Tunnel, Der 2001

Tom Keogh, Seattle Times: Richter makes wonderful if obvious use of the wall and the tunnel as built-in metaphors for our struggle for human connection and dread of helplessness and change. Read more

Jonathan Curiel, San Francisco Chronicle: Based on a true story from the late 1950s, this thrilling drama looks at the extraordinary lengths taken by a group of West Berliners to dig a tunnel under the city's barbed-wire border with East Berlin. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: It's a gripping great-escape yarn of the sort we don't see much anymore. Read more

Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times: It is the kind of superbly crafted, intelligent entertainment -- a classic suspense thriller -- that nowadays is as welcome as it is rare. Read more

Michael Booth, Denver Post: A true story few people will know, and it's told with a warm, crafty efficiency that makes for wonderful entertainment. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: It's all a bit reminiscent of Wolfgang Petersen's Das Boot -- different war, but a similar stylistic economy and claustrophobic mood. Read more

Ella Taylor, L.A. Weekly: Richter gives a raw, frank but sophisticated account of the excruciating logistics of this great escape, and the appalling, inspiring blend of betrayal and courage that attended the group's herculean efforts. Read more

Marta Barber, Miami Herald: There are few moments when you're not totally absorbed by the film. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: Richter's brisk direction keeps us riveted through the suspenseful finish of his vivid history lesson. Read more

Laura Kern, New York Times: Roland Suso Richter's darkly atmospheric film recounts the effort of a group of people to dig a tunnel under the Berlin Wall. Read more

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Read more

Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star: If it weren't for subtitles, Roland Suso Richter's The Tunnel would be indistinguishable from a polished made-for-TV timewaster from anywhere in the world such things are produced. Read more

Time Out: Read more

Derek Elley, Variety: Read more

Matt Singer, Village Voice: It's distressing to learn how much German television looks like a Jerry Bruckheimer movie. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: It's so well told that you'll be biting your nails until the film's final few minutes. Read more

Stephen Hunter, Washington Post: Either as history at its most inspiring or moviemaking at its most exciting, The Tunnel is a trip. Read more