Matrixston Wow! Such a good movie.

SmugKitZine Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

Robert Joyner The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Payno I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Philip Mackenzie This film is an unexpected gem it deals with a young boy who wants to move on from his expected station in life and uses his sporting abilities and Arian looks to try and achieve this. I have never really thought about how the young Germans were trained and educated in their elite schools ended up actually fighting and dying for Germany and it's losing struggle This puts a human face to those young boys who so much was expected of. The need to be the best is hammered into them and if they cannot maintain these standards then they either fall by the wayside or are treated as failures by the system Please watch this film as i do not want to add any spoilers but it is one of the best i have seen for a while and will have you feeling for the characters as boys rather than the machines the establishment want them to become

Bene Cumb It took a while, but gradually has Germany got over its Nazi/WWII shame and depression, and has been able to start dealing with what happened during Hitler regime in a varied manner. Life is never black and white, even in totalitarian states, and lots of people try to live, to make their dreams come true, even if their romantic or innocent ideas are subordinated to crazy or dangerous ideas of others, of those with more money and power. So were most boys in NaPolA as well, it was just the war reaching Germany that accelerated their comprehension what was really going on, it was a sort of eyes-opener. And the truth in war time is always ugly, even if there are some excused reasons for waging war...The plot is skilfully created, there are tensions and twists, the development of characters is evident and logical. The most catchy performances to me were Max Riemelt as Friedrich Weimer, Tom Schilling as Albrecht Stein, and Devid Striesow as Heinrich Vogler; the rest were either too briefly on screen or did not distinguish from the crowd - well, and the uniforms did help that either.Additionally, it has to be noted, that such schools were not a phenomena of the Nazi regime only. Similar schools, with emphasis on ideology/values/strength did exist in the Soviet Union and still do exist in current Russia, and in many other not-too-much-democratic countries, often under hidden slogans and agenda. As children and teens are easy to manipulate with, and many parents like to reckon in black-and-white categories: better a future soldier than e.g. drug addict or criminal.

TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews This is one of the only films I've seen that deals with these schools, until recently a subject that remained taboo. National Political Education Institute is the literal translation of what the title is an acronym of. The lead is portraying a Hitler Jugend("youth"), one of the people indoctrinated as a child. He now enters a NaPolA, and we experience this microcosm of collective punishment and a limited curriculum. This reminded me a lot of Onskan("Evil"). The relationship(which I would not deem to be homosexual in the least, I'm not sure why anybody thinks that it is; well, to each his own) between the two main guys is very convincing, and they have good chemistry. Every acting performance, including those of the kids, is excellent. Many of the characters are credibly written, although the presentation of the Nazi leaders is relatively one-sided. While I don't know if the boxing is authentic(with that said, it may very well be, and there are a ton of accurate details in this), it definitely is a perfect metaphor for the lack of humanity that the Third Reich tried to breed in their soldiers, and it is immensely intense(and other bits are, as well; there is great tension in this), and really puts you in the moment through the filming and editing. In general this is well-produced. The sense of humor is marvelous, and fitting in tone and amount. There is a lot of disturbing content and a little brutal, bloody violence and male nudity in this. I recommend this to anyone who wants to explore this specific area and time period of history. 8/10

robertconnor In 1942 Berlin, Friedrich, a talented young boxer, is recruited to one of Hitler's National Political Academies. What begins as a proud and exciting privilege slowly turns into disquiet, doubt and disillusionment, as the brutal truth of a flawed ideology is revealed.Gansel's exploration of the elitist extension of the Hitler Youth movement is a merciless and devastating depiction of Third Reich pomposity, corruption and ineptitude. The unquestioning exploitation of enthusiastic youth by those with authority is devastatingly portrayed, as Friedrich and his classmates face test after test in the name of the Fatherland. Uniformly outstanding performances and a chillingly real environment serve to enhance this portrayal of the desperately sad plight of so many young German men during WW2.Highly recommended.