1932·Drama·1h 16m
7.1
★
A young French soldier in World War I is overcome with guilt when he kills a German soldier who, like himself, is a musically gifted conscript, each having attended the same musical conservatory in France. The fact that the incident occurred in war does not assuage his guilt. He travels to Germany to meet the man's family.
Directed by Ernst Lubitsch
guilt
german soldier
IMDB
N/A
Cast
Lionel Barrymore
Dr. H. Holderlin
Phillips Holmes
Paul Renard
Nancy Carroll
Fraulein Elsa
Louise Carter
Frau Holderlin
Lucien Littlefield
Herr Walter Schultz
Tom Douglas
Walter Holderlin
Zasu Pitts
Anna, Holderlin's Maid
Frank Sheridan
Priest
Emma Dunn
Frau Miller
George Irving
Townsman (uncredited)
Marjorie Main
Frau Schmidt - Townswoman (uncredited)
Tully Marshall
Gravedigger (uncredited)
Crew
Ernst Lubitsch
Director
Samson Raphaelson
Screenplay
Ernst Lubitsch
Producer
Maurice Rostand
Theatre Play
Popular Reviews
16 reviews
christy
7.0★ · 03/31/26
A rare Lubitsch tear jerker that works very well. It's a little heavy handed with it's messaging but I still enjoyed it.
A rare Lubitsch tear jerker that works very well. It's a little heavy handed with it's messaging but I still enjoyed it.
Jonathan
8.0★ · 03/13/26
"There is no music left"
A French soldier ridden by guilt after he kills a German soldier during World War I travels to meet the family of the man he killed. Broken Lullaby delves headfirst into the mind of a broken man seeking forgiveness though he is forever enthralled by his actions.
The grief and guilt are cemented in the film’s opening. The soldiers who returned. Jesus weeping on the cross as artillery sounds. A grim combination of sound and imagery.
The family of the dead soldier acting almost out of naivety to process their grief and their own guilt in the young man’s death. The empty chair front and center. They grasp at any chance of filling the hole in their hearts.
Broken Lullaby is precise, but almost too short. The slow realization in the French soldier that he’ll never escape what he’s done, only to find that the only way forward is through love and not expanding the grief. He must forget himself.
And then there was music again.
A French soldier ridden by guilt after he kills a German soldier during World War I travels to meet the family of the man he killed. Broken Lullaby delves headfirst into the mind of a broken man seeking forgiveness though he is forever enthralled by his actions.
The grief and guilt are cemented in the film’s opening. The soldiers who returned. Jesus weeping on the cross as artillery sounds. A grim combination of sound and imagery.
The family of the dead soldier acting almost out of naivety to process their grief and their own guilt in the young man’s death. The empty chair front and center. They grasp at any chance of filling the hole in their hearts.
Broken Lullaby is precise, but almost too short. The slow realization in the French soldier that he’ll never escape what he’s done, only to find that the only way forward is through love and not expanding the grief. He must forget himself.
And then there was music again.
"There is no music left"
A French soldier ridden by guilt after he kills a German soldier during World War I travels to meet the family of the man he killed. Broken Lullaby delves headfirst into the mind of a broken man seeking forgiveness though he is forever enthralled by his actions.
The grief and guilt are cemented in the film’s opening. The soldiers who returned. Jesus weeping on the cross as artillery sounds. A grim combination of sound and imagery.
The family of the dead soldier acting almost out of naivety to process their grief and their own guilt in the young man’s death. The empty chair front and center. They grasp at any chance of filling the hole in their hearts.
Broken Lullaby is precise, but almost too short. The slow realization in the French soldier that he’ll never escape what he’s done, only to find that the only way forward is through love and not expanding the grief. He must forget himself.
And then there was music again.
A French soldier ridden by guilt after he kills a German soldier during World War I travels to meet the family of the man he killed. Broken Lullaby delves headfirst into the mind of a broken man seeking forgiveness though he is forever enthralled by his actions.
The grief and guilt are cemented in the film’s opening. The soldiers who returned. Jesus weeping on the cross as artillery sounds. A grim combination of sound and imagery.
The family of the dead soldier acting almost out of naivety to process their grief and their own guilt in the young man’s death. The empty chair front and center. They grasp at any chance of filling the hole in their hearts.
Broken Lullaby is precise, but almost too short. The slow realization in the French soldier that he’ll never escape what he’s done, only to find that the only way forward is through love and not expanding the grief. He must forget himself.
And then there was music again.
adri
8.0★ · 02/19/26
“My whole life was devoted to music. I wanted to bring beauty to this world. And I brought murder. There's no music left. Nothing in my ears but the sound of a dying man”
“My whole life was devoted to music. I wanted to bring beauty to this world. And I brought murder. There's no music left. Nothing in my ears but the sound of a dying man”
Robert BendalaPRO
10.0★ · 11/18/25
Teaaaa
Teaaaa
charlie
9.3★ · 05/21/25
watching the birth of cinema explode into a million pieces right before my eyes
watching the birth of cinema explode into a million pieces right before my eyes