I Now Better Understand the 'Good German' By Dennis Prager Jan 05, 2021 12:01 AM ET . January 5, 2021 7 min read. It has the right mix of action, adventure, mystery, Intrigue & romance. The Good German received generally mixed reviews, with many critics complaining that it was too reliant on style and did not concentrate on the building of characters. See it if you're a fan of Blanchett, or if you enjoy seeing Clooney getting beaten up. Her boyfriend is the violent and abusive Patrick Tully, engagingly played by Tobey Maguire. The film imitates the appearance of films from Classical Hollywood studio-era. It uses as its subject 1945 Berlin and the nightmare scenarios of post-war safety. “The Good German” is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). Apr 22, 2019 - Explore Jennifer's board "The good german" on Pinterest. If the American people don’t begin standing up to the “cancel culture” crowds and demand that the vilification of their political opponents end ,our country is destined to become a totalitarian society. When the body of a murdered man washes up in Potsdam (within the Russian sector), Jake may be the only person who wants to solve the crime: U.S. personnel are busy finding Nazis to bring to trial, the Russians and the Americans are looking for German rocket scientists, and Lena has her own secrets. A troubled psychologist is sent to investigate the crew of an isolated research station orbiting a bizarre planet. Who is the ‘Good German’? The DVD release presents the film in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio which declined in use from about 1953, though the theatrical release, and other DVD Releases, used the slightly more modern but still unusual 1.66:1 ratio. Thomas Newman on ‘Let Them All Talk’s’ atypical music: ‘The score’s not doing what it would normally do’ [Exclusive Video Interview]. What is the good German to do, all by themselves and without any help? But, although the line could have come out of the mouth of Bogart, it refers to a period and style of film-making that is a world away from what this tries to be.Lena (Cate Blanchett) is a mystery, and the film is worth seeing for this magnificent, towering performance, that is also a study in emotional complexity. Marshal he has kidnapped. Journalist Jake Geismer arrives to cover the Potsdam conference, issued a captain's uniform for easier passage. In more than one sense, to put it delicately. Set against the backdrop of a decaying Midwestern town, a murder becomes the focal point of three people who work in a doll factory. Tweet. "[5] On Metacritic, the film has an average score of 49 out of 100 based on 34 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Journalist Jake Geismer arrives to cover the Potsdam conference, issued a captain's uniform for easier passage. Identify the many separate and related mysteries that Jake confronts over the course of this narrative. A fantastic book, The Good German brings to life a seldom written about period in post-war history in a way that leaves you feeling like you've actually been there. A clip from the movie "The Good German" featuring Cate Blanchett and Tobey Maguire. A sexually repressed woman's husband is having an affair with her sister. As she takes over centre-stage, her story provides some tension and emotional ballast to a plot that is otherwise a bit lifeless. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. But Clooney's lack of gravitas highlights the film's stylistic weakness. Through a minor character of a Jewish owner of a pawn shop who survived the Holocaust with his legs amputated, the film refers to the Nazi human experimentation, in particular to bone transplantation experiments as they were done at the Ravensbrück concentration camp. The Good German is one of the best returns to the 1940s style of film-noir. Introspection is a call each of us must heed now. The Soviets, the Americans, and the British all try to get hold of Emil Brandt, for different reasons. [2][unreliable source?]. Set in Berlin following the Allied victory over the Nazis, it begins as a murder mystery but weaves in elements involving the American postwar employment of Nazi rocket scientists in Operation Paperclip. Jake mentions, "the good old days - when you could tell who was the bad guy by who was shooting at you." The Good German (2006) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Unlike modern films that are shot with significant "coverage" and mostly with close-ups or two shots, The Good German was shot with 1940s era wide angle lenses, such as a 32 mm, with deep focus, "strongly accented camera angles" and entire scenes staged. Most of the scenes were shot on soundstages and on Universal Studios' backlot, and were then edited with archival Russian footage and archived film from Corbis. Op-Ed Dennis Prager: I Now Better Understand The ‘Good German’ Posted on January 7, 2021 January 7, 2021 by DianCecht in Culture , History , … by The Barefoot Bum June 18, 2009 The American CIA agents who relied on the White House legal justification of torture were nothing more than Good Germans. In true noir-ish fashion, much of the intrigue with The Good German is about to whom, and why, the title applies. . The arrival of a visitor with a rather unusual fetish changes everything. [7], The film made $76,817 in its opening weekend in five US theaters. In addition, the title is an allusion to the phrase common among soldiers of the Allied Powers during the invasion of Europe after D-Day, that "The only good German is a dead German" — and the consequences of this death are seed for all that follows in the story of the film. (Bettmann is only a minor character in the film; he appears to be based on the real Arthur Rudolph.) [10][11], "The Good German: Who says they don't make 'em like they used to? Or at least a story. The life of populist Southerner Willie Stark, a political creature loosely based on Governor Huey Long of Louisiana. The Good German (2006) Plot Synopsis. Get a sneak peek of the new version of this page. But if I did, would I become “a good German”? Set in Berlin following the Allied victory over the Nazis, it begins as a murder mystery but weaves in elements involving the American postwar employment of Nazi rocket scientists in Operation Paperclip. The Good German is culpably feeble and detached, especially considering that the original was released in 1942, and conceived far earlier: when the future of … Germans at the time thought: * I didn't vote for him * most people don't support him * I engaged in some forms of protest It was directed by Steven Soderbergh, and stars George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, and Tobey Maguire. If you have a love of Historical Fiction then The Good German needs to be on your radar! Its poster is a homage to the poster for the classic film Casablanca (1942, also a Warner Bros. film), as is the closing scene at an airport. Filmed entirely in the style of such Hollywood classics as Casablanca, The Good German was shot by director Steven Soderbergh (under the pseudonym Peter Andrews) using 1940s era lenses, sound-recording techniques, and a decidedly less-mobile camera. Director Steven Soderbergh said: that kind of staging is a lost art, which is too bad. Geismer, in his attempts to get his former lover, Lena, out of Berlin, gets more and more involved in the search for Emil Brandt. The film received mixed reviews and grossed $5.9 million worldwide against a budget of $32 million. Tweet . He also wants to find Lena, an old flame who's now a prostitute desperate to get out of Berlin. Similar to what Quentin Tarantino accomplished in Death Proof (2007), slyly delivering a quintessential Tarantino talkathon under the guise of an homage to exploitation film sub-genres not known for their textual prowess, Steven Soderbergh remains true to himself in The Good German, a stylized tribute to postwar noir in which style more or less serves as window dressing. The Good German Westport Country Playhouse, Westport, Conn.; 707 seats; $55 top Production: A Westport Country Playhouse presentation of a play in two acts by David Wiltse. The U.S. government decides to go after an agro-business giant with a price-fixing accusation, based on the evidence submitted by their star witness, vice president-turned-informant Mark Whitacre. In the film, they are fully aware of Bettmann's role at Camp Dora and know about the slave labor used in the V-2 program, but want to cover up his involvement (because they could not lawfully employ a known war criminal), which includes eliminating Emil Brandt, whose testimony or written notes would prevent their whitewashing of Bettmann. When the body of a murdered man washes up in Potsdam (within the Russian sector), Jake may be the only person who wants to solve the crime: U.S. personnel are busy finding Nazis to bring to trial, the Russians and the Americans are looking for German rocket scientists, and Lena has her own secrets. See more ideas about the third reich, world war two, hitler. Who is a war criminal and who is just an ordinary German? At least we still have tools short of violence but they want us cut off from other humans and under the heel of their dual power centers, government and corporations, so who knows how long that will last. (2006). He discovers that the driver he's assigned, a cheerful down-home sadist named Corporal Tully, is Lena's keeper. Understandably, no-one wants to be caught with their pants down, and everybody is in Lena's.Lena herself plays her cards very close to her chest. They want all the options they can get in the editing room. From Wings to Parasite, here's a look back at all of the Best Picture Oscar winners in the history of the ceremony. Title: He is disturbed to see her turning tricks as much as he is to see her hanging out with a low-life like Tully.Lena wants to get out of Berlin, but that is easier said than done. Good German A citizen of Nazi Germany who participated in or overlooked atrocities while denying personal moral responsibility by appeal to his submission to supposedly legitimate authority. Joseph Kanon's The Good German is deeply steeped in these hard, serious questions, which serve as background to a complicated romance and a twisty thriller, both centering on American journalist Jake Geismar. He also wants to find Lena, an old flame who's now a prostitute desperate to get out of Berlin. It's good to see the usually very capable Steven Soderbergh directing serious cinema again (instead of his Ocean's Eleven romps) but this over-ambitious project doesn't quite cut it. Kanon presents the struggle for German rocket scientists, Americans versus Russians, with both sides desperate to enhance their own post-war technology and neither concerned about the Nazi past and practices of the men they are seeking. The color was then reduced in post-production through the use of a digital intermediate to a grainier black and white, in order to blend with the carefully restored archival material. The Good German In 1967, Ernesto 'Che' Guevara leads a small partisan army to fight an ill-fated revolutionary guerrilla war in Bolivia, South America. "Good Germans" is a term referring to German citizens during and after World War II who claimed not to have supported the Nazi regime, but remained silent and did not resist in a meaningful way. With George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Tobey Maguire, Beau Bridges. ", "The Good German (2006) - Weekend Box Office Results", Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Not Back to the Future, but Ahead to the Past, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Good_German&oldid=1002860384, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles lacking reliable references from July 2015, Articles containing potentially dated statements from June 2020, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat-VIAF identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 26 January 2021, at 10:39. View production, box office, & company info. (She claims he is dead, by the way). WARNING: Spoilers. The Good German is ponderous without conveying a seriousness of the subject matter and so ends up just seeming self-important.Beautiful noir-ish chiaroscuro lighting is a delicious hearkening back to more substantial classics of old. Who knows what American journalist Jake Geismer (George Clooney) expected to find in postwar Berlin? It was directed by Steven Soderbergh, and stars George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, and Tobey Maguire. But, with the exception of Lena, the characters lack the moral ambiguity that was so characteristic of such films. Directed by James Naughton. One of the biggest revelations concerns a question that has always plagued me: How does one explain the “good German,” the term used to describe the average, presumably decent German, who did nothing to hurt Jews but also did nothing to help them and did nothing to undermine the Nazi regime? They go back a long way. Although more complex than female protagonists of 40s movies, she is still the most successful part of the whole homage.The story does have a little more subtlety than one might have expected, but I find it hard to imagine vast audiences wading through it joyfully until the pace eventually picks up enough to warrant serious interest. Geismer becomes entwined in both the mystery of his murdered driver and the clandestine search by both Soviet and American forces for the missing German Emil Brandt (the title character, played by Christian Oliver). Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. [8] It had a worldwide gross of $5,914,908, of which $1,308,696 was in the US, against a $32 million budget. The Good German hypnotizes you with it's blend of murder & mystery, action & Intrigue, Romance & lies. The film includes some gun violence and fisticuffs, a little sex and a lot of raw language. Peace, maybe. The part could have been written for Humphrey Bogart. Dennis Prager - 24 Tevet 5781 – January 8, 2021. In November of 1939 a German anti-facist named Georg Elser is successful in the assassination of Adolf Hitler. There and many thematic and visual references to Casablanca. He discovers that the driver he's assigned, a cheerful down-home sadist named Corporal Tully, is Lena's keeper. Rated R for language, violence and some sexual content. Like Todd Haynes' gorgeous Douglas Sirk homage Far From Heaven, Steven Soderbergh's experimental drama The Good German isn't merely an attempt to pay tribute to Hollywood's past, but to recreate it as meticulously as possible. The Good German is a 2006 American film adaptation of Joseph Kanon's 2001 novel of the same name. The reason they no longer work that way is because it means making choices, real choices, and sticking to them ... That's not what people do now. At one point, Lena gives Emil's notes on Camp Dora to Geismer. In terms of its literary genre, The Good German is a thriller, a novel of intrigue meant to engage its readers by way of a plot full of questions, clues, riddles, leads, red herrings, and so forth. Lolita Ritmanis’ ‘Blizzard of Souls’ Score: An Oscar Long Shot? [1][9], The film was nominated for the Berlin International Film Festival Golden Bear and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score. Written by Blanchett plays Lena Brandt, a Jewish German, who attributes her amazing survival to being the ex-wife of an SS man. [6], Peter Travers of Rolling Stone greatly appreciated the film. Share on Facebook. The Good German is a compelling and thought-provoking story that's remarkably relevant for our times." Although the finished film is in black and white, it was shot in color because this allowed the use of faster film than available black-and-white film stocks, and afforded the ability to use 'green screen' techniques. Our film is awash with intrigues as everyone individually tries to help her, but everyone also schemes against each other. Jacob "Jake" Geismar (George Clooney), an American war correspondent, returns to Berlin during the Potsdam negotiations between the Allied powers after World War II is over in Europe but before hostilities end in Asia. Based on the Robert Penn Warren novel. Jacob witnesses his murdered driver, a black-marketeering American soldier named Tully (Tobey Maguire), being fished from a river eddy, suspiciously adjacent to the Potsdam conference grounds. An extremely volatile and dangerous Englishman goes to Los Angeles to find the man he considers responsible for his daughter's death. Berlin, July, 1945. Wernher von Braun). A- A+ . Good Germans is an ironic term — usually placed between single quotes such as 'Good Germans' — referring to German citizens during and after World War II who claimed not to have supported the Nazi regime, but remained silent and did not resist in a meaningful way. 0. The Americans have already detained Bettmann in a safehouse and intend to transport him to the U.S. as part of their Operation Overcast/Paperclip to have him work on their own rocket program (cf. The Good German is a 2006 American film adaptation of Joseph Kanon's 2001 novel of the same name. His usually charismatically chirpy, cheeky style seems anachronistic and makes him look both typecast and mis-cast. The "Good German" syndrome People still blame the Germans for allowing Hitler to do the evil that he did, and in particular for pretending not to see the Holocaust as it occurred around them. The film was shot in black-and-white and is designed to imitate the appearance of film noir from the 1940s, although it also includes material – such as sex scenes and swearing – that would have been prohibited by the Production Code. Such films moment of mutual attraction with a U.S the IMDb rating plugin that kind of staging a... 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