Danny Patrick’s Aryan Papers criticised as poor low‑budget World War II drama

The Guardian’s review of Danny Patrick’s World War II drama Aryan Papers describes the ultra‑low‑budget film as a broadly unsuccessful effort.

The review emphasises that this film should not be confused with the better‑known, unrealised Stanley Kubrick project of the same name — based on Louis Begley’s Wartime Lies — which Kubrick reportedly abandoned, and which Luca Guadagnino is now rumoured to be trying to revive. Patrick’s film takes its title from the Nazi Ariernachweis and, the reviewer says, suffers from an inept script, fractured editing, non‑period locations (including a modern plastic wheelie bin visible in several shots) and consistently poor, under‑rehearsed performances.

Set mostly near Stuttgart in 1942 and centred on a Lebensborn facility, the plot follows Gisella (Celia Learmonth) as she attempts to smuggle two young Jewish people, Benjamin (Jacob Ogle) and Judith (Niamh Ogle), to safety, while a villainous Helga (mostly Leona Clarke, with Cara Chase in a present‑day framing device) obstructs her. The review notes a degree of sincerity from the cast and crew but concludes the film’s failings make it, in the reviewer’s words, an insult to the victims of the Holocaust and likely to be quickly forgotten.

Key Topics

Culture, Danny Patrick, Aryan Papers, Lebensborn, Stuttgart, Stanley Kubrick