mike-3570 I read the book just before I found out they were making the film so was naturally quite excited to see how they handled it.While Gleeson and Thompson turn in great performances, the adaptation lets them down badly.The film and book part company towards the end: the film ends up with a glimmer of hope, with the postcards being thrown out of the window, possibly to give their message again. In the book there is no false hope. Nobody reads the postcards, nobody is affected, the protest is a vain one.But the message is that even if doomed to fail, we must still protest if something is not right. If we do not oppose evil, we tacitly condone it. I realise that as reviews go, this is uninformative and a bit rubbish; I feel that it's important to look beyond the film amd to reflect on the book's message, which is as relevant today as it was during WW2.

lucasnochez 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, keeping their words short and sweet, but their actions fierce and impactful. The true anchors of the film are the two very talented actors who help guide the tension of Alone in Berlin throughout, without ever making the film of their performances melodramatic or overwrought.Another very powerful performance of the film is none other than the always impressive Daniel Brühl, an actor who can play a villain or hero without skipping a beat, and even turn his heroes or villain's to either side without hesitation. The very dramatic and theatrical cat and mouse game director Perez establishes between Escherich and the Quangels is one that keeps the audience engaged at all times yet really shows the very simple impact of their truth-telling letters the Quangels leave, even to members of the Nazi Regime. Brühl, Thompson and Gleeson are in top form from beginning to end.While screenwriters Achim von Borries, Bettine von Borris and Vincent Perez make great use of the source material written by Hans Fallada, Every Man Dies Alone, written in 1947, the screenwriters and director never overemphasize much of whats happening on the warfront of Berlin too much that it becomes severely unbelievable. Otto, who is portrayed of being a factory worker in the film, specifically, a manager in charge of producing coffins for fallen soldiers of the war, and Anna, being a domesticated mother and member of National Socialist Women's League in Germany, tread through their very sad lives after the news of Hans' death as many parents would. Yet, one of my favourite aspect of the film's and history's story is how such an average couple were able to make such a a large impact on the plans of a larger than life, and the world's most notorious non- fictional bad guy. Their letters, which cause such an uproar to the Third Reich, made them the Gestapo's biggest priority throughout the times of their letters in the early 40's.While Otto and Elise's letter often urged citizens from refraining of doing a handful of things, like; refraining from donating money to the Nazi regime, urging people to refuse to cooperate with the Nazis, refraining from using military services, all these very small and tedious acts acted as catalysts of overthrowing Hitler.

wmacl If Fast and Furious is to your taste, this probably isn't the film for you. If you want great actors well cast, a good story, well and lightly directed tense action (though younger viewers may confuse this with slowness), then don't miss this one. Easily one of the best films I've seen in the last six months.Brendan Gleeson plays a German machinist at the time of the second World War. His relationship with his wife (Emma Thompson) is one of a couple who have grown apart, and it is severely strained by the death in battle of their son (and only child).Initially it seems that she is the more affected by this, but a silent rage within him leads him to leave postcards critical of Hitler and the Nazis all around Berlin. She is drawn into this world; there is some reconciliation as they depart on this dangerous activity, as it draws towards its perhaps inevitable conclusion.A good supporting cast fleshes out the story which is based on true events, a story I was not previously aware of, though I am familiar with some details of the German resistance movement, such as the brother and sister members of the White Rose group, Hans and Sophie Scholl.(now there's a story!) Emma Thompson shines in this film, moving from intense grief to loving wife believably, carrying the tension of the plot at all times. Brendan Gleeson demonstrates his fine acting talent, though some may be familiar only with his 'Mad-Eye' Moody role in The Harry Potter franchise, or the hit-man in the under-rated "In Bruges".I don't idly award 'Excellents', but this film ticked all the boxes for me. Chances are you may have missed its limited release, but make sure you catch up with it when it is released on DVD.

adonis98-743-186503 Berlin, 1940. Working class couple Otto and Anna Quangel receive the news that their only son has lost his life in the battlefield and decide to resist the Nazi regime in their very own way. Soon the Gestapo is hunting "the threat". Although the performances of Brendan Gleeson and Emma Thompson are very good it's not enough to hold a movie that is simply bland and just the same old, same old kind of story plus some pretty good actors are going wasted and as usual Daniel Brühl and even Rosemary Harris that for some reason is not mentioned here but overall very disappointing movie with some pretty great and talented actors. (5/10)