Bonhoeffer Movie 2024 Explores Another Angle Of A Hitler Assassination Attempt

While watching the Bonhoeffer movie 2024 the thing that stuck me was the hope that no matter what happens in our own uncertain future, warring nations will always remember that in every country, there are always a few good people who do not endorse the deeds of the deep state.

Mary Bowen

December 18, 2024

If given the chance, I would watch any wholesome movie that comes out for the first time in the theater. Last week I had the opportunity to go out with my brothers to watch Angel Studio’s new release, Bonhoeffer movie 2024. While we had a great time eating pop corn and hot tamales, we decided that hands down Valkyrie is the best movie surrounding the assassination of Adolf Hitler.

Angel Studio’s 2024 Thanksgiving release, Bonhoeffer movie 2024 was directed by the talent behind Elf and Sully, Todd Komarnicki. German actor Jonas Dassler played the lead bringing to the film a remarkable screen presence and the easiest to understand accent.

The film’s plot followed the hard decisions that had to be faced by all men of good will during a bloody few decades in Europe. These decisions are especially hard for the Lutheran pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer. After a lifetime of preaching peace he finally comes to grips that Hitler is a force that must be stopped.

Bonhoeffer Movie 2024: There Are Always A Few Good People Who Do Not Endorse The Deeds Of The Deep State

The film mostly stays on German soil but also takes the main character to America and England. The beginning of the film establishes a semi peaceful Germany in the months leading up to the First World War. The film covers the troubling time that followed with the rise of Nazi power and ends in a defeated Germany and the close of World War II in 1945. 

The film could be considered a political historical drama. Due to a subplot surrounding the Lutheran Church it could also be considered a religious film.

The thing that stuck me while I was watching the Bonhoeffer movie 2024 in the theater was the hope that no matter what happens in our own uncertain future, the warring nations will always remember that in every country, there are always a few good people who do not endorse the deeds of the deep state.

By the time that the credits rolled, I realized that that was NOT the intended theme of the film. The main reason for creating this film in the eye of the director was to remind the audience how we are a racist and anti-semitic people and that is a vice that we need to curb. I personally could not relate with this theme because I have never seen these sentiments first hand. 

From Lutheran Minister To Convicted Spy

The film follows the title’s namesake, Dietrich Bonhoeffer. After experiencing faith and religion in a completely new and fresh light among the Southern Baptists in Alabama, the seminarian (I guess) returns home to a troubled Germany and a family that is very concerned with the rise of Nazism and the new dictator Hitler. Dietrich believes these things are temporary and will pass away with time. But then he realizes that Hitler has declared himself god and that churches must be stripped of all reference to the “old faith” (Lutheranism).

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Not only has this horror unraveled, but the Lutheran clergy has accepted this new religion and has condemned any congregation member who asks questions. Soon, the pews fill with less faithful and more Nazi soldiers. Bonhoeffer takes it upon himself to be the only voice willing to denounce the regime inspiring his fellow clergymen to do the same. Soon he is chosen to operate as a spy by traveling to America and England to let those nations know that there are some Germans who do not sanction the actions of Hitler. When all his efforts seem futile as no aid will come, Dietrich is invited to help his country in a new way, one involving the murder of the dictator. 

Bonhoeffer Is Uniquely Told Through Flashbacks

The story is told in flashbacks as Dietrich writes his final memoirs from a prison. This can be clever or distracting.

The first Bonhoeffer movie 2024 flashback takes place in 1914 as a young Dietrich plays hide and seek with his older brother who later will give the ultimate sacrifice in World War I. A plot point of strawberries having the ability to make one invisible is established, forgotten then tied back in the final moments of the film. My brothers were talking about the magical qualities of strawberries for days after watching the movie so there was something about that story element that is enduring.

READ: The Inside Story Of How The Communists Destroyed Our Schools From The Inside-Out Is Presented In Bella V. Dodd's The School Of Darkness

Bonhoeffer wakes from his daze in a company of prisoners who are being moved by the frightened and defeated remaining Nazi solders. 1945 is what could be called current time and the film will jump back to the 1930s when Dietrich experiences Jesus like never before in America among the Southern Baptist Blacks. Jump to 1945 then back to the 30’s when Dietrich tries to bring the Baptist experience to his fellow countrymen but is distracted in these efforts by joining his family in consenting to help assassinate the fuehrer. Then back to present time as the hero is led to his execution.

What I Enjoyed About Bonhoeffer Movie 2024 And What I Could Not Stand

There were a few things that I certainly liked about the film. One was the stress of how tight-knit the entire Bonhoeffer family was. The loss of the big brother seemed strange to throw in at the very beginning but later you can see how his absence was truly missed. The mom and the dad were not important characters but they each had one of those punchy lines that stick with you demonstrating their faith and strength during a trying time.

I highly appreciate a film that has zero discomforts as far as romance and language goes. Totally stress-free in this area.

Another thing that I enjoyed was that the entire film was in English and there was no need to read subtitles. When it's half English and half the native language I find viewing a little hard. 

A favorite moment for me was when Bonhoeffer was introduced to Jazz for the first time.

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Something that I did not totally like about this film was the strong Protestant slant. During the first half of the film I found me telling myself, “It’s ok, they can have their heroes, we can have ours. Ours are cooler but that is their loss.” There was nothing blasphemous said or preached but rather the existence of the Catholic Church was completely ignored. I know that Germany is a strong Lutheran country, England a strong Anglican country and America is a Protestant nation if it claims to be anything Christian. Therefore of course, the Catholic Church will not have a strong place in the film. But to act as though only America and England were concerned about how the Jewish people were treated during the Nazi occupation is not fair.

This brings me to another small thing that bothered me about the film which was that is seemed that the only crime of Hitler’s was the way he inhumanely treated the Jewish people. While I’m sure that many Jewish lives were innocently destroyed during this time, countless Catholic’s lives were not spared either. 

Looking back on the Bonhoeffer movie 2024, it seems that it lacked a little bit of originality. I mean that there were parts that felt like The Great Escape and other parts that felt like Valkyrie. Because of these well known stories, some parts were predictable. Also this film has a run time well over 2 hours and toward the end I felt like the pace needed to be picked up. 

Other than that, it was an honorable tribute to a little-known God fearing man who faced a hard decision about how he could best serve his sad country and he gave all that he had in the effort.

Photo Credit: movieguide.org and churchleaders.com

Mary Beth Bowen is a movie director and entrepreneur. Since 2018, she has distributed four movies through her online platform an Industrious Family Films where she also contributes to the #ReclaimChristianArtBlog. Her 5th film is currently in pre-production. Some of her passions include history, classical literature, and modest fashion: topics she usually writes about to share her great love for these things.