Philip Mackenzie This film is an unexpected gem it deals with a young boy who wants to move on from his expected station in life and uses his sporting abilities and Arian looks to try and achieve this. I have never really thought about how the young Germans were trained and educated in their elite schools ended up actually fighting and dying for Germany and it's losing struggle This puts a human face to those young boys who so much was expected of. The need to be the best is hammered into them and if they cannot maintain these standards then they either fall by the wayside or are treated as failures by the system Please watch this film as i do not want to add any spoilers but it is one of the best i have seen for a while and will have you feeling for the characters as boys rather than the machines the establishment want them to become

Atavisten This is a brilliant movies about how kids were given a chance for great fortune in the future German empire, happily without the morality a Hollywood movie would portray the same material with. This is a movie that asks the viewer to think for himself instead of being predisposed. However much this is filmed in a style akin to that of Leni Riefenstahl, master director of nazi-propaganda films, it is a critical movie. And it also shows how people could sympathize for the cause, however brutal it was seen with historical hindsight. The actors of Albrecht and the boxer both do a good job here and the strength of the movie lies in what is cuts out, it's a sparse tale with just the bare necessities left, at least in what we're used to with western cinema.

mads leonard holvik I really liked this movie about a Nazi school for boys/young men.First of all, there is always something intriguing about the uniforms and the hails and the atmosphere of Hitler Germany. There are moments of great emotion, for example the first day of school when the top Nazi gives a speech about how The Thousand Year Reich needs many leaders, not just in Berlin, but in Moscow, Washington and Cape Town. He tells them they need to be strong. They reply by all rising up at the same time and singing a song about heroism and National Socialism. Friedrich, the protagonist, smiles and can barely hold himself while singing. It seems he has come home where he belongs.However, the film unveils how difficult it is for some if ALL are supposed to conform and fit into a mold. There are painful scenes, for example a few involving a cadet who wets himself in bed. He gets punished in the worst way, and it all ends in tragedy. The real irony is how the school board takes advantage of what happens. Very powerful and revealing.The son of the local Governor also has a hard time fitting in. He is artistic, not really into sports and he struggles with the inhuman ideology of Nazism. He and Friedrich tie a strong bond, and it all ends in tragedy. This is also very powerful.I liked the actors and the script. It was very believable.

TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews This is one of the only films I've seen that deals with these schools, until recently a subject that remained taboo. National Political Education Institute is the literal translation of what the title is an acronym of. The lead is portraying a Hitler Jugend("youth"), one of the people indoctrinated as a child. He now enters a NaPolA, and we experience this microcosm of collective punishment and a limited curriculum. This reminded me a lot of Onskan("Evil"). The relationship(which I would not deem to be homosexual in the least, I'm not sure why anybody thinks that it is; well, to each his own) between the two main guys is very convincing, and they have good chemistry. Every acting performance, including those of the kids, is excellent. Many of the characters are credibly written, although the presentation of the Nazi leaders is relatively one-sided. While I don't know if the boxing is authentic(with that said, it may very well be, and there are a ton of accurate details in this), it definitely is a perfect metaphor for the lack of humanity that the Third Reich tried to breed in their soldiers, and it is immensely intense(and other bits are, as well; there is great tension in this), and really puts you in the moment through the filming and editing. In general this is well-produced. The sense of humor is marvelous, and fitting in tone and amount. There is a lot of disturbing content and a little brutal, bloody violence and male nudity in this. I recommend this to anyone who wants to explore this specific area and time period of history. 8/10