Germany Year Zero
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| Germany Year Zero (Germania, anno zero) |
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| Directed by | Roberto Rossellini |
| Produced by | Salvo D'Angelo, Roberto Rossellini |
| Written by | Roberto Rossellini, Max Kolpé, Sergio Amidei |
| Starring | Edmund Moeschke, Ernst Pittschau, Ingetraud Hinze, Franz-Otto Krüger, Erich Gühne |
| Music by | Renzo Rossellini |
| Cinematography | Robert Juillard |
| Editing by | Eraldo Da Roma |
| Distributed by | G.D.B. Film |
| Release date(s) | December 1, 1948 (Italy) |
| Running time | 78 min. |
| Country | Italy |
| Language | German, English, French |
Germany Year Zero (Italian: Germania, anno zero) is the final film in Roberto Rossellini's famed war movie trilogy (the first two being Rome, Open City and Paisà). Germany Year Zero takes place in post-war Germany, unlike the others, which took place in post-war Italy. As in many neorealist films, Rossellini used mainly local, non-professional actors. He filmed on locations in Berlin and intended to convey the reality in Germany the year after its near total destruction in World War II. It contains dramatic images of bombed out Berlin and of the human struggle for survival following the destruction of the Third Reich. When explaining his ideas about realism in an interview, he said, “realism is nothing other than the artistic form of the truth” (Rossellini 35).
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[edit] Plot
The story follows a twelve year old boy, Edmund Koeler. Edmund lives with his ailing father and his brother and sister in a bombed apartment building with five other families. His sister, Eva, is incorrectly accused of prostituting herself to the Allied officers that occupy Berlin. His brother, Karl-Heinz, has not stepped forward to register with the new police force because he is afraid of punishment for being part of a Nazi regiment that fought the Allies to the bitter end.
While his family is preoccupied with these things, Edmund is mainly left to his own devices in order to survive and to help his family do the same, for Karl-Heinz cannot work without registering with the authorities. Edmund partakes in the black market that ruled Berlin at the time and is cheated by an adult as well as by a group of older children who are much more savvy about life on the street than Edmund. The group of teens introduce him to the art of scamming people, stealing and to the adult vice of casual sex.
Herr Enning (a former school teacher of Edmund) still holds Nazi values and he profits from the sale of Nazi artifacts on the black market. He praises Edmund for joining the Hitler Youth when his father tried to get him exempted and he harbors a Nazi general. Herr Enning is homosexual and makes advances towards Edmund. As Edmund wanders through the ruins of post-war Berlin, the church is portrayed as an institution that has no relevance or appeal.
Herr Enning tells Edmund that his father deserves to die because he is weak. Edmund interprets this in an extreme manner and poisons his father in order to relieve his suffering and to lift the burden placed on his family to take care of the sick and aging man. Herr Eenning denies that he meant any such thing. The young Edmund is burdened in conscience and is unable to bear the situation further. He throws himself from a bombed building across the street from where his family lives, falling to his death.
[edit] Cast
- Edmund Moeschke — Edmund (as Edmund Meschke)
- Ernst Pittschau — Il padre
- Ingetraud Hinze — Eva (as Ingetraud Hinz)
- Franz-Otto Krüger — Karl-Heinz (as Franz Grüger)
- Erich Gühne — Herr Enning - Il maestro
[edit] Social significance
The poor and impoverished conditions of the city are not part of an artificial set and the film can be considered an important document of the destruction of Berlin[citation needed]. Most of the dialogue is simple.[citation needed]
[edit] Further reading
- Serceau, Michel. Roberto Rossellini. Paris: Les Editions du Cerf, 1986.
- Guarner, Jose L. Trans. Elizabeth Cameron. New York: Praeger, 1970.
- Brunette, Peter. Roberto Rossellini. New York: Oxford University P, 1987.
- Rossellini, Roberto. My Method: Writings and Interviews. Adriano Aprà, ed. Trans: Annapaola Cancogni. New York : Marsilio Publishers, 1992.
[edit] External links
- Germania Anno Zero at the Internet Movie Database
- Germania Anno Zero at the TCM Movie Database
- Germany Year Zero at Rotten Tomatoes
- Germany Year Zero at Entrada Franca (Portuguese)
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