The Tunnel (2001) User Reviews

although a bit fictionalized a still faithful depiction of real events

[clivy · 8/10 · 3 October 2004]

It's very interesting to compare 'Der Tunnel' with 'Tunnel 28', or 'Escape from East Berlin', which was filmed in 1962. Both are based on a tunnel that was built in May 1962 from a street in West Berlin and ended in a basement in a house in East Berlin. As in 'Der Tunnel', the actual tunnel was built by a group of students, some who wanted to help their families and loved ones escape, some who wanted to help because of their convictions.

'Der Tunnel' is very well acted, especially by Heino Ferch. Ferch's performance as the swimming champion and former prisoner Harry Melchoir is outstanding. Claudia Michelsen turns in a finely nuanced performance as Carola, who is intimidated into informing the East German police about the escape attempt. Sebastian Koch is moving as her husband, who serves as the engineer behind the project, and Mehmet Kurtulus is compelling as Vic, the Italian American who is detained and interrogated as a consequence of Carola's betrayal.

The film shows the streets where the actual tunnel was built (they are probably sets but they depict them accurately, as they must have looked just after the Wall was built). It also reflects the involvement of a NBC film crew. The actual tunnel's building was financed by NBC in exchange for rights to exclusive footage of the students working on its construction and footage of refugees escaping. I've always wanted to see this documentary but I've never found a copy of it. Some of the NBC footage is featured in a recent German documentary 'Der Tunnel - Die Wahre Geschichte' that interviews the builders. While filming this documentary researchers found remains of the tunnel that they dug.

'Escape from East Berlin' only resembles the actual escape in the way that it shows 28 people fleeing from a tunnel: it portrays a family deciding to dig a tunnel from the East Berlin side to the West. 'Der Tunnel' depicts the students, the financing by NBC, and the danger to the tunnel caused by a burst pipe. (The real tunnel builders hoped to continue using the tunnel but the night after 28 people escaped it was flooded by a burst pipe. I've read that some East Berliners hoped to reuse this tunnel during the following winter, after the water froze, but I don't know if this is true. Several people were told about it and when they came to find the tunnel's entrance they were arrested by the East German police.)

I didn't mind that the script of 'Der Tunnel' centres on a swimming champion who becomes the focal point of the tunnel building. Harry's conflicts dramatise the situations that many people found themselves in at the time: agonising over the separation from their families. The other characters also show the difficult situations and choices facing Berliners on both sides of the Wall. The scene in which Fritizi's fiancé dies attempting to cross the Wall is heart wrenching: it reflects the tragedy of Peter Fetcher, who was shot while trying to escape and left to bleed to death. The sex scene between Harry and Fritzi is moving, not gratuitous. And yet certain elements of the film still struck me as sensationalist. One in particular is Fritizi returning to dig the tunnel so soon after her suicide attempt. I couldn't see someone doing hard physical work or being trusted to act as a courier in such demanding circumstances so soon after slashing her wrists. The colonel chasing the refugees and Harry and Fritizi though the Tunnel and stopping at the border, as possible as it might have been according to international protocol in 1962, just rang false. And was it really necessary to have Harry dress up as a border guard and drive a army vehicle back to the border area without being suspected once?

As much as the 1962 film changed the story it showed the desperation and hope of many Berliners without lecturing on the horrors of Communism. Der Tunnel faithfully depicts the period, and the experiences of the people, and yet- I would have liked less of the Hollywooding of the script. It's ironic that Der Tunnel shows Vic encountering the set of 'Tunnel 28' and remarking how he has always wanted to go to Hollywood and be a scriptwriter. The movie shows the overeager hand of an aspiring scriptwriter. A little restraint at the drafting stage would have made 'Der Tunnel' an even more powerful film, and a more fitting tribute to the students who helped East Berliners find their way to freedom from oppression.

The fastest 2 3/4 hour movie you will ever see!

[lastliberal · 9/10 · 23 December 2008]

It is hard to believe that this movie lasted almost three hours. It was so compelling that you stayed glued to the screen the entire time and were surprised when it ended.

The acting by Heino Ferch (Downfall), Nicolette Krebitz (All the Queen's Men), Alexandra Maria Lara (Control, The Reader), Claudia Michelsen (The Reader), and Sebastian Koch (Black Book, The Lives of Others) was superlative. There were others that contributed to making Roland Suso Richter's film the superlative treat that it was.

To see the lengths that people will go through to save their loved ones is inspiring.

Roland Suso Richter is back !

[amikus2000 · 8/10 · 24 January 2001]

The impressive work of director Roland Suso Richter gives satisfaction to those, who expect more from a TV-movie. It could also be shown on cinema. That would have been the better way. The director's hit can be seen in the tradition of "14 days lifelong"(14 Tage lebenslaenglich).

Here historic action of the real escape through the highly dangerous Berlin-frontier is interestingly presented. The fabulous camera gives an expression of the death on one side of the Berlin wall and the sadness on the other side. Those scenes are unforgettable, really.

Actor Heino Ferch cannot be followed by the other actors, their acts are one class below. Nevertheless a 'must-see'.

A near-perfect film, will still yield lessons on four watchings

[phranger · 10/10 · 27 October 2001]

This is an exceptionally well-built film with a subject more than worth the effort, well delimited and well illuminated. Teaches a lot, by showing, not saying. Truly beyond praise.

Der Tunnel illustrates how it felt to live in East Germany in the years before the Wall was built, how it felt once it was built, and the terrible determination of some people who escaped in the first few days, to make their escape serve others in East Berlin by trying to bring them to the West, even if the attempt should cost them their own lives. The film's primary power lies there, in the testimony value of each of its frames.

I lived for a few months in Germany less than four years after the events shown, within a walk from the East German border. I visited East Berlin several times and traipsed (illegally) into East Germany once. Der Tunnel shows truths I would never have found the words to explain, and shows them in a way anyone can feel, if perhaps by watching the film more than once. Another film that is instructive on some of the same topics is Volker Schlondorf's semi-fictional Legends of Rita, well worth watching after Der Tunnel. (Legends of Rita takes place in the last years before the Wall fell, more than 20 years later.)

One note. In Der Tunnel, the more people are compromised by the East German regime, the more they invoke their conscience and their deep-felt personal opinions. (You might call this the Lutheran variant of Stalinism.) This occurs equally in Legends, except that in the latter the character who is totally "political consciousness"-driven is the West German Rote-Armee protagonist, who does nothing but meaningless murders until she escapes to the East and, there, is kept under control. So, in Legend, the various East German security people come off better with their "conscience" than does the truly-awful protagonist. In Der Tunnel, they don't come out as well. As for the diggers, they never talk about conscience or opinion at all. That they will do everything in their power to save their loved ones from the regime is simply obvious to all and never discussed.

A second note. The only non-East-German involved in the digging is an American undercover operative. Despite working, no doubt, under the same constraints as his opposite numbers, he shows as much determination as any of the other diggers, and perhaps even more courage.

Concerning Marcel's ending query -- The Colonel stops at the border sign because doing anything beyond the sign would lead to major diplomatic embarrassments, and naturally to demotion or worse for him. He certainly can't kill all the witnesses (and has no intention of doing so). This is the same mechanics that explain why the American operative, after being caught in the East by the Colonel's services, is only detained for a spate of days, with no torture nor bad treatment except cold and isolation, and then released. (He carefully avoided engaging in anything like espionage.) These rules were known to all at the time (self included).

It's hard to believe what some people have been through, especially when it has been at the hands of their own government and in such recent years.

[Chris_Gardner · 29 May 2003]

In The Tunnel the audience is dragged down to the depths with a group of Germans so desperate to get their loved ones from East Germany in 1961 that they are prepared to dig a tunnel under the infamous Berlin Wall. The tunnel takes a year to dig, is seven metres deep and 145 metres long.

The story of The Tunnel is really the story of Harry Melchior (Heino Ferch), an East German champion swimmer who escapes to the west disguised as a tourist. Before leaving the state which has imprisoned him for four years he promised his sister, Lotte Lohmann (Alexandra Maria Lara) that he would do his best to rescue her from the oppressive regime. Joining him in his noble mission is Matthis Hiller (Sebastian Koch), an engineer with the knowhow if only the rest of the gang will listen to him. He wants to rescue his wife and unborn child. Also on the team is Friederike 'Fritzi' Scholz (Nicolette Krebitz). Her intended is trapped on the other side of the wall, but does she really love him? There is a whole host of other characters who have their own motivations for helping out, but who can be trusted and who is a spy? All the actos put in superb performances, transporting the viewer back to those troubled times. What makes The Tunnel such compelling viewing is not it's high production values and suspenseful story, although it has both in oodles, but the very fact that it is a true story. Directed by Roland Suso Richter and written by Johannes W Betz, The Tunnel is filmed in the original German with English subtitles. But the subject is so enthralling that you soon forget you are having to read each line. While it is three hours long it doesn't even feel it. The Tunnel began its run during the Te Awamutu International Film Festival at The Regent cinema but is to continue showing.

Breathtaking

[rudy2001 · 10/10 · 27 October 2001]

"Der Tunnel" is far better than anything i've seen coming out of Hollywood in years. Although steadily paced, its tention keeps building for almost three hours. Based on a true story, it shows that real life stories often provide the best scripts.

The cast was well chosen and the acting was excellent. I knew Berlin when it was still divided and the film is a spot on portrayal of the mood at the time.

All in all a gripping story guaranteed to have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. Not to be missed. 10/10!

No big whoop

[onibaba · 6/10 · 27 January 2003]

I'm reading the other reader's comments on this movie, and I'm completely bewildered- it was a nice, professional TV movie, but nothing to write home about. Strictly a by-the-numbers historical drama, with some happy plastic people vs. some not-so-happy grayish villains. The director seems all-pro but emotionally shallow, and doesn't really evoke the horror of East Germany- the place seemed about as threatening as a weekend at EuroDisney. Okay if you're flipping by it on television, but not worth paying real money for.

Almost 3 hours, but doesn't feel like it

[robin_rubin · 10/10 · 30 July 2007]

What a great movie! It's a very well made adventure flick that has the added advantage of being true.

I agree with the IMDb reviewer who said Heino Ferch, who plays the central character Harry Melchior, was a lot like Bruce Willis. I found the similarities profound.

And I thoroughly disagree with the New York Times reviewer (click on the EXTERNAL REVIEWS link to read it), who wrote: "They are joined by numerous volunteers hoping to rescue their own friends and family, and by the eager Fritzi (Nicolette Krebitz), whose solitary feminine presence complicates the team's relationships."

I don't know what movie that reviewer saw, but it wasn't this one. What a stupid remark, apropos of nothing, making it sound like a romantic triangle or quadrangle develops. There is nothing of the kind. In fact, Fritzi is a great female role model. When she first volunteers and the men wonder what sort of contribution she'll be able to make, she says, "I may look different from you when I'm naked, but I can work just as hard." Then she jumps into the tunnel and starts digging. Right on, sister.

I don't remember much about Germany before the Berlin Wall came down, beyond cinematic references to "Checkpoint Charlie" and the Brandenburg Gate and news reports I was too young to understand. But this movie really brings the horrors -- psychological as well as physical -- to life.

Another film that explores similar territory, psychological as well as physical, is The Lives of Others. Interestingly, the German actor Sebastian Koch has high profile roles in both films.

Too Melodramatic

[films42 · 6/10 · 1 July 2005]

I think this is an important story & I wanted to like the film, but I found it excessively melodramatic. While I know a film can never deal with the full range of historical details, this was just too unbelievable, & all the convenient coincidences kept intruding as I watched, keeping me from becoming fully engrossed in the story. By the end, I was hunkered down in my seat muttering "yeah, sure!" to myself.

If you are interested in this theme, I recommend Margarethe von Trotta's Das Versprechen (The Promise) from 1995. Das Versprechen had me completely engrossed in the plight of families separated by the Berlin Wall, & by the end, I was crying like a baby!

Exciting Escape Drama

[kenjha · 8/10 · 4 July 2010]

West Berliners dig a tunnel under the Berlin Wall, hoping to get their loved ones out of East Berlin. This is an exciting, fact-based drama that is well acted by a German cast. The running time of nearly three hours is somewhat excessive but the story is interesting enough that it rarely drags. The characters are well developed. There are a couple of emotional scenes that become too melodramatic and stray from the central plot line. For the most part, however, the filmmakers wisely stay focused on the the building of the tunnel. The tension builds nicely in the final part, as the escape plan is put in motion. The random use of black and white cinematography is distracting.

Very well made & acted but it is way too long

[jaybob · 7/10 · 5 June 2010]

This is supposedly a true story of one of the Tunnels built under the Berlin Wall in 1961.

There were many groups of persons in East Berlin wanting to flee to the west. At the time East Germany built a large wall hoping to prevent further attempts. This film is about one attempt.

The film is directed by Roland Richter, the script by Johannes Betz however is overly 'mello-dramatic' and way-way too long. The running time of TWO HOURS and FORTY SEVEN is about an hour too long.

This film should have been suspenseful & exciting, at times it is a big bore. The production is meticulous in detail, The acting is what you would expect.

I really was hoping to give this a better review.

Ratings: **1/2 (out of 4) 77 points (out of 100) IMDb 7 (out of 10)

Perfect Perfect Perfect!!!

[Exiled_Archangel · 10/10 · 8 December 2004]

Just finished watching this movie half an hour ago.. Couldn't write the review earlier, because I was busy crying my eyes out. I know I've said this before, but I really think this must be the best movie ever. I hardly ever get THAT sentimental for movies, but this one is really something. The story is captivating, the screenplay is flawless such that this movie never gets boring for a second in its enormous length of 167 minutes, and the acting deserves an applause.

There is something I particularly like in movies: Having more than one genre without screwing up anything. Here you go.. This is anything from suspense to drama, adventure to romance.. Yet it doesn't lose its magic in any of the fields.

I was particularly impressed by the performances of the main character, his sister's husband, and Mehmet Kurtulus who plays Vittorio Castanza (no, not because he's my fellow countryman), and the beardy detective guy of the state security of East Germany. I don't mean to diss any nation or commune specifically, but such a good movie can only be made with such a good and TRUE story. I'm glad I wasn't born in East Germany! On the other hand, it surely is among the finer things in life to partake in such a team play and for such a good reason. These heroes will always be remembered, and the feeling when they made it to West Berlin was probably priceless. Who wouldn't want to experience such?

*** SPOILERS ***

As in most films with the dense feeling of suspense throughout, this one also delivers textual comments of what happened to the characters after the last frame the film includes. To be honest, reading those got to me big time. It was so very sad to learn Fritzi and Harry didn't stay together. I guess I would pretty much lose the meaning of my life if I was Harry and lost the woman I shared so much with. And Fred putting in so much effort to move to West Germany (although he's actually West German) and then leaving it in 1964. Not as dreadful as the above one, but still sad. Funny but true, I was already planning a trip to Montreal, and if I go, I'll certainly try to find him and listen to his experiences. Last but not least, it's abysmal that Vittorio put even more effort than anyone else into the liberation process, and within a nation he doesn't even belong to, and didn't live long enough to witness the utmost success of his deeds when the Berlin was brought down. I think all these people are holy, and it would be nice of the German government to give their names to schools or streets.

*** END OF SPOILERS ***

All in all, this movie is absolutely fantastic, and whilst one is supposed to respect others' opinions, I believe an opinion saying this movie was bad simply doesn't deserve a trace of respect.

A perfect 10/10 for this masterpiece!

You'll come for the rating, and leave for {describe reason here}

[Hardryv · 3/10 · 20 October 2010]

I make a habit out of watching movies with a decent rating, even if they aren't my type of movie... one might think of it as my own exploration into what kinds of art makes humanity 'tick' (so to speak).

I tried to watch this... I really did. I went back to reviews on assorted forums and tried to discover what everyone liked so much about it.

Here's a few reasons why I couldn't get on that particular bandwagon: -- The dialog is so bland it's insulting to the viewer. -- The acting was so horrible that the characters failed to make me care about any of them. -- The storyline didn't make up for it in any way, fiction or not. -- I even tried skipping around to the alleged 'good parts'.

I don't see myself ever giving this move another chance. Watch at your own peril.

A Gripping True-Life Drama

[aliasanythingyouwant · 3 November 2005]

In Wings of Desire, Wim Wenders turned the Berlin Wall into the ultimate symbol of spiritual isolation, of modern man's propensity to erect barriers between himself and his fellow humans. The bisecting of Berlin was, for Wenders, a matter of more than politics; it stood for all human fragmentation, the tendency of people, in an age of festering mistrust, to close themselves off from the world, becoming states unto themselves, states each with a population of one. Wenders was not concerned with the social and political realities of Berlin as much as he was with creating a sweeping, existentialist-romantic fable (if such a thing could exist). He was only interested in life in divided Berlin as it pertained to the state of humanity at large, was trying to make big, generalized statements about the human condition, using Berlin as a stage upon which to play out his brooding, trancey fairy tale of angels longing for human sensations, and humans longing to soar like angels free of fear and pain (the movie's essential moral: the grass is always greener on the other astral plane). Roland Suso Richter's The Tunnel has no time for Wenders-style symbolism, for high cinematic gestures and all-encompassing statements - it's too busy dealing with human-drama as it might be experienced by actual humans. The language it uses is not that of tropes, of pictures loaded with meaning; it operates on the level of reportage, of straight journalistic film-making with a dash of melodramatic emphasis. It sees the divided Berlin not as an existential echo-chamber but a place where human stories are being played out, the Wall not as a symbol of the great human divide but a physical barrier keeping people from their loved-ones, keeping the captives of the East from knowing the freedoms of the West. There's no philosophy that can conquer this wall, no high romantic sacrifice; only determination can conquer it, and courage and grit.

Harry Melchior (Heino Ferch) is a famed East German Olympic swimming star, an ex-prisoner, who escapes the Communist East by showing a fake passport at Checkpoint Charlie and walking to the West. Not content with having secured his own freedom, Harry joins his fellow refugee, Matthis (Sebastian Koch) in a daring undertaking; they secure an abandoned building adjacent to the wall and begin digging a tunnel that will take them back into the East, where many of their family and friends still reside. Their liaison with those on the other side is an American agent, Vic (Mehmet Kurtulus), who lost his leg to a landmine; Vic keeps in touch with Harry's sister, Lotte (Alexandra Maria Lara), who is herself in contact with Matthis's pregnant wife Carola (Claudia Michelsen), who failed to escape with Matthis and was thrown in prison. Carola has been recruited as a spy by the East German Secret Police, unbeknownst to the tunnelers. Meanwhile, a young East German escapee named Fritzi (Nicolette Krebitz) joins the project; she has a boyfriend on the other side, Heiner (Florian Panzner), a worker on the wall with whom she shares meaningful glances over the cinder-block and barbed-wire.

The Tunnel may not possess the pungent physicality of Jacques Becker's Le Trou, another movie about desperate types surreptitiously building an escape route, but it does have some of that film's matter-of-factness, its way of focusing on the logistics and labor involved in the endeavor. The Tunnel has been constructed the way a drama should, from the ground-up; it begins by homing in on the realities of building the tunnel, the successes and set-backs experienced by the characters, then branches out into the kinds of sub-plots and peripheral activities that add flavor to drama, hopefully without obscuring the central plot. The story, based on actual events, has so much going for it that it doesn't need to be dressed up much, and doesn't need much more than a steady hand at the tiller. Director Roland Suso Richter gives it that steady hand; he's maybe not the keenest observer of detail, nor the most rigorous naturalist (he's no Becker, or Zonca for that matter), but he does have a nicely-tuned dramatic sense, a way of giving a scene what it needs without hyping the action. There are some dramatic high-points in the movie, like the scene where Fritzi's boyfriend Heiner makes a run for the wall and gets shot at, and Richter knows how to play these scenes for emotional effect without over-stating things. Richter understands how the pieces of a dramatic work must function as a whole; the movie doesn't feel like a bunch of set-pieces but builds the way good drama should, becoming more suspenseful, more harrowing as it goes along.

The actors all share the director's ability to maximize dramatic effect without resorting to cheap audience-grabbing. Heino Ferch plays Harry with a gravelly self-assurance not unlike that of Jean Gabin, who graced another Jacques Becker classic, the gangster film Touchez Pas au Grisbi; Ferch may not have Gabin's leonine presence, but he has some of Gabin's proletarian appeal, his combination of manliness and sensitivity. Mehmet Kurtulus gives Vic, the American agent, an air of conscious mystery, the sense of a spy as a kind of performer, a man who loves the game of espionage the same way an actor loves being on stage. Kurtulus has the most traditional movie-star appeal of any actor in the film, with the exception of Alexandra Maria Lara, the Hungarian beauty who plays Harry's sister Lotte; Lara, with her doey eyes and flawless skin, is tangible evidence of why it might be worth risking your life to dig back into East Germany after you'd already escaped (even if she was only your sister). The film is, above all else, tangible - it deals with a world you can touch, not a lofty movie dream-world. Going for big effects would be a mistake in the case of The Tunnel, a film whose drama is inherent in its situations, its characters, its understated view of heroism.

a document of history, of permanent emotions at the Berlin Wall

[a.kohout · 9/10 · 5 October 2002]

Berlin, Germany, 1961. Mothers and daughters, Fathers and sons, neighbors and friends were torn apart in one night, when the Berlin Wall was built. A hand full of people dug a tunnel under the Wall from the French Sector into the East to save 30. Permanent emotions, especially at the end of the movie. Excellent.

Great Movie, much better than I thought it would be!

[Jdylan-1 · 8/10 · 30 May 2007]

This turned out to be a great movie, much better than I thought it would be. I am a fan of the spy movies of the 1960's, and this movie fits into that genre (but not quite). I am a fan of the cold war era, too, with Berlin and the wall and all that, so this movie was great to watch. There are a few things I didn't like, but they were minor, which is why I gave it an 8 out of 10.

I was watching this with a buddy, and we both got caught up in it and were on the edge of our seats wondering if they would get away with it, and was much more thrilling that I thought it would be.

There are several very touching scenes where people get shot, and people are looking over the wall, reaching down, trying to grab their hand and pull them up, while the shot man is gasping, whispering how he had to get over the wall before he lost his girlfriend...it was very freaking' sad and moving, especially the way the filmed it, very cool.

It gets slow a few times, dabbling in the romance between two characters, but I am used to that in movies now. The version I saw was in German with English subtitles, but luckily I speak German. I thought the main character was very like Bruce Willis.

Phenomenal movie about the effects of the Berlin Wall

[mmeyers-4 · 10/10 · 25 November 2005]

How this movie did not receive best foreign film of the year is beyond me.

This movie shows in agonizing detail the gut wrenching and true story of a champion swimmer who manages to escape to the other side of the Berlin Wall as it is being built in August, 1961. Some of his friends make it across also. The problem is that some of their families are left behind. The sheer audacity and will power of those who made it across and try to rescue their loved ones is awe inspiring.

Th acting is superb and the director manages to capture the claustrophobia and back breaking labor entailed in digging under the wall to bring their loved ones to freedom. I was very impressed by the whole cast, especially the leading man.

Warning, if you go around wearing Che' Guevera T-shirt and thought Motorcycle Diaries was a good film, this movie is not for you. It shows the true face of communism.

powerful, emotional, and very intense.

[Hunky Stud · 9/10 · 11 March 2006]

There are a few things that don't seem to be logical.

1. Harry changed into a soldier's clothes, and none of the soldiers seemed to notice that they have a new person in the group. Even after he got into the trunk, and sat with the soldiers together, none of them said anything about this new solider.

2. If they are afraid of informers, how come they were not worried about the coffee shop owner who might call the police and report them?

3. Why did the boyfriend try to run toward the wall for nothing? He certainly can't climb the wall during daylight hours without being shot.

4. They always have a person or two spying across the buidling in West Germany, how come the Easter Germans never noticed?

This is film is about 3 hours long. Even though it is not boring, I feel that it might be able to tell the same story in 2.5 hours. Unlike that other good movie "goodbye Lenin," this movie is very intense, there is no funny moment. The music is well done, it fits the mood very well.

It is shocking to see how the East Germany people were willing to do anything just to escape to the West side. It made me think how many East Germans were killed while trying to escape. And did their life get any better after they escaped to the west? Western Europe seems to have a long tradition of democracy. It is a surprise to see how the same German people working for the Eastern Germany government can be so cold. They lost their basic human kindness. The soldiers were ready to shot anyone to death who dares to cross the border. Under the communist rule, even friends, husband can be forced into spies who spy on their own loved ones. The ending is very tear jerking.

I have seen several films about the Berlin Wall. They are all very good.

Well done, a very exciting film.

[mleu · 8/10 · 24 January 2001]

This movie has just been shown on TV. It not only gives you a good impression on the tunnel project itself and the escape of a number of people from the former east Germany. It also shows you how the mood of the population at that time (1962) was, especially the mood of the students protesting against the wall. This film is based on a true story, the one of the "Tunnel 29". 29 stands for the number of people who were able to escape through this tunnel. There is only one scene I did not like that much. Harry Melchior (the leading role) runs through the tunnel right after he held up the colonel who now tries to catch him together with his fellow men. Somewhere in the tunnel there is a sign "You are now entering the French section of Berlin". The colonel and all the others do right stop exactly below this sign and Harry Melchior even salutes him from the "west side" of Berlin. I think this is not quite real, because the colonel certainly would not bother to cross the border inside the tunnel, or would he? Nevertheless a good movie, it is worth spending the time to watch it.

Good movie but ruined by unnecessary hollywood-type-action-last-second-rescue ending

[kajtek · 4/10 · 3 October 2003]

I do not understand why a good movie had to be ruined by this action packed type ending. It would be much better without the chase in the tunnel. The tension could be there without it, for example near discoveries by german soldiers would be enough to pump the adrenaline for those who need it.

well acted and sincere

[filmaphile · 30 November 2008]

Overall, the screenplay was not that well written. It was too long and not very well paced. As others have noticed, there were places where you just said "Huh?" when something didn't ring true.

However, the actors made it worth while. They rose above the material. "Harry" was great and I yelled to my husband in the other room, "Hey, it's the German Bruce Willis!" Very good looking, very sexy and not just an action hero, but expressive as well. Of course Sebastian Koch (Matthis) is just dreamy and a great actor! The actress who played "Fritzi" was good too.

Well worth seeing. FAR above the usual Hollywood junk.

Maintaining suspense through an abnormally long movie

[[e-mail] · 10/10 · 17 November 2009]

Although at least one commentator has said that this movie was not well written and went on too long, I and the three other people who saw it with me found it very well done. It managed to sustain the suspense throughout. It also engaged our interest in the featured characters, all of whom were impressively portrayed by German actors we'd never encountered before.

We're assured that the film is based on a "true story" of a tunnel dug under the Berlin Wall from West Berlin to East Berlin by people trying to rescue family members and lovers in the Soviet Zone. Whether all the incidents depicted in the film were part of that "true story" is a question to which one might like to know the answer. But it makes for an extremely interesting (almost) three hours. Each of the principals comes into sharp focus due to uniformly fine performances, and one might also like to know more about what happened to each of them than is revealed in the post-film credits.

Keeps you glued to the TV

[phojo-1 · 10/10 · 17 January 2010]

The true story of a national hero turned tunnel digger during the height of the Berlin Wall crisis.

I am a firm hater of sub-titled movies, and over dubs are annoying. But "Der Tunnel" is one that I will watch over and over again. The story is one we all heard about and know from years of political struggles between ideologies between the East and West. It's much more than "a tunnel movie" about escape, it's a love story, a suspenseful thriller, a story of corruption, of passion, hopes, dreams, and desires. And it's also closely accurate to those who lived it.

This is a must see!

Totally realistic - this will hold your attention all the way!

[simondclinch-1 · 10/10 · 23 June 2014]

There have been earlier films about tunnels under the Berlin wall, but this is by far the best. It traces the story from the building of the wall and is fact-based.

This film is best watched with subtitles, because listening to the dialogue in German affords a complete suspension of disbelief. I felt as if I was actually there!

The plot is deliciously unpredictable and the characters exceptionally well developed.

Also the length is generous but justified by the fullness of the plot.

Moreover, the plot, while lengthy, doesn't contain much distraction, so that suspense builds up from beginning to end.

what people will do for freedom

[blanche-2 · 8/10 · 24 May 2013]

"The Tunnel" is the true story of Hasso Herschel, a man who helped thousands of people escape from East to West Berlin up until 1972. As of 2001, he was still alive and living in Brandenburg Germany.

Here, his name is changed to Harry Melchior, and he's a champion swimmer, played by Heino Ferch, who does a beautiful job in the lead. Physically he's a cross between Bruce Willis and "General Hospital" actor Ingo Rademacher.

Harry has already served time in prison when he decides to escape to the west. He doesn't want to go without his sister Lotte (Alexandra Maria Lara), her husband and daughter. He is given a passport so he can leave, but he promises Lotte that he will get her out.

Once in the west, Harry joins his friends already there, and they plan to dig a tunnel to the west in the basement of an old building right near the wall. It's taking too long, so eventually, they bring others in who want to help family escape. The escapee list will number about 30. The group runs into problems with flooding, pressure from the East on people left behind, concrete in one part of the proposed tunnel instead of dirt, which means drilling -- but they persevere. All the while, messages are being sent to those on the other side, to be found in a bouquet of flowers, under a bench, or handed over by a stranger.

Tense, exciting, gut-wrenching, and heartwarming, "The Tunnel" is a wonderful movie filmed both in Berlin and Prague. My understanding is that they have depicted the place where the tunnel was built accurately. Someone commented they couldn't believe the film is nearly three hours - I can't either - it's very compellingly told and well acted.

Highly recommended. I've seen several films, based on true stories, about tunnels going to west Berlin. There were many of them.