Rotten Tomatoes

Movies / TV

    Celebrity

      No Results Found

       View All       Movies Tv shows Shop News Showtimes

      The Promise

      R Released Sep 8, 1995 1h 55m Drama Romance List
      71% Tomatometer 7 Reviews 75% Audience Score 250+ Ratings In 1961, shortly after the Berlin Wall is built, young lovers Konrad (August Zirner) and Sophie (Meret Becker) attempt to flee East Germany for West, but only Sophie manages to escape. Now separated by political boundaries, the two spend the next three decades trying to reconnect, even as he becomes an astrophysicist and she a member of the fashion industry. They do arrange an encounter in Prague, where Sophie becomes pregnant, but fear of punishment surrounds them, despite their love. Read More Read Less

      Where to Watch

      The Promise

      Prime Video

      Rent The Promise on Prime Video, or buy it on Prime Video.

      Critics Reviews

      View All (7) Critics Reviews
      James Berardinelli ReelViews Director Margarethe von Trotta effortlessly weaves history and personal events into a tapestry full of emotion and irony. Rated: 3.5/4 Feb 13, 2001 Full Review Dave White Movies.com Rated: 1.5/5 Apr 4, 2011 Full Review Michael Szymanski Zap2it.com Rated: 3/5 Jun 1, 2005 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews It becomes too fuzzy when it tries to explain in 115 minutes the history of modern Germany. Rated: C+ Mar 25, 2004 Full Review Leonard Klady Movie City News Rated: 3/5 Jul 18, 2003 Full Review Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat Spirituality & Practice Shattering film about loss. Aug 28, 2002 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

      View All (10) audience reviews
      Audience Member (** 1/2): Thumbs Down It starts out well enough, but I was left bored through most of the middle part of it. The cast is fine and story was interesting, it just seemed like the film should have been edited down more. A near-miss. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Audience Member To be fair I don't remember this movie very well. I do remember it dragging on though and while the acting is actually quite good I just never really got a sense of the loss the principal characters are supposed to feel. A good but somewhat wasted effort. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member This is a decent film set against the time Germany was divided by the Wall, but the romance part of the story was just a little bit too overly sentimental for my tastes. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Audience Member I was a bit disappointed by some of the parts left out of the plot (where did the French husband go again?), and the ending. Also, I felt that the actual Mauerfall, which is one of my favorite moments of German history, was not portrayed as well as in other films. I think one reason for this was the relative short timespan between the fall of the wall and the time it came out. For this reason, most Germans don't even know of the film. In fact, it's not even on the German Wikipedia, I'm writing a site for it right now. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Audience Member When I first saw it, I was so frustrated by the ending that I overlooked all the movie's really good points. But the more I think about it, the more I like it. It's definitely one of those movies that grows on you. I recommend it. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Audience Member bo-ring... horrible movie. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

      Cast & Crew

      Show Less Cast & Crew Show More Cast & Crew

      More Like This

      View All Best Movies to Stream at Home
      63% 81% The Horseman on the Roof 86% 83% The English Patient 69% 82% Twin Sisters 39% 67% M. Butterfly 64% 88% The Princess and the Warrior Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

      Movie News & Guides

      View All Movie News & Guides

      This movie is featured in the following articles.

      TORONTO: Zhang Ziyi, Yuen Woo-Ping’s Latest "Banquet" Not Very Fulfilling

      Photos

      View All The Promise photos

      The Promise

      The Promise (1994) The Promise (1994) The Promise (1994) The Promise (1994) View more photos

      Movie Info

      Synopsis In 1961, shortly after the Berlin Wall is built, young lovers Konrad (August Zirner) and Sophie (Meret Becker) attempt to flee East Germany for West, but only Sophie manages to escape. Now separated by political boundaries, the two spend the next three decades trying to reconnect, even as he becomes an astrophysicist and she a member of the fashion industry. They do arrange an encounter in Prague, where Sophie becomes pregnant, but fear of punishment surrounds them, despite their love.
      Director
      Margarethe von Trotta
      Screenwriter
      Peter Schneider, Margarethe von Trotta, Felice Laudadio
      Distributor
      Fine Line Features
      Rating
      R
      Genre
      Drama, Romance
      Original Language
      German
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Sep 8, 1995, Original
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Mar 27, 2016
      Box Office (Gross USA)
      $72.1K
      Runtime
      1h 55m
      Sound Mix
      Stereo, Surround
      Most Popular at Home Now