idea from this movie. After seeing this movie I was so turned on that I checked out 2 biographies of Wallenberg from the library. The movie was very faithful to the biographies.
Rating:
Summary: BETTER THAN SCHINDLER'S LIST
Review: I disagree with the previous reviewers. This movie was far better than Schlinder's List. For me it was more emotionally moving than Spielberg's List. In fact as far as I am concerned it makes Spielberg look like an amature. I also think Spielberg may have stolen the little girl's red coat idea from this movie. After seeing this movie I was so turned on that I checked out 2 biographies of Wallenberg from the library. The movie was very faithful to the biographies.
Rating:
Summary: Not an anti-hero, just an average person doing right
Review: I feel fortunate to have seen this movie and I wish I had known about it years earlier. I have earlier heard about Raoul Wallenberg as a person who disappeared into the Stalin Soviet political prison system, but I knew little else. It is apparently still a mystery as to why he must have been a threat to Stalin unless Stalin presumed that Wallenberg would have remained in Hungary and agitated against the impending communist state. Regardless, Wallenberg's exploits to ultimately save thousands of Jews from extermination by fanatical Nazi's and Hungarian fascists is a story worth retelling.
What is most poignant about the story is that Wallenberg is presented as a very average person, but a person witnessing atrocities in German held territories. For most of the war, he was like the many thousands who too knew of the genocide and did nothing. But, for his own reasons, he chose to become involved. His role was relatively short (less than a year) and it could have been a complete failure. In fact, he did greatly succeed according to not only this movie, but in many other accounts of his actions. But, his success was less the story than his unselfish efforts. Unlike the majority who remained blissfully ignorant, he had enough self-awareness so as to judge himself unfavorably for life if he did not act. To me that is the real lesson, what did this story tell me about myself and what all of us should do when we see injustice?
It is true that the movie did not focus as much on his many achievements, but the film makers decided to keep the film within two hours and to increase the drama by alluding to the triumphs and viewing him in moments of dire consequences and severe spiritual strain. He witnessed children murdered and we could empathize with his helplessness. The film presents these death scenes matter-of-factly as Wallenberg looks at the survivors who until that moment saw him as a mythical character who could stop all such killings. Wallenberg was often able to escape for his safety, but stayed. Would any of us have done the same? I hope that I would have, but I can never know. I only hope that whatever he finally faced in Soviet prison, he knew an internal peace of having done more than he ever thought possible of himself. Please see this movie and show it to your children to keep these lessons alive.
Rating: 
Summary: Bad quality and weak
Review: I purchased this video because of others recomendations however I regret having wasted my money. The quality is bad, the script is weak and the entire moving was boring.
Rating:
Summary: an ACCURATE view of the holocaust
Review: Ignore the following review. I almost didn't buy this movie because of those horrid comments. But my intuition told me that I still should, and I am glad that I did. Raoul Wallenberg was NOT brooding and ineffectual in this movie, but rather was a heroic, caring, motivated man who did all he could to help many of the Jews of the Budapest ghetto. His character in this movie can easily be compared to that of Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List. I did NOT notice any significantly inexplicable flashbacks, abrupt transitions or dark picture that the following reviewer complained about. I agree with the last reviewer that this movie is not as emotional as Schindler's List, and certainly is not quite as well-done, but is still among the best holocaust movies that I've seen.
Rating:
Summary: A DISTORTED VIEW OF THE HOLOCAUST!
Review: No viewer of this drab, offensive film should imagine that it is an accurate account of the exploits of one of the great heros of World War II. Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat and businessman, undertook in 1944 to thwart Hitler and Adolph Eichmann in their plan to kill the remaining Jews of Budapest. He saved some 30,000 from death in the concentration camps. "By contemporary accounts, the real Raoul Wallenberg was a forceful, decisive, clever, and handsome man who saved lives by diplomatic and other means. In addition to issuing Swedish passports and other papers to those at risk in wartime Budapest, he employed intrigue, confrontation, and bribes. He also supported soup kitchens, houses, and hospitals that helped Jews survive. He had great spiritual strength. "But in the movie, Wallenberg is an anti-hero--brooding, ineffectual, almost trivial--frequently standing by helplessly while Jews are slaughtered. In addition, the film is dark and hard to follow, with jerky, abrupt transition between scenes and sometimes inexplicable flashbacks. "There are many books in print describing Wallenberg's heroism. I Werbell and Thurston Clarke. ("Mystery" refers to the fact that the Soviets took Wallenberg prisoner at war's end. He disappeared into their prison system and is presumed dead.)"
Rating:
Summary: A DISTORTED VIEW OF THE HOLOCAUST!
Review: No viewer of this drab, offensive film should imagine that it is an accurate account of the exploits of one of the great heros of World War II. Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat and businessman, undertook in 1944 to thwart Hitler and Adolph Eichmann in their plan to kill the remaining Jews of Budapest. He saved some 30,000 from death in the concentration camps. "By contemporary accounts, the real Raoul Wallenberg was a forceful, decisive, clever, and handsome man who saved lives by diplomatic and other means. In addition to issuing Swedish passports and other papers to those at risk in wartime Budapest, he employed intrigue, confrontation, and bribes. He also supported soup kitchens, houses, and hospitals that helped Jews survive. He had great spiritual strength. "But in the movie, Wallenberg is an anti-hero--brooding, ineffectual, almost trivial--frequently standing by helplessly while Jews are slaughtered. In addition, the film is dark and hard to follow, with jerky, abrupt transition between scenes and sometimes inexplicable flashbacks. "There are many books in print describing Wallenberg's heroism. I Werbell and Thurston Clarke. ("Mystery" refers to the fact that the Soviets took Wallenberg prisoner at war's end. He disappeared into their prison system and is presumed dead.)"
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece from the ghetto
Review: One night, my father brought home a selection of foriegn films. Now keep in mind, I was very illand debating whether i should go to the hospital. To keep me entertained, he popped in a casette entitled "Good Evening Mr. Wahlenburg". It took some time for me to understand the movie and the subtitles would not help. The film opens to a young Mr. Wahlenburg being briefed for his new assignment. The time was 1944 and Mr. Wahlenburg is a Swiss enoy sent to save Jews in the ghetto. The story follows Mr. Wahlenburg through the ghetto and past to his capture by the Russians. The Jewish characters were deep and emotional. The dialogue and acting took the audience on a journey to see what it is like to lose the will to live. It was a very sad movie because Mr. Wahlenburg could not save all those he wished to. The cinematography is as melancholy as the story. The light and shadows perfectly depict a city so tall that the sun is hidden. A light blue hue paints the outdoor shots, and a very dark and sharp light shows indoor. Good Evening Mr. Wahlenburg is a great way to witness the other side of human. I see a resemblence to Schindler's List in this movie, but Schindler's List is far more emotional.
Rating:
Summary: One of those films that stay with you
Review: This is a dark and realistic film about how Wallenberg wanted to save defenseless men, women and children. I think that the selection of Wallenberg for the job amongst a group of Jewish leaders was rather heart gripping. The leaders referred to his papers saying his diplomas weren't that great and job history wasn't of that kind that would make him a first choice for the job. But, Wallenberg kept on saying; - You don't understand. I HAVE DECIDED THAT I AM GOING TO DO THIS JOB.
In Budapest he did what he could to save Jews of all ages. The viewer is also allowed to witness how it becomes increasingly harder to save people.
In this film you are made to face the brutal facts of what that happened during World War II. The film stays with you. Still, I normally watch films that I like many times, but with this one I haven't been able to do so.
Even so, I cannot forget what I saw.
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