The Good German
for language, violence and some sexual content.
| Moral Rating: | not reviewed |
| Moviemaking Quality: |
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| Primary Audience: | Adults |
| Genre: | Thriller Romance Drama |
| Length: | 1 hr. 45 min. |
| Year of Release: | 2006 |
| USA Release: |
December 15, 2006 (limited) December 22, 2006 (expand wide) |
| Featuring | George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Tobey Maguire, Robin Weigert |
| Director | Steven Soderbergh — “Ocean’s Eleven” |
| Producer | Frederic Brost, Ben Cosgrove, Gregory Jacobs, Steven Soderbergh, Ben Waisbren, Lionel Wigram |
| Distributor |
 Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company |
“If war is hell then what comes after? / Every heart has its secrets, some more dangerous than others.”
Here’s what the distributor says about their film: “Based on the novel by Joseph Kanon, ‘The Good German’ takes place in the ruins of post-WWII Berlin, where U.S. Army war correspondent Jake Geismar (George Clooney) becomes embroiled with Lena Brandt (Cate Blanchett), a former lover whose missing husband is the object of a manhunt by both the American and Russian armies. Intrigue mounts as Jake tries to uncover the secrets Lena may be hiding in her desperation to get herself and her husband out of Berlin. Tully (Tobey Maguire), a soldier in the American army motor pool assigned to drive Jake around Berlin, has black market connections that may be Lena’s way out—or lead them all into even darker territory.”
ABOUT THE BOOK: “This compelling thriller is both a touching love story and a masterful portrayal of the struggle for geopolitical control of postwar Germany. Network correspondent Jake Geismar, who covered Berlin before the war, has returned to the devastated city, ostensibly to cover the Potsdam Conference but actually to find the woman he loves. Miraculously, Lena Brandt, Jake’s wartime mistress, has survived. However, her mathematician husband is missing, and both the American and Russian intelligence services are hunting him.
When the bullet-ridden body of an American soldier washes up on the shores of Potsdam in front of Jake’s eyes just as Truman, Churchill, and Stalin convene the first postwar conference, Jake is plunged into a maelstrom of intrigue, corruption, and betrayal. A brilliantly evoked portrait of a unique moment in history (the end of one war and the beginning of another), “The Good German” amply fulfills the promise shown by Joseph Kanon in his two earlier novels, Los Alamos and The Prodigal Spy.”
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Although I have agreed the film is extremely offensive and give it a negative it is a film I love to hate and hate to love. Very well done BUT VERY foul language for the first half of the film, sex, some nudity, prostitution, and if you are the type (like my wife) that is really disgusted with a woman being punched/abused then don’t watch it. Its just not worth sitting through all that yuck to see a “neat” historic type movie. The film (all black and white) is mixed with original footage of aftermath Berlin—a very cool effect, and the acting is fairly good. We were happy that Tally is killed midway through the show, so we didn’t have to listen to his foul abusive character anymore!
Extremely Offensive / 4
My Ratings: Offensive / 4½