Harockerce What a beautiful movie!

Cem Lamb This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Fulke Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de) There may be many pretty good German films about the life in East Germany before the Fall of the Berlin Wall (mostly of course the Oscar-winning "Das Leben der Anderen"), but there are at least as many forgettable films on the subject too. This one here that runs for slightly over 90 minutes with credits and shows us what life was like in the official army of the GDR, but definitely in a comedic approach. If you know writer and director Leander Haußmann, then you will know that he usually gives his movies a comedic approach while telling the audience some facts and snippets in terms of history and life back then. And this is also exactly what he does here. But it is not a successful approach really. I never really cared for any of the characters and honestly, in terms of historic knowledge, the film has almost nothing to offer unfortunately.But it is not all Haußmann's fault. The biggest problem actually may be lead actor Kim Frank here. There is obviously a reason why he has not acted before of after this film. He was a really successful musician back then with his band "Echt" and some considered him a bit of a young Campino. But acting is definitely not his strength. His approach to the role felt completely lackluster and his line delivery was monotonous enough to talk you into sleep. It always sucks if people get cast because they are famous in other areas, but then have absolutely nothing to offer in terms of range or making his character work. The supporting cast is certainly better without delivering any greatness either. Buck was fun to watch at times though. Not enough, however, to make up for the weaknesses in storytelling and Frank's performance here. I do not recommend the watch.

dominik96 I've expected a comedy about the NVA, but this is a parody. It shows the national army of Eastern Germany in a light that is not appropriate, and definitely not true.One can make a comedy about everything, as long as the underlying facts are not changed. Even a comedy about the German KZ is possible, as Roberto Benigni with "LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL" has shown.The movie NVA would be an "OK" comedy, because the jokes in it are overall OK. Nothing special - not hilarious, but enough to live with it.The point is, that the movie makes a farce and a parody about the NVA. A death machine that was ready to attack WESTERN EUROPE along with it's friend the RED ARMY. An institution that used everything to get the utmost from it's soldiers. An army that marched into the CSPR in 1968, and was ready to march also in POLAND to destroy the SOLIDARNOSC. You can't make a movie without showing the tiniest bit of evil, or would you make a parody about a KZ,Guantanamo or 9/11??? Showing Osama bin Laden as a funny screwed guy? 90 minutes about a funny Osama in a Afghan Taliban camp, where he makes jokes and is training his soldiers would be comparable to what this movie is doing about the NVA!

Tribble-2 As was mentioned before in other comments, the major problem of NVA is that it cannot decide what it wants to be, slapstick of the cheapest kind or an honest parody of the East German Army. There are a couple of moments which are quite moving, for example when one of the recruits returns from the army prison in Schwedt with a completely broken personality. But in the end, Leander Haußmann goes for the infantile humour. No wonder the film flopped at the German box office as it's historically untruthful to the real situation in those training camps and led by an actor who is unfortunately incapable of giving a nuanced performance.However, there is the camera work of Frank Griebe who - as always - does a wonderful job. If it wasn't for his beautiful images I would have rated the film far worse.

leverkuehn NVA combines eastalgia-humor, military comedy and teen movie. Although it is somehow typically German-movie-like sentimental, I think it's a great and very funny movie. You will not only laugh in NVA but also get a bit of an insight in the Eastern Germany armed forces of the late 1980ies and how the young recruits as well as the professional soldiers experienced the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the German Democratic Republic.You will enjoy NVA if you liked Sonnenallee (another movie directed by Leander Haußmann), but not necessarily if you enjoyed Good Bye Lenin which is much more serious and less obviously funny.The acting is acceptable. But watch for former boy band singer Kim Frank who has only two facial expressions: natural and shocked saucer-eyed!