45
Metascore
6 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 60The Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttThe Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttThe film, well made in every way, smartly focuses on an unlikely friendship between Gretel and the athlete who ultimately replaced her -- a high jumper who was later revealed to be a man!
- 60Time OutNick SchagerTime OutNick SchagerThe burgeoning relationship between both the athletes, bonding over a kindred "otherness," is handled tastefully by director Kaspar Heidelbach, though the lack of new insights on the subject of National Socialism's wickedness ultimately reduces a well-staged film to a historical footnote.
- 50VarietyDerek ElleyVarietyDerek ElleyThe picture sports a strong lead cast but is diminished by TV-style helming and production qualities.
- 50The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisTasteful to a fault, Berlin 36 turns real-life controversy into disappointingly tepid drama.
- 50Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesWhatever the facts of the case, Berlin 36 doesn't clear the bar for dramatic impact.
- 25Slant MagazineAndrew SchenkerSlant MagazineAndrew SchenkerExcepting a momentary late-film lapse into eye-rolling double-exposure tomfoolery, the film is as aesthetically bland as a film could conceivably be, the perfunctory camerawork imbuing the proceedings with an ugly, indistinctive gloss.