TRUTH & TREASON
Superb filmmaking about real courage, undone by false theology.
Should You See It?
This is a well-made film about real courage. A German teenager risks his life to expose Hitler's regime, and the performances carrying that story are superb — especially in the scenes where the hero wrestles with whether to keep telling the truth or run from the danger it invites. On craft alone, this is four-star work.
But the movie's foundation is a problem, not a footnote. Its hero and his friends are Mormons, and the film doesn't just show that fact — it teaches Mormon doctrine as though it were biblical Christianity, from an Article of Faith recited in church to a hymn to language lifted from the Book of Mormon. That's mixed with real violence, including torture, in a PG-13 package.
Good filmmaking in service of false theology is still false theology. Skip this one.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESGermany, 1941. A sixteen-year-old aspiring writer named Helmuth Hubener starts secretly tuning in to forbidden foreign radio broadcasts — including the BBC — inside the belly of the Third Reich. What he hears fuels a quiet fury, and he begins writing anonymous leaflets exposing the evils of Hitler's government to his countrymen. The Gestapo wants to know who's behind them. Can a teenager survive on truth alone?
Is It Any Good?
Four stars means this film works on nearly every level of craft. The performances are the standout — the source singles out the lead's portrayal of Helmuth's inner struggle between pursuing the truth and fleeing from evil as especially strong. The film is described as succeeding "on a dramatic, technical and moral level," suggesting a tightly built, well-directed historical drama rather than a thin one. ``
The Worldview
This film genuinely honors moral courage. A teenager risks — and ultimately loses — everything to tell the truth about a murderous regime. He and his friends pray to God, quote the Bible, and speak of Jesus in terms that sound, at moments, like real conviction. One character calls Jesus a revolutionary who spoke the truth and prays, "May we be filled with grace and truth. When the moment comes for us to stand up, may we stand."
But the film's spiritual frame is Mormon, not biblical, and it doesn't stay in the background. A Mormon congregation recites the Twelfth Article of Faith — used in the story to justify excluding a member because he's Jewish — sings the Mormon hymn "Do What Is Right," and has its hero speak in Book of Mormon terms about seeing loved ones again "in a better world." A film can portray real people's real faith; this one goes further, presenting Mormon doctrine as though it were simply Christian teaching. That's the line Movieguide draws, and it's the reason a four-star film still earns the most cautionary rating on the scale.
The film's real ache — a young man who would rather die than stop telling the truth — echoes something true: "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32). But the truth that frees is found in Christ as Scripture reveals Him, not in the theology this film quietly teaches alongside Him.
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
<span data-contrast="auto">(PaPa, BB, CC, ACACAC, FRFRFR, VV, N, D, MM): </span><b><span data-contrast="auto">
</span></b><span data-contrast="auto"> Strong mixed pagan worldview with strong</span> <span data-contrast="auto">moral elements where a 16-year-old boy and his friends fight Hitler’s National Socialist tyranny in Germany during World War II, the teenage hero distributes a series of letters exposing the evils of Nazi Germany to his countrymen, the protagonist and his friends pray to God and quote the Bible multiple times, the heroes avoid escaping Germany in order to tell the truth, a writer keeps his cool during a brutal interrogation by the Germans, the hero accepts his fate of getting executed for treason, the heroes positively mention Jesus, but the positive content is mixed with lots of false Mormon theology (there’s a reference to the 12th Article of Faith in Mormonism during a Mormon church service, which states, “We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law,” the article is used to justify excluding a Mormon Church member because he’s Jewish, the Mormon congregation sings the Mormon hymn, “Do What is Right,” and many of the characters speak in Mormon theological terms including the main character saying, “We will see each other again in a better world,” which is terminology referenced in the Book of Mormon;</span><b><span data-contrast="auto">
</span></b><span data-contrast="auto"> No foul language; </span><b><span data-contrast="auto">
</span></b><span data-contrast="auto">Strong violence throughout, the heroes get physically beaten up by German officers and citizens, a man is flogged by an officer and receives bloody marks on his back, the hero has a dream of his countrymen getting bombed by European planes, the hero gets a knife shoved into his hand during an interrogation, the hero gets chased by an officer through the city, characters mention the Nazi concentration camps for Jews, and a character is executed by guillotine; </span><b><span data-contrast="auto">
</span></b><span data-contrast="auto">No sex scenes or sexual immorality, but a major subplot involves the hero going on a date with a female German writer, and the side characters comment on the hero’s inability to get a date; </span><b><span data-contrast="auto">
</span></b><span data-contrast="auto">Upper male nudity in two scenes when men wear no shirts; </span><b><span data-contrast="auto">
</span></b><span data-contrast="auto"> No alcohol use; </span><b><span data-contrast="auto">
</span></b><span data-contrast="auto"> Three scenes of German officers lighting cigars but no drugs; and, </span><b><span data-contrast="auto">
</span></b><span data-contrast="auto">The German government spies on its citizens to find Helmuth’s true identity, some Mormon Church officials betray Christ’s teachings and side with the Nazi Party, a landlord snitches on the heroes for their contraband radio device, and the hero witnesses a friend get taken away by Nazi officers.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"134245417":true,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}"> </span> <span data-ccp-props="{"134245417":true,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}"> </span>
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Helmuth risks everything to expose evil rather than stay silent or flee. What does Scripture say about the cost — and the call — of speaking truth to power?
Ephesians 5:11 · Proverbs 31:8–9The film shows church officials using a rule about obeying authority to exclude a member because he's Jewish. How do we tell the difference between rightly honoring authority and twisting it to justify wrong?
Acts 5:29 · Romans 13:1–7This story presents Mormon teaching as though it were the same as biblical Christianity. Why does it matter to know clearly what the Bible actually teaches about who Jesus is?
John 1:1–14 · 2 Corinthians 11:3–4Jesus said the truth would set us free. What's the difference between courage for a cause and freedom found in Christ Himself?
John 8:31–32, 36The Final Word
This is a beautifully acted film about a teenager brave enough to tell the truth to a murderous regime — and that makes it all the more disappointing that the truth it ultimately teaches isn't the truth of Scripture. Craft this strong deserves a foundation that doesn't need footnotes. Our answer stands: skip it. For a family movie night that won't require an asterisk, start with our latest family-friendly picks.
