Murderers Among Us

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Audience Member A cogent exploration of post-war German society. The spectre of fascism is as dominant as the clouds always overhead. You can smell Expressionism burning away in the rubble. The youth will rise soon and ask the most difficult questions. Staudte provides a bold study in change and reconciling with a corrupted history. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Audience Member This film (literally) rises from the rubble and ash of post war Berlin. It is a fascinating take on the guilt and recovery of a Germany in the wake of Hitlers Third Reich. Staudte's noiresque style, along with the unworldly atmosphere of post war Berlin, is reminiscent of the German expressionist film of the 1920s and parallels the interior landscapes of a defeated people. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member A historically important film, being that it was the first film produced in Post World War II Germany. A doctor who served with the Nazis during the war, now finds himself after the war overcome by grief and guilt for the horrors he saw during the war. Unable to continue his work as a doctor, due to his disillusionment with the darkness in men's hearts he walks to streets of his bombed out city amongst the rats, and drinks excessively on a daily basis. That is until a woman comes into his life, who helps him out of his depression. At the same time, a commanding officer from his past also comes into his life. Since the war, despite his crimes against humanity, the Captain returns to his his family life, his home left unscathed throughout the war, and his position of manager at a successful factory. This is too much for the doctor who ultimately takes it upon himself to bring justice to the victims of the war. While not perfect in the story telling department (especially in the second half, which I found wrapped everything up a little too nicely) this film still packs a heavy punch. The footage of the city destroyed by war set the perfect backdrop for this film, and the photography throughout was also top notch. The desperation of the films main character reflects the desperation of an entire nation, and that message is still a very powerful thing for modern audiences to experience. Much of the main character's views seem to be parallell to French Existentialist writers like Jean Paul Sartre or Albert Camus, who were experiencing similar confusion and disillusionment following the war. All in all a must see for those interested in European or Film History, but also really just a good movie with an important message and story. Recommended. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Audience Member Heavy on the portent, but so accomplished in its cinematography and editing that, even when it shows too much of what happened near the end, the story of what happens to several Nazi officers in post-WWII Berlin is breathtaking. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Audience Member The first film to be produced in (East) Germany after the fall of Berlin and the armistice. An expressionist drama pondering the question of guilt in justice in a society that is trying to find itself within the maelstrom of being the culprit and victim at the same time. Great performance by Knef and quite wooden and overdone ( think Fritz Lang and the Weimar School ) acting on the part of the other actors. Still, the film is shot in the actual ruins of Berlin and that alone is quite a sight to behold (including a christmas mass in a bombed out church). Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member Full rating 5 star because it was the first German film made after the war in 1946, not 1948 as listed here. The decimated city is a silent character in this wrought (if slightly contrived) drama of revenge stilled by romance. Never has a person who just survived the holocaust looked so clean and been so mentally stable as Hildegard Knef. View this as a historical document about Germans addressing what it means to be a good German after the Third Reich. Made under Soviet Sector supervision as the first DEFA film in Berlin in 1946. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Murderers Among Us

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