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The Tower

Play trailer Poster for The Tower Released Nov 7, 2014 2h 0m History Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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17% Tomatometer 6 Reviews Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
In Communist East Germany, a surgeon (Jan Josef Liefers), his family and a community of privileged intellectuals go about their daily lives behind the Berlin Wall.

Critics Reviews

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Stephen Holden New York Times In its stunted theatrical version, the second half is a sketchy digest of events that leaves you feeling cheated. Nov 6, 2014 Full Review Wes Greene Slant Magazine As the psychology of the characters hardly connects with their distinctive milieu, the film merely suggests a conventional family drama littered with empty pot-shots at governmental authority. Rated: 2/4 Nov 3, 2014 Full Review Oktay Ege Kozak The Playlist "The Tower" is a middle-of-the road kind of dramatic experience. It does a good job depicting the day-to-day struggles of life in The GDP while falling victim to obvious tricks of melodrama and a muddled execution. Rated: C Dec 4, 2014 Full Review Andy Crump Movie Mezzanine The Tower engages with its literary and historical bases without saying much about them. Rated: C Nov 14, 2014 Full Review Louis Proyect rec.arts.movies.reviews More interesting for its insights into East German society than as film art. Worth it for those trying to make sense of an end to the "End of History" nonsense defended by Francis Fukuyama. Nov 8, 2014 Full Review Doris Toumarkine Film Journal International The Tower offers solid performances and stories that hold interest, but its look is more that of TV movie than atmospheric evocation of a dreary historic period. Nov 6, 2014 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Alain E It provides an inside view of the dissolution of GDR. Of limited interest to the average American. If, on the other hand, you ever crossed in the good old days the Berin Wall at Checkpoint Charlie and you had to empty your pockets so the heavily armed guards could verify that you were not carrying any form of printed matter that would corrupt the comrades inside, it is of interest. There are a couple of substories involving personal relationships, some less successful than others. Overall, it is a decaying society far from enabling happiness. The irony is that about thirty years after the events dramatized in the movie, the population of the former East Germany embraced the Neonazis. From Karl Marx to Adolf Hitler in the span of a generation! Rated 3 out of 5 stars 04/19/25 Full Review Read all reviews
The Tower

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Cast & Crew

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Christian Schwochow

Director

Jan Josef Liefers

Richard Hoffmann

Sebastian Urzendowsky

Christian Hoffmann

Claudia Michelsen

Anne Hoffmann

Nadja Uhl

Josta Fischer

Lea Ruckpaul

Verena

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The Tower

The Tower (2012) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis In Communist East Germany, a surgeon (Jan Josef Liefers), his family and a community of privileged intellectuals go about their daily lives behind the Berlin Wall.
Director
Christian Schwochow
Screenwriter
Thomas Kirchner
Distributor
Music Box Films
Genre
History, Drama
Original Language
German
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 7, 2014, Limited
Runtime
2h 0m