Then I Sentenced Them All to Death

Then I Sentenced Them All to Death

Directed by Sergiu Nicolaescu

Produced by Filmstudio București

1972103 min7.1 / 10

A bleak wartime tragedy about moral compromise and scapegoating, where a vulnerable outsider becomes the village's sacrificial victim to appease occupying forces.

A young boy is adopted by a priest and his wife during the Nazi occupation of Romania during the Second World War. He befriends the village idiot, who's despised by everyone else. When a German is killed in the last days of the war, the village is threatened with total destruction unless the murderer is handed over. The villagers decide to hand over the idiot.

Questions people ask

  • Is Then I Sentenced Them All to Death sad? Yes, very. More sad than 98% of films.

  • Does Then I Sentenced Them All to Death end with hope? No. Less hopeful than 96% of films.

  • Is Then I Sentenced Them All to Death scary? Yes. More frightening than 87% of films.

  • Is Then I Sentenced Them All to Death violent? Yes. More violent than 80% of films.

  • Is Then I Sentenced Them All to Death easy watching? Not especially. Less comforting than 74% of films.

These describe how the film comes across, measured across the whole film and compared with other well-known films. They are not a content list — nothing here was counted or checked scene by scene, so for age-suitability or specific content use a classification board or a dedicated content-warning service.

59/ 100

Cinnamon Score

How much this film gives you that nothing else will, and whether it delivers.

Familiar shape, done well.

Rarity49

How unlike any other film this one feels

Surprise57

How much more it delivers than it promises

Love72

How much audiences actually like it

The highest scores in the catalogue →

Ensemble

Like Then I Sentenced Them All to Death

Nearest across the full emotional profile.

Same Mood as Then I Sentenced Them All to Death

Nearest on what's most distinctive about this one.

Like Then I Sentenced Them All to Death, But Darker

Similar, pushed toward heavier and more intense.

Like Then I Sentenced Them All to Death, But Lighter

Similar, pushed toward warmer and easier.

Like Then I Sentenced Them All to Death, But Less Popular

Same territory, far fewer people have seen it.

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