The Good German
Click here to purchase The Good German
The Good German
(2006)
Rating: cinematography 5
Movie 2
Starring: George Clooney, Tobey Maguire, Cate Blanchett
Summary:
Berlin, July, 1945. Journalist Jake Geismer (Clooney) arrives to cover the Potsdam conference. He also wants to find Lena, an old flame who's now a prostitute desperate to get out of Berlin. He discovers that the driver he's assigned, Corporal Tully (Maguire), is Lena's (Blanchett) keeper. When the body of a murdered man washes up in Potsdam (within the Russian sector), Jake seems to be the only person who wants to solve the crime as 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.
Review:
I decided that I had to give this film two ratings. The cinematography of this film is absolutely amazing. The way the movie transitions between the real film of the era captured and the film made in present day were stunning. It made watching this movie feel as if it were actually filmed during the war.
However, the movie itself I found to be a bit boring. Well, boring isn't the right word. Confusing is better. I don't feel as if they did a good job of letting the viewer keep up with the characters and the plot. Had they done a better job of following the story, I would have given it a better ranking. At the end, I'm still not exactly sure who the people were and what precisely happened. It was fascinating though the way all the characters and countries and loyalties were intertwined.
I would recommend this movie. Perhaps you'll like it better than we did. And if nothing else, you should really watch it for the cinematography.