- Actors: Emma Thompson, Brendan Gleeson, Daniel Brühl
- Director: Vincent Perez
- Disc Format: Color, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
- Language: English
- Subtitles: English, Spanish
- Region: Region 1
- Number of discs: 1
- Rated: R
- Studio: MPI HOME VIDEO
- Release Date: June 13, 2017
- Run Time: 95 minutes
Actor-turned-director Vincent Pérez was
already facing an uphill battle when he decided to make a film based on Hans
Fallada’s novel about a middle-aged Berlin
couple quietly resisting against the brutality of the Nazi regime. As
intriguing as the concept sounds, the form of resistance taken was as
unexciting as possible. There are no battles against the violence, speeches
about the terror, or collaboration with enemies fighting the Nazis directly.
Instead, the film centers on a silent resistance against Nazi propaganda, which
means the primary action involves our protagonist writing postcards.
Alone in Berlin opens on one of the only
scenes of action, with a solitary German soldier running through the woods
before being shot by enemy soldiers. We soon discover that this young man was
the only child of working class couple Otto and Anna Quangel (Brendan Gleeson
and Emma Thompson). Overwhelmed by grief they are forced to keep under the
surface, the couple begins taking small steps to distance themselves from their
involvement with the Nazi party. When even this is not enough to overcome their
loss, Otto begins writing anti-Nazi statements on postcards, leaving them
around Berlin,
with the help and support of his wife.
As underwhelming
as this action seems, even the smallest sign of dissent is viewed as an
unacceptable attack by the Nazi party. Refusing to allow the postcards to
continue spreading, pressure is put on Inspector Escherich (Daniel Brühl) of
the police to find the culprits and bring them to the Nazi party for
punishment. Even as the police begin to close in on Otto and Anna, Alone in Berlin remains surprisingly
one-tone. The narrative doesn’t build tension and the ending is so
anticlimactic that it will likely leave some audience members wondering what
the point of the film was, especially if even the filmmakers seem to lack
excitement in the material.
Even without a
story arc that is exciting or memorable, there are some praise-worthy elements
in the filmmaking process. Emma Thompson and Brendan Gleeson aren’t given much
to work with, but show their ability to make even underwritten characters come
alive. Even their ability to speak the English lines with slight German accents
impresses, especially compared to many of the supporting actors, who don’t fare
so well. The exception is Brühl, who may have been born in Spain but grew up in Germany. This international actor
gives far more depth to his role than it seems to demand, though it only
highlights the shortcomings of the screenplay even further that we feel as
though there are pieces missing to his story by the end of the film.
Underwhelming in
nearly every regard other than the three leading actors, Alone in Berlin has been given an appropriate release on DVD, for
better or worse. The special features include brief interviews with key
cast/crew, as well as a theatrical trailer.
Entertainment Value:
6/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6.5/10
Historical
Significance: 4/10
Special Features: 3.5/10
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