Escape from Germany (2024)

Every close call in Escape from Germany gets framed as a quiet miracle, and while that fits the faith at its heart, it lets the air out of a story that should leave you breathless. It’s August 1939, and Elder Norman Seibold (Paul Wuthrich), a young Latter-day Saint missionary in Stuttgart, gets struck by a Gestapo officer for refusing to salute. Then church leaders in Frankfurt order every American missionary out of Germany before the borders shut, and Seibold is handed the job of tracking down elders scattered across the west of the country. The film is at its best when it’s just him, a ticking clock and a railway guard at Emmerich he has to face down. T. C. Christensen keeps it gentle, with no battlefield violence, which families will appreciate. The dialogue is stiff and every lesson gets underlined twice. It made $2.62 million domestically on a reported $1M. A 5.2 because the true history grips even when the script spells everything out. $43.12 says you never grumble about a late train quite the same way again.

What works: The real evacuation is gripping on its own, and Seibold’s scramble across the country against closing borders gives the film genuine urgency.

What doesn’t: The dialogue is stiff, and the script keeps turning plot points into lessons, so lucky breaks land as messages instead of suspense.

Who it’s for: Families and church groups looking for a clean, faith-centered World War II story they can watch together.