Where Hands Touch

Leyna is a 16-year-old biracial teenager fighting to survive in Nazi Germany during World War II. Living with her Aryan mother and younger half-brother, Kerstin and Koen, her mother is constantly targeted for having been with an African man, and Leyna for simply being a product of their interracial relationship, both of which are considered almost as heinous as being Jewish during the Nazi regime.

The family goes to live with Kerstin’s reluctant sister to escape the Gestapo in their hometown. One day, a Hitler Youth by the name of Lutz accidentally knocks Leyna to the ground while riding his bike, injuring her. After the incident, he takes interest in Leyna, who initially ignores his attention. When Leyna is kicked out of school, her mother takes her to work at the factory, where Lutz is able to see Leyna each day as he passes by on his bike. However, being the son of a high-ranking SS officer, Lutz struggles to follow in his father’s footsteps and must adhere to the brutal regime that scorns Leyna’s existence. Meanwhile, despite Kerstin’s teachings, Koen starts to accept the Nazi ideals and discriminates against his sister.

Lutz and Leyna begin to spend time together in secret, ultimately culminating in them falling in love. They share their first passionate kiss hidden in a doorway and eventually have sex when Lutz is forced to hide Leyna away in his home when Nazi soldiers begin to violently search everyone in the streets one day. As the war escalates, violence against all non-Aryans and those not deemed “true” Germans increases, and Kerstin is dragged away by soldiers in place of Leyna, leaving Koen and Leyna without their mother. Koen blames Leyna for the loss of their mother, and the prejudice and cruelty they face each day.

Leyna goes to see Lutz, but is informed he has been suddenly summoned to the frontlines while she is sent to a Nazi labor camp. Leyna soon finds out she’s pregnant and must keep it a secret (as she is supposed to have been sterilized). Lutz is stationed as a SS guard at the same camp and is appalled to discover an emaciated Leyna as their feelings for each other resurface. During one of their secret rendezvous, he realizes she’s carrying his child and begs her to run away with him, so she will no longer suffer and they can finally be together. Leyna refuses, knowing their death is inevitable should they attempt an escape.

After a bombing by the Americans, Lutz takes the opportunity to escape with Leyna, but is shot and killed by his father, who’s determined to keep them apart til the end. Leyna falls to the ground, unable to move, staring at Lutz’s body until an American soldier comes to take her away. Seven weeks later, she is heavily pregnant and recovering in an American displacement camp. Here, she miraculously reunites with her mother and brother.

• Amandla Stenberg[3] as Leyna
• George MacKay[3] as Lutz
• Abbie Cornish as Kerstin
• Christopher Eccleston as Heinz
• Tom Sweet as Koen

Principal photography on the film began in November 2016 and wrapped up in December 2016 after shooting took place in Belgium (Werister coal mine) and the Isle of Man.[4][3]

On 20 May 2017, Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions acquired the international distribution rights to the film, excluding select territories in Europe and Australia.[5] It had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on 9 September 2018.[6] It was released in the United States on 14 September 2018 by Vertical Entertainment.[7]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 43%, based on 49 reviews, with an average rating of 5.4/10. The website's consensus reads, "Where Hands Touch is noteworthy for its exploration of a little-discussed corner of World War II, even if its story leaves something to be desired in the telling."[8] On Metacritic the film has a score of 44% based on reviews from 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[9]

Glen Kenny of The New York Times criticized the film for "romanticization of Nazis".[10]

• List of black films of the 2010s
• Afro-Germans
• Rhineland Bastard
• Persecution of black people in Nazi Germany

• Where Hands Touch at IMDb
• Where Hands Touch at Box Office Mojo