Shining Through

Beyond that, as I was prepared to look because this is fiction, the movie enjoys top notch production qualities. The music is beautiful, the cinematography stunning, the script deliciously memorable. The screenplay is something budding artists should watch and learn from, it never lets up for a second throughout the entire movie. There're twists and turns, and you're always on the edge.

Yet, quite admirably, amidst all these gripping moments, the film somehow also manages to couch a wonderfully moving romantic story. Griffith is great, and a part of her charm relies in the look she gives, that "shy-scary" look she projects, the look of the typical defenseless woman who inside is smarter and braver than any man on the planet. Were there women in that time who could be so accurately bilingual? Why, it doesn't sound all that impossible to me.

If you enjoy watching romantic movies, don't miss this one. It's one of my favorites of all time, and it stands the true test of good cinema -- repeat viewing. Delectable!


Doesn't fit into any specific category   March 30, 1999
21 out of 22 found this review helpful

This film could be labeled a drama, a romance or a suspense/thriller. It is all of that and more. It's the story of a movie junkie who joins the war effort and ends up a jewish spy in Germany. Her only qualifications are that she speaks German and that she's seen a bunch of war films.

I have seen this movie more times that I care to admit but it is one of my all-time favorites. The acting is great, the story is both touching and suspenseful and the plot is smooth. I'm not a big Melanie Griffith fan, but five minutes into the movie I forgot it was her and just enjoyed the film. She could have easily been docile and run to the big man to save her but her character is smart and sassy. The movie starts with Melanie's character telling the story in retrospect, yet the break in of the narrative is not obtrusive... just well done. On a side note, the love theme that runs throughout the movie is beautiful.

This is an excellent film and would be enjoyed by men, women and teens alike. I definetly recommend viewing it when you have a chance.


A true revelation---highly recommended   September 9, 2005
Darren Harrison (Washington D.C.)
21 out of 24 found this review helpful

To be honest I am surprised that I have not managed to see this movie before now, considering my weakness for espionage movies and specifically World War II spy pictures (I list WHERE EAGLES DARE and THE MAN WHO NEVER WAS among my favorite 100 movies).
I did see parts of this movie before, as it played in the background of a house party I attended over a decade before. But it was perhaps the presence of Michael Douglas and Melanie Griffith as the leads that led me to think that it was just some lame action adventure that Hollywood sometimes has a tendency to unload on us.
Boy was I wrong!
My TiVo picked up the show as a suggestion when it played on HBO and as I sat down to watch it I realized that this movie was more drama than action and more suspense than adventure. A true revelation and factors that really heightened the quality and provided compulsive viewing for the next two hours-plus.
The story centers around a bilingual (English and German) secretary Linda Voss that begins to work for a rather shadowy businessman Ed Leland (played by Douglas) at the outbreak of World War II in Europe. Soon she suspects he is a spy and after taking down a particularly strange message she confronts her boss with her suspicions.
Fast forward and upon America's entrance into the conflict Ed reveals himself to be an operative for OSS (the precursor to today's CIA) and an Army officer to-boot.
With her knowledge of German and highly keen observation skills Linda is soon attending top secret OSS meetings and (against Ed's better judgement) sent into Germany to steal secret plans for the V-1 and V-2 rockets.
What follows is a thoroughly entertaining story that shows a truly frightening and at points terrifying depiction of life in Nazi Germany that includes some top calibre acting talent in the lead roles. In addition to Douglas and Griffith we also have Liam Neeson as a German officer, Jeoly Richardson as a German civilian and John Gielgud as an old spymaster. All give tour-de-force performances and although sometimes the plot can be somewhat predictable (we suspect early on the true allegiances of one of the three supporting characters may not be what they seem to be) but it is always compelling and wonderful entertainment.
The DVD is available in widescreen (always a plus) and although its rather light on special features it is available for under $10.
Highly recommended.


Little-known film shines...   July 5, 2001
Katie Leicht (Washington, DC United States)
14 out of 15 found this review helpful

This film is a heartfelt yet fast-paced story of two American spies who fall in love amidst the dangers of doing their jobs deep in the heart of Germany during World War II. Michael Douglas plays Ed Leland, a hard-edged and patriotic military spy who unwittingly falls in love with Linda Voss (played with the warm mix of charm, innocence and thrill by Melanie Griffith), a Brooklyn girl of Jewish descent who wants to do her part using her perfect German speaking abilities to work as a cook and try to discover the location of a bomb being built by the German army. Both lovers get more than they bargained for when Linda ends up in the home of a high-ranking German official and risks her life trying to discover the location of her Jewish relatives hiding in Berlin. An outstanding supporting cast that includes Joely Richardson, Liam Neeson and Sir John Giulgud makes this film a must-see, especially if you are a sucker for World War II nostaligia and "I'll Be Seeing You." Believable or not, this film is a keeper.