FASCINATING... [Schlöndorff’s] precise, restless camera creates a feeling of claustrophobic suspense as the plot races against the clock.

Flawless... provocative and thoughtful... never ceases to compel.

A LOVE STORY ABOUT PARIS. An alluring story, beautifully dramatized and acted.

Well-orchestrated and superbly acted.

4 OUT OF 4 STARS. GRIPPING AND EXTREMELY SATISFYING... Keeps up the suspense and pulls off surprises.

FASCINATING.

STUNNING!

Passionate, engaging and emotional... A fine return to form for the veteran German helmer (The Tin Drum)... An elegant orchestrated pas de deux between formidable opponents.

Filled with twists, turns and underhanded schemes that show how history sometimes lies in the hands of a selected few, not to mention a good glass of Chardonnay… One thrilling verbal duel after another.

In late August 1944, more than two months after D-Day, the Allies were marching toward Paris. With the liberation of the City of Light imminent, Hitler hands down an order: destroy it, starting with the bridges across the Seine, then the Louvre, and go from there. If Berlin is a wasteland, so too will be Paris. But a Swedish diplomat, Raoul Nordling (Andre Dussollier, “Amelie”), puts forth an all-night lobbying effort with the general in charge, von Choltitz (Niels Arestrup, “War Horse,” “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”), to try to get him to disobey Hitler’s order. Based on official reports, which were the source of an award-winning play, the great Volker Schlondorff (“The Tin Drum”) has crafted a modern-day “Grand Illusion” — a fascinating moral debate about war, by men who have their orders.

PACED LIKE A THRILLER...INCREDIBLE CAST... The two lead actors, André Dussollier and Niels Arestrup, are just two of the greatest actors in their country.