John Hurt

Jane Alexander

Beau Bridges

Glynnis O'Connor

Klaus Löwitsch

Sky du Mont

Günter Meisner

Doug McKeon

Kay Walsh

Ian Bannen

Jan Niklas

Carola Höhn

John McGreevey

Delbert Mann

Jerry Goldsmith

Ron Miller

Adventure

Drama

Action

Night Crossing

Walt Disney Productions

Bavaria Film

Germany

United Kingdom

Good, could've been made a bit more subtly though.

<em>'Night Crossing'</em>, which portrays the true story of a hot air balloon escape from East Germany, is an interesting and well acted production. However, it doesn't do anything to throw you off the scent.

Predictability isn't always a negative, but it is one for this film in my opinion. Whether it be through knowledge of the event, reading the opening credits (where they acknowledge the families) or just general direction of the story - it's easy to see where it's going, as such the pacing is very slow; at least across the first and middle acts.

With that noted, things do end brightly thanks to the feel-good nature of the finale and the satisfactory cast. John Hurt (Peter) is the best of the bunch, while the few around him add to proceedings well. Günter Meisner, Mr. Slugworth himself, also makes an appearance. On the cast, it is kinda odd that some characters have British accents and some have German - you'd think the filmmakers would've picked one or the other.

I don't have any recollection of knowing about this true event before watching this, which is a surprise given I know about other stories regarding this topic. Either way, it's a solid film.

English