SimonJack As a late movie about World War II, "Shining Through" has the intrigue and action of a good mystery. It's an espionage film based on a fiction novel by Susan Isaacs. But the plot of this film is so incongruous that it's hard to believe to begin with. That's often okay with fiction, except that in this case the viewer can't shake the sense that the story is preposterous. The acting is okay, but there just is way too much in this movie to give it any sense of plausibility. After all, most of us watching a film of this nature like to think that it really happened or could have happened. With no special qualities in it, "Shining Through" is just a so-so film. Hollywood tried to sell this one with a considerable cast of three big male names – Michael Douglas, Liam Neeson, and John Gielgud, but such a cast could only raise a ponderous, disjointed, confusing plot to six stars. This movie is supposed to be a romance as well, however strange. That defies all the traditions and we can see why those make sense. As with so many modern films made about WW II, the settings and scenes seem phony and staged. This film has much glitz and glamour, and lots of action, but little coherence and substance.

dickklip This is a tale of war, love and espionage. Set in the present (1992, when it was made) but focused on the past (WWII) . Melanie Griffith plays an Irish/Jewish 1st generation immigrant, with relatives still in Germany, who takes a job as a secretary for a mysterious government worker (Michael Douglas). What ensues despite it's "goofs" and "plot holes" is a good thriller, whose intensity builds as it goes, with a definite film noir, and 40's melodrama feel to it. It also has a "Hitchcock" feel to it during the last hour. If you can suspend your disbelief on the flaws and overlook Melanie Griffith's horrible acting and sing song, unemotional, child-like voice. (any other dramatic female star of the time would have been better),this is still a good movie. Not great, but good enough to watch and enjoy.

JohnLeeT Melanie Griffith gives the performance of a lifetime in this majestic film, putting to bed the idea that "they don't make them like they used to." While technologically superior, Shining Through is similar to the motion pictures they made in the 1930's, with style, lavishness, and true star power. The tension is overwhelming throughout but it is the closing scenes that will have you on the edge of your seat. However, the characterizations are superb and as the thrills build one upon the other until that shattering climax, you feel you know all these people intimately and have a stake in their ultimate fate. The director does a magnificent job, working from a script that ranks with one of the greatest ever adaptations produced in Hollywood. The epic scope, realism, and stunning chemistry between Michael Douglas and the lovely Melanie Griffith lights up the screen. In fact, this is Hollywood at its finest, with the creative artists doing outstanding work, cinematography that is blinding in its beauty, and the overall recreation of time and place leaving one with a true sense of historical truth. Certainly an artistic triumph, the thrilling set piece scenes are incorporated with the drama perfectly and the romance is an integral part of the story. The gravitas of the era, when Nazi evil challenged the very foundations of Western Civilization, is treated with respect and reflects the courageous actions of those who opposed that evil in a way that makes this motion picture a fitting tribute to all who risked their lives to preserve human decency and civilization from the bloody clutches of the Reich's monstrous savagery. This a story that demanded to be told and the framing device of the veteran spies on a television talk show is emotionally overwhelming and deeply moving. A truly magnificent motion picture, intimately powerful and yet tremendous in historical scope, it will leave you breathless.

annabelle0524 This film, though it contains some plot holes and is not realistic per se, is an old favorite of mine and my family's. If Shining Through happens to be on TV, we will watch it. The compassions of the main characters, Linda, Ed, Dietrich, Margherite, really come across the screen, allowing you to fall in love with them. I think the best part of the film, however, is the music--with every swell of the strings, I fall back in love with the characters and the film. There are few films where the music becomes another character of the film, but Shining Through is one of them. (The Last of the Mohicans and Memoirs of a Geisha are some other films where the music is so wonderful.) The final scenes of betrayal and undying love are ones that will never leave you, and the music will haunt you with its love story. Again, this film is a wonderful film for rainy afternoons if you can move beyond the plot holes to get to the wonderful romance and compassion of the characters.