A tender coming-of-age tale about the loss of innocence in the waning days of WWII: it is the Spring of 1945 on the German island of Amrum, where 12-year-old Nanning spends his days working the farm and his nights fishing. Despite the hardship, life on the windswept isle seems idyllic. When farmer Tessa (Diane Kruger) mentions to Nanning that the war will soon be over, the boy--too young to understand the political implications--is pleased to imagine that his Nazi officer father might soon be coming home. But word of Germany's imminent defeat sends his mother into decline, and as Nanning looks to his community for support, he learns that the true enemy is far closer than he imagined.

When it comes to the horrors of the 1940s, so rich is the history that we’ll probably never reach the end of fresh approaches to it. “Amrum” is a stirring example of how childhood reminiscence can stand for so much more. -Kyle Smith, Wall Street Journal