Anonymous, a woman in Berlin (2008)
The story begins in Berlin in April 1945. As Soviet troops fought fierce fighting the past and to seize control of the capital, thousands of German civilians, begins an ordeal due to the wave of violations that trigger the Red Army soldiers against German women who fall into their hands. One of those anonymous young women, after suffering in their own flesh the oppression of Russian soldiers, will narrate the events that happened in those dangerous days that preceded the end of the war.
From April 20 until June 22, 1945, in the dim light gave him a candle, a young German journalist in a notebook meticulously recorded the daily adventures that she and other civilian survivors lived during the early days of Russian occupation of Berlin. This notebook experiences formed the basis for the book Eine Frau in Berlin (A Woman in Berlin ") which was published in English in 1954. In this book, she popped the wave of indiscriminate sexual abuse committed by Soviet soldiers against German women who remained in the ruins of Berlin when the city was conquered by Russian troops in April 1945. However, the book does not merely recount the atrocities committed by the Russians, but also showed the attitude of many German women who agreed to mingle with the passengers in exchange for food, protection and comfort for even the worst days war. Therefore, it is not surprising that appear in 1959 published the German edition of the daily, Germany unleashed a lively debate about the contents, as memories of war were still too fresh in the German collective memory. This won her the newspaper decided not to disclose your name and remain permanently anonymous, giving instructions that his identity not be revealed, even after his death, which occurred in 2001. Nevertheless, in 2003 it was learned that the author was Martha Miller, a journalist who had studied at the Sorbonne University.
Evidence that the issue still remains hot in Germany has been to wait until 2008 for the text A woman in Berlin was adapted to film. Adaptation, funded by German capital, was given by the director Max Färberböck who was also responsible for preparing the script for the film, acting as co-writer of the same.
Entering rating the movie, I must say that this has a very strong start, showing the confusion of civilians who are caught in a furious battle, seasoned with a beginning effective and realistic war scenes that give a lot of strength in this first installment of the film. Neither are bad scenes that show the beginning of contact between the German and Russian soldiers, and sober realism, without lapsing into barbarism, shows how the rapes of German women at the hands of Soviet soldiers. Should also emphasize the careful reconstruction of the scenarios that recreate the demolished Berlin the last days of the war, a work environment that is quite convincing on screen.
However, not all aspects of the film are equally positive. How weaknesses should be noted first that the film as a whole, lacks dramatic intensity to really move the viewer. Everything is told from a deliberately balanced and sober perspective, but what has not come to pass fiber sensitive viewer. Perhaps because in the end it is too academic in the narrative level, throwing in a few drops of humor failure or ease the burden tragicomic drama of the narrative. In addition, the various subplots that are introduced to accompany the main narrative (as the young German soldier who is hiding from the Russians or the mature couple who finds his house occupied by a Russian soldier almost teenager) do not end up being well developed nor contribute much to the history of the star, beyond the anecdotal.
However, not all aspects of the film are equally positive. How weaknesses should be noted first that the film as a whole, lacks dramatic intensity to really move the viewer. Everything is told from a deliberately balanced and sober perspective, but what has not come to pass fiber sensitive viewer. Perhaps because in the end it is too academic in the narrative level, throwing in a few drops of humor failure or ease the burden tragicomic drama of the narrative. In addition, the various subplots that are introduced to accompany the main narrative (as the young German soldier who is hiding from the Russians or the mature couple who finds his house occupied by a Russian soldier almost teenager) do not end up being well developed nor contribute much to the history of the star, beyond the anecdotal.
In any case, we must recognize that " Anonima ..." is a movie brave enough to portray facts that many have wanted to save forgotten, and sets out in formal neatness honesty and a story not without interest. It is definitely a film, not outstanding in terms of cinematic quality, but certainly human and historical interest, being one of those titles remind managers of the other side of the war, the civilian casualties.
Rating: 6 / 10