Die Tür (2009) Reviews

• A gripping and philosophical drama with a multitude of influences

  kluseba2011-04-11

  This movie is easily the best German movie I have seen in the last three years. It is a haunting and atmospheric drama with some science-fiction elements, an eerie touch of suspense and even psychological horror as well as some action scenes. This flick has also a strong philosophical character without being too educative. The gripping question of fate and morality may affect you way beyond this movie and I thought about this intense film many days after I have watched it first. Normally, I hardly give elevated ratings but everything feels right about the movie. The acting of the movie is simply great. Let's point out that Mads Mikkelsen is playing the role of his life and proves once again that he is a great actor that is able to improve every time again and again. He is amongst my favourite actors now. There are many promising German actors that are delivering more than solid jobs here. The scenario of this movie is based on a novel and filled with complex actions, cliffhangers and twists, just like a great book. I am really looking forward to read the novel now and though I can't yet compare both, I feel that the movie was intense, detailed and diversified. What I really find fascinating is that the movie, even though the main plot is based on a fictional idea that one could associate to a science-fiction or fantasy movie, the whole flick seems real, authentic and down to earth. The mixture is unique and credible. The movie is not about a magic door that leads to the past or present. This little and only fantastic detail helps to kick the whole story off and one is quickly face to face with situations that mix dreams and reality, wishes and deceptions, hopes and despairs so that one doesn't care about whether the introduction is not fitting or too unreal. This movie is not about something exactly supernatural, it's a lot about the true human character and its ideologies and behaviours. The movie has what I consider a perfect structure, it slowly introduces the main characters and creates more and more a creepy atmosphere with some weird, surprising and shocking scenes that lead to a dramatic, emotional and action filled ending. You really get drowned into the whole story and feel with the characters. The way the movie is filmed is full of details and the angels and close ups add a lot to the atmosphere of the film. The movie score underlines the incredible and creative story that starts as a drama and ends as a psychological thriller that is more intense than many horror flicks. I highly recommend this brilliant and explosive mixture that touches your heart, your nerves and your brain. Spread the word about this rather unknown European flick that should gain worldwide attention as it has now come out in North America and the rest of the world.

• There are no other worlds, unfortunately, for the ones who lose a loved one

  nicnik62015-01-23

  This is a film in which the main character has to kill himself, carry the weight of his own body (and guilt-ridden mind), bury himself, unbury himself, flee from the sad truth and save what he can, but what can he? The sad truth, the conclusion of the movie is, for the ones who want to understand, that there are no other worlds, unfortunately. There is only one world, or only one truth in any better possible worlds, and this truth is that once somebody is dead, you cannot undo that, you cannot bring them to you and live with them in the same world. Not together, no! But to understand this you have to watch the film up to its final moment and see that the two are still bereft and nothing is actually better, except for the fact that now they realize it too. They think they have changed something. They want to think this and they need to think this, and so do we, as we all want our second chances. Mads Mikkelsen is an outstanding actor, incredible in every way, and while I admit I watched the movie just to see him perform in one more role, I must give credit to this story which is so full of symbols and so full of meaning. I strongly recommend The Door both for its theme and for its actors. It is perfectly watchable and it will give some food for thought even to those who don't really appreciate science fiction and/ or mystery.

• Drama to Suspense to Spooky...

  TotallyBlunt2010-08-27

  First I want to say that I have a couple of problems with the plot, some points that have got snagged in my mind and made me wonder, "But why didn't the writer...?". This is one of those times when I wish I had read the book (if there was a book) before watching the film to see if those points arise from the story or how the story was translated into film, but that would obviously defeat the purpose and kill the suspense, so I am better off having seen the film first. Let me say, seeing the film from beginning to end, I forgive those snags. I will not repeat what the plot summary says. I just want to add that I liked the light world/dark world division, the secrets the supposedly light world hides and perhaps its reflections unto real world. I like the acting in general, the relatively slow pace of a thriller and how that slowness, without actually pacing up, makes the heart pace up and pulls the watcher into it. It's a make believe that you get lost in. I wonder why there isn't a poster submitted to this web site, why the actors don't have photographs and why there isn't much buzz about the film. I wish the worldwide movie producers made use of a popular web site like this.

• Moving story around time travel. The usually annoying paradoxes do not stand in the way of enjoying it fully

  JvH482011-04-24

  I saw this film as part of the "Imagine" film festival 2011 in Amsterdam. It's about time travel, and the usual unavoidable paradoxes make me cringe on average. Don't ask me, for instance, how and why the main character moves 5 years back in time to arrive exactly a few minutes before the dramatic drowning of his daughter. Of course (?), he arrives just in time to rescue her and to literally start a new life. And then he suddenly meets his five years younger counterpart... Though similar issues could be spotted at will, this time there were so many compensating factors that I completely looked past them. We see normal human beings act in their environment, a well-to-do villa neighborhood, with no technical hocus pocus in sight. Several moving moments in the story will entertain a wide audience. You have to trust me in this, as I cannot tell more without spoiling. When leaving the theater, I gave an "excellent" score for the public prize competition. The average geek who is in constant need of technicalities and gadgets, won't have much fun. But every other "normal" viewer will be satisfied with the casting, the acting, and the setting. Go see it for yourself, and bring your family with you. Don't be afraid that the usual time travel devices will come in the way, since there aren't any.

• A sentimental thriller

  milenniumpoet2010-12-01

  I enjoyed very much this movie as it was a blend between dark and fantasy. The actors fitted the roles and I liked the game between the "old" and "new" characters. What I liked the most was the fact that the movie was not predictable and had a touch of sensibility, which most movies nowadays tend to miss. As an European movie I recommend it without hesitation and the thriller part was blended perfectly with the dark story. As a minor observation I can add that the story could have gone a bit darker without fading away the sensibility of the father- daughter relationship. In this light, I think the movie can be improved, but the written part on which is based I think succeeds as a story. So if you want a quality movie, with an imaginative story and good actors, this is the right movie for you.