The Good German

2006 "If war is Hell, then what comes after?"
6| 1h48m| R| en
Details

An American journalist arrives in Berlin just after the end of World War Two. He becomes involved in a murder mystery surrounding a dead GI who washes up at a lakeside mansion during the Potsdam negotiations between the Allied powers. Soon his investigation connects with his search for his married pre-war German lover.

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Nonureva Really Surprised!
Solidrariol Am I Missing Something?
Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation
Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.
roystephen-81252 Steven Soderbergh's directorial debut, Sex, Lies & Videotape instantly marked him as one to watch, but unfortunately, he later proved to be a very much hit-and-miss filmmaker. He has made some great movies (like Traffic, Erin Brockovich, maybe Ocean's Eleven) and some atrocious ones (like Full Frontal or The Informant!), as well.The Good German is one of his better efforts and it's definitely worth a watch, if for nothing else than the astonishingly faithful recreation of the film noir style of the 1940s and the beautiful black-and-white cinematography (Soderbergh's own work under a false name). I honestly feel the cinematography should have been nominated for an Academy Award. Thanks to the amazing lighting and make-up, Cate Blanchett looks jaw-droppingly beautiful in this one (and very noir-ish).A word of caution, however: despite what the theatrical poster suggests, this is not a romantic movie like Casablanca, rather a blend between American film noir and the Italian neorealism of the 1940s. The tone is quite somber and the characters are not likable heroes, which is appropriate since the film is about how war twists people inside out (that aspect is masterfully conveyed through Tobey Maguire's genuinely chilling character), how it compromises our moral integrity and blurs the line between good and evil. It's about what people would do in order to survive such horrendous times.
Scarecrow-88 Steven Soderbergh is one of my favorite directors because he has made so many different types of films and the stories and situations involving the characters are of such diversity. In this homage to the war dramas of Hollywood yore has Clooney's war correspondent returning to war-torn Berlin after Hitler's fall, finding that his life could be in danger after he starts to pursue the truth behind the murder of his "driver" (Tobey Maguire, quite a douchebag), known for his black market dealings in the devastated city. Clooney realizes that a former "secretary" (and flame, the two having an affair) is linked to Maguire "romantically" (basically she's a lay he likes to bully). She is the driving force behind his nosing around. It seems the Russians and Americans are interested in Blanchett's supposedly dead husband, a man who worked for a Nazi rocket expert who enslaved Jews to build rockets in a mountain factory. Well directed in B&W on the Warner Bros sets that provide a evocative reflection of the good ole days (I kept thinking about Wilder's A Foreign Affair while watching it as well as Casablanca), the plot didn't necessarily blow me away and the performances are okay if not spectacular. Star power does mean something (Clooney, Blanchett, and Maguire) and their being photographed in a moody period in the gloomy damaged Berlin setting using the "classic style" (the lighting, melodramatic score, and flawed characters with their secrets and sins) certainly is a drawing reason to see The Good German. Blanchett portrays her character as guarded, protective of what she feels and hides behind this cold exterior Clooney is desperate to fracture so that he can see her humanity…but what she hides, some act she committed after Clooney left Berlin as Hitler rose in power before Berlin would be ravaged by war, could be too horrible to admit. Maguire is quite a loathsome creep in this film, and seeing him in this light might be a surprise to many of his fans, used to his more subdued, less hostile parts. The plot builds the mystery of "who is Emile Brandt?" and "what does everyone want with him?" with Clooney motivated to find out due to his emotional involvement with Blanchett. The use of profanity and more provocative subject matter (use of prostitution in Berlin a means to afford food, such an example) sets this apart from the classics The Good German is relatable to. I think as an exercise in "how to shoot a homage to the good stuff" by the director the film is an attractive diversion (he imitates the films inspiring him especially well), the plot never really catches fire. The "big secret" and how Blanchett can get herself a better life out of Berlin leaves much to be desired. Clooney, throughout, is treated as a patsy and his naiveté regarding Blanchett (we don't ever see what she might have been like prior to Hitler's rise and so this leaves her character an icy sort not so easy to like) really doesn't reflect well as he continues to face one problem after another. The Potsdam Peace conference is the backdrop for all the goings-on. America's infiltration in Berlin, and their secrecy as Clooney continues to get the run-around, is of significance to the plot as everyone has something concealed (one great scene shows Clooney following Beau Bridges to his office to talk Emile Brandt, with a number of key figures eyeing him with direct interest).
geekerr The paucity of present day Hollywood.All it has is a special effects.Trying to imitate a movie made in the 1940s and that is all you will get.Embarrassing No ability to write.The movie equivalent of Threes Company Pure bimbo stuff.The actors in it won't be putting this on their resume Makes Hollywood look like it is all promotion and no substanceit could be viewed as a comedy if you have time to waste.Just a terrible self indulgent workIncredible that it got made.
heysailor06 Spoiler warningI am very bothered by this film. I just saw the movie and they completed gutted the book. Took out the less pleasant aspects of the book so that the movie would be more like Casablanca. Instead of what it really was. A story about a murder cover up and a conspiracy to white wash Nazi scientists.' In the book no one cares about Tully's death and in fact the government does it sweep it under the rung. Emil is a S.S Nazi member who tries to kill jack over the notes about the camp. Lena turning other Jewish people to the Gestapo is treated to casually. In the book the women who did that get's tried as a war criminal. This movies changes major plot points to make it more neat and tidy. They took a great book and turned it in to pretentious Oscar bait. And it's terrible.