Alone in Berlin (2016)

Once again, World War II turns up another true story of quiet valour to turn into a motion picture. At a time when Trump is pontificating about so called "fake news", here is a timely tale from history which centres on the battle against genuinely fake news: the Nazi propaganda machine.

After losing their only son in the French campaign, Berliners Otto (Brendan Gleeson,"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire") and Anna (Emma Thompson, "Saving Mr Banks") turn against the regime and in repeated acts of rebellion Otto laboriously hand writes subversive postcards to leave in office blocks around Berlin.

Out to catch him is local police investigator Escherich (Daniel Brühl) but in an age before CCTV that's no easy task and with increasing SS pressure the stakes for Escherich steadily increase. For Otto and Anna, the stress is there but both are resigned to their fate: with their son stolen from them for an unjust cause they are an island of indifference in an unholy land. Both are 'alone in Berlin?

After 70 years it still chills the blood to see German locations decked out in Nazi regalia, but one of the joys of this film is this rendering of life in wartime Berlin: starting with jubilation at German progress prior to D-Day and turning to despair and genuine danger as the tide turns towards 1945. In a pretty bleak film there are touches of black comedy now and then: Otto's carpentry company is being encouraged "by the Fuhrer" to double and triple their outputÂ… of coffins.

More joy comes from the star turns of Gleeson and Thompson, both of who deliver on their emotionally challenging roles. Gleeson in particular makes a very believable German with a sour demeanour and a steely determination. But the star acting turn for me goes to the wonderful Daniel Brühl ("Rush") as the tormented police detective, bullied into an ethical corner by the SS. The finale of the film – whilst not seeming quite believable – makes for a nicely unexpected twist.

Based on a novel by Hans Fallada, the lead writing credits for the piece are shared between Achim von Borries and the director Vincent Perez – in a rare directorial outing for the Swiss actor. The script exudes a melancholic gloom and at times expresses beautifully both the grief and love shared by this older couple. But some of the dialogue needs more work and we don't see enough of Thompson in the early part of the film where her motivations should be being developed. This rather comes down to a lack of focus by the director. While the primary story of the card distribution is slight, it is compelling and a detour into a sub-story about an old Jewish lodger living upstairs is unnecessary and detracts from the overall story arc. I would have far preferred if the running time had been a tight 90 minutes just focused on Otto's mission. One final comment on the script: did I mishear that Anna claimed to have a 6 year old child during an air raid scene? I know Emma Thompson looks great for her age, but….

I can't finish this without commending the beautiful piano score of Alexandre Desplat. From the first note I knew it was him – he has such a characteristic style – and his clever use of the score complements the film exquisitely. "Small" films like this tend to rather disappear into the woodwork for Oscar consideration, but here's a soundtrack that I think should be considered: (but what do I know… when "Nocturnal Animals" wasn't even nomin

Fmovies: Running for his life, a young soldier Hans Quangel (Louis Hofmann) finds himself jolting in a bleak and otherwise bare forest somewhere in the battlefields of World War II. Scared, alone and out of breath, the young German soldier seems lost and directionless. As his breaths sharpen and his fear settle, the young soldier spends most of his run with his head looking back; whether it be an enemy, the war itself, or a version of himself he is fearful of becoming, the young Quangel maneuvers himself between the tall and dark trees, the mysteriousness of the forest and the impending and looming death that looks for many young men in the battlefields of war. Before anyone can make any sense of it, we hear a gunshot, fatally wounding the young soldier and forcing him to the ground. As his bright blue eyes begin to turn to grey, life fleeting him quickly and the forest embodying his body, Alone In Berlin begins with what seem like an insignificant death to many, but an impactful one for few.

As the next scene cuts to a very bustling and busy city front in Berlin, a young newspaper boy yells at the top of his lungs, "Victory Over France", with cyclists, pedestrians and automobiles passing him. One of these people, is the city's many cyclist mail correspondents, delivering news from the Military Postal Services to civilians within the city, a not so glorified profession. As the cyclist makes her way through the city, she stops at a small and very ordinary looking building. The building, which provides a home to Otto and Anna Quangel (Brendan Gleeson & Emma Thompson), parents of the fallen Hans, sets forth a string of events that would change the course of the second World War and Germany's participation in it, forever.

Alone in Berlin is a small film with very big ambition, following the events of two very persistent and hard working people. While Anna & Otto Quangel never really excited, the couple they are based off of were two very impressional individuals that caused a great uproar in Hitler's Germany from 1940 to 1943. The real life couple which the film is based from were Elise and Otto Hampel, a working class couple who created a very fundamental way of protest while living in Hitler's Germany, specifically Berlin, early in the second World War. Elise, who lost her brother in the war, distressed and ruined by the news, denounced Hitler. With the help of her husband Otto, the two began composing and leaving postcards within Berlin's most public places, which would very simply denounce Hitler's government, war and methods, informing the very average people of Berlin the perils of joining his war and his methods. For three long and secretive years, the Hampel's left over two hundred cards in Berlin, and only eighteen of the over two hundred cards were not reported and given to the local Gestapo, leaving them lasting to the people of Berlin who recovered them.

While many inconsistencies can be found from the history books to the film's reenactments, director Vincent Perez does a marvellous job of keeping the content and tone of the film quite bleak yet extremely entertaining. Aside from the marvellous cinematography from Christophe Beaucarne and the miraculous score from Alexandre Desplat, the mood of the film is anchored effortlessly by the film's two incredibly talented lead actors Brendan Gleeson and Emma Thompson. The Quangel show a variety and range of emotions, without ever really saying much, even upon the very early discovery of their son's death, k

This is not a happy story. It is story that opens your eyes. We have talked about it a lot since. We felt like it was something that should be seen. I would recommend it for folks curious about that era and that place in time. It seems impossible now, but you know its not. Real life stories like this tell something more for me than the big picture story.

Alone in Berlin fmovies. Do you appreciate good acting? If so, you shouldn't miss "Alone In Berlin", an indie now playing at a few theaters in NYC. It features Emma Thompson and Brendan Gleeson as the Quangels, whose only son was killed in action fighting for the Nazis in WWII. They are heartbroken, but this is quickly replaced by anger and a sense of revenge for their loss. Otto (Gleeson) decides to print a series of anti-Nazi postcards and leave them at strategic public places around Berlin, but not in mailboxes or stuck in doors - that could mean death to the finder. Naturally, the Gestapo and SS are hot on his trail.

If Brendan Gleeson is the heart of the picture, Emma Thompson is its soul. She is fearful at first but then embraces Otto's dangerous idea and in the process finds renewed love for her husband. She is fiercely loyal and discovers courage she thought she didn't have. She is heartbreaking in her anguish over the loss of her son, and she and Gleeson elevate a pedestrian story to a must-see.

I wonder if at some point in production someone, in the old Hollywood tradition, should have yelled "Get me rewrite!", as the screenplay could have used a little 'punching up'. The story lacks some tension and suspense and relies on the two principals for success. And do they deliver. "Alone in Berlin" will be lost in the shuffle next year at Oscar time, which is a loss and a shame as both are deserving of an AA nom.

"Alone in Berlin" (German-French-British co-production; 2016 release; 105 min.) brings the story of a German couple, Otto and Anna. As the movie opens, we see a young German soldier running through the weeods, and he is shot and killed. The young man's parents, Otto and Anna, are informed by letter of his death, and they don't know how to cope with this tragic news. Eventually Otto decides to speak up against the Nazis, and Hitler in particular, by leaving provocative postcards (such as: "Hitler is a liar, Hitler is a killer") in prominent public places. Anna joins him in these potentially dangerous tasks. Eventually, the Nazis become aware of this, and a manhunt is started... At this point we're 15 min. into the movie, but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the latest movie from Swiss actor/writer/producer/director Vincent Perez. Here he takes what amounts to a footnote in the annals of WWII and makes it, or at least tries to make it, into an epic battle between an elderly couple and the Nazi establishment. At certain moments, in particularly later in the film, it works quite well. But there are too many times that the films truly feels staged, I mean you can practically hear the director yell "and.... ACTION!", and an entire street with 1940s cars comes alive. The lead performances by Emma Thompson (as Anna) and Brendan Gleeson (as Otto) are fine, as they bring a quiet dignity to this couple that is so outraged by the tragic death of their son. Incidentally, it isn't until the closing credits that we get confirmation this movie is based on true events, and Otto and Elise really did exist (why they changed the woman's name to Anna, is not clear to me). Still, when all is said and done, it feels to me like the movie didn't quite carry this to its full potential, and that's a shame.

I had heard of this movie, but never had a chance to see it in the theater. I did catch it recently on Showtime. If you are interested in WWII, even if only a footnote of it, I'd suggest you check this out, be it on TV or VOD, or on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.

This brilliantly cast and acted film earns an excellent cinema manifestation because it's an impressive and important war experience story focused on two ordinary people in an inner city we all know will soon be torn apart as the war in Berlin ravages onto a bitter end.

Otto and Anna deserve the full focus of this film, which intimately and convincingly lets us into their lives, and brings out the tenacious courage of two ordinary Berliners,persevering in their personal vendetta against the monstrous war machine, pursuing at great personal risk their resistance against the hideous Nazi regime.

Alone in Berlin fully succeeds in conveying the ingrained personal pain turned into anger over the loss of the couple's son, and the acting of Emma Thompson and Brendon Gleeson brilliantly fulfils our expectations. A personal Nazi resistance story very well told that makes for highly recommended and compelling viewing.