Because of that stupid racism, everything will look bad. This romantic and dramatic story begins when 15-year-old Lina, with a white German mother and a black father, lived in fear because of her skin color, where she was hurt everywhere in Germany. One day, Lena's life changes when Lutz, the son of a senior SS officer and member of Hitler's youth, meets all Aryan boys since 1936. It's the story that turned everything upside down, both falling into a big love story that made everything completely different from their lives in a country that contained more racism.
Where Hands Touch is a waste of solid acting by Amandla Stenberg, and time for its viewers. Asante's attempt to make Nazi characters appear sympathetic is a perfect example of not reading the room, especially in this contentious time in our country.
Asante focuses our attention on yet another story of the Black experience and she accomplishes what she sets out to do. Where Hands Touch is an important and beautiful film.
Stenberg carries the magnetism she brought to her breakthrough role in the YA romance "Everything, Everything," but she's betrayed by a stilted rendering of a rarely illuminated piece of history.
Where Hands Touch is unfortunately as problematic as we assumed; the questions it raises about national vs. cultural identity didn't need a Nazi romance to be resonant.
When the complex, humanizing portrayal of Nazi characters and SS soldiers enter the picture, good intentions do derail fast, leading to disturbing outcomes.
Where Hands Touch is a coming of age story, a saga of war, and a heart-rending love story about a forbidden romance that defied the odds against survival in a living hell.
