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Shining Through

Shining Through

Drama · Romance · Thriller · 1992

Spirited New Yorker Linda Voss goes to work for international lawyer and secret Office of Strategic Services operative Ed Leland just before World War II. As they fall in love, the United States enters the fight against Hitler, and Linda volunteers to work for Ed spying undercover behind Nazi lines. Assigned to uncover information about a German bomb, Linda also has personal motives to fulfill: discovering the fate of her Jewish family members in Berlin.

Movie details

Shining Through

“He needed to trust her with his secret. She had to trust him with her life.”

1992 Drama · Romance · Thriller 2h 12m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.5 / 10

Community rating

Spirited New Yorker Linda Voss goes to work for international lawyer and secret Office of Strategic Services operative Ed Leland just before World War II. As they fall in love, the United States enters the fight against Hitler, and Linda volunteers to work for Ed spying undercover behind Nazi lines. Assigned to uncover information about a German bomb, Linda also has personal motives to fulfill: discovering the fate of her Jewish family members in Berlin.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Shining Through?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

David Seltzer

Written by

David Seltzer

Michael Douglas

Michael Douglas

Ed Leland

Melanie Griffith

Melanie Griffith

Linda Voss

Liam Neeson

Liam Neeson

Franze-Otto Dietrich

Joely Richardson

Joely Richardson

Margrete Von Eberstein

John Gielgud

John Gielgud

Sunflower

Hansi Jochmann

Hansi Jochmann

Hedda Drescher

Mathieu Carrière

Mathieu Carrière

Von Haefler

Court is in session

Put Shining Through on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.