Visually striking, but too superficial to support its weighty themes, Max Färberböck's feature debut is based on the real-life story of Lilly Wust (Köhler), a Nazi housewife who, in 1940s Berlin, fell in love with Felice Schragenheim (Schrader), a Jewish lesbian journalist.
Both are attractive, enervating characters, but while Felice is presented as both sensitive seducer and thrill-seeking saboteur, Lilly remains a self-centred hedonist who places her own sexual satisfaction before her partner's safety. Moreover, it's occasionally difficult to appreciate the risks the couple took, as Färberböck has been so careful to downplay the wartime clichés that he undersells the Gestapo presence that pervaded daily life. Yet, with a solid support cast, this is always an engaging and moving drama.