Never Look Away

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Never Look Away

R

2018

3h 9m

History

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

77%

Tomatometer

140 Reviews

87%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

When two German art students fall in love, the girl's father, who has a devastating secret, vows to end their relationship.

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Critics Consensus

Never Look Away fills its protracted running time with the absorbing story of an incredible life -- and its impact on the singular artist who lived it.

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Matthew Thrift

Little White Lies

Jul 9, 2019

1/5

"Never look away," we're told for the umpteenth time. But with von Donnersmarck serving as a dubious Virgil through the circles of 20th century history, you're better off just looking elsewhere.

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Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

Jul 8, 2019

2/5

Another misstep, this time considerably less forgivable.

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

Jul 5, 2019

2/5

Never Look Away is not without ambition and reach, and there is a real storytelling impulse. But the central performance of Schilling looks shruggingly uncertain.

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Juan José Beteta

Cinencuentro

Jul 17, 2023

A film that has an effective story that unravels in different formal and narrative layers. [Full review in Spanish]

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Tom O'Brien

Next Best Picture

Jun 14, 2022

7/10

Watching "Never Look Away" is like settling in with a lengthy novel that, despite meandering now and then, turns out to be a very satisfying read. Or in this case, a very satisfying film.

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Lonita Cook

KCTV5 News at 9

Oct 1, 2021

You feel compelled to stay with [the character] for the whole three hours.

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Raquel R

@RaquelRocal Mar 26, 2026

Absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful

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Madam D

@Madam1948 Aug 3, 2025

Despite being quite long and the main villian not being punished this is a terrific film. The artistic characters are based on actual people. It's dramatic tension rarely stops throughout the movie.

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Alec B

@Alec97 May 17, 2025

There's so much here to like. The direct comparison between the"degenerate art" exhibition to the totalitarian enforcement of "socialist realism", the ways that certain people will always succeed no matter what horrible government is in charge, the utter nonsense and yet total freedom of modern art, and the ways that artists develop their style and persona.

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Cosette M

@RT31305681 Nov 28, 2024

Oh it's so good guys, I highly recommend.

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Farouk B

@RT82722728 Nov 21, 2024

i can't tell you how beautiful is this movie.

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Rosie A

@RT17800858 Apr 21, 2024

I really loved this film. You go on a journey with the artist. And the sequence in which he finally finds his voice, and paints the paintings which unlock his past and his future, is just so moving and compelling. I was very moved by the actors. And a great score by Max Richter. Even if it does play fast and loose with Gerhard Richter's biography, it is still a very powerful portrait of an artist's journey to creation.

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Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Director

Tom Schilling

Kurt Barnert

Sebastian Koch

Professor Carl Seeband

Paula Beer

Ellie Seeband

Saskia Rosendahl

Elisabeth May

Oliver Masucci

Professor Antonius van Verten

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Synopsis

When two German art students fall in love, the girl's father, who has a devastating secret, vows to end their relationship.

Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Producer: Jan Mojto, Quirin Berg
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co: Pergamon Film, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Beta Cinema, ARD Degeto Film
Rating: R (Graphic Nudity|Brief Violent Images|Sexuality)
Genre: History, Drama
Original Language: German
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 30, 2018, Limited
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Jan 25, 2019
Release Date (Streaming): May 14, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.3M
Runtime: 3h 9m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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