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The Good German

The Good German (2006)

December. 15,2006
|
6
|
R
| Drama Thriller Mystery War

An American journalist arrives in Berlin just after the end of World War Two. He becomes involved in a murder mystery surrounding a dead GI who washes up at a lakeside mansion during the Potsdam negotiations between the Allied powers. Soon his investigation connects with his search for his married pre-war German lover.

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Reviews

UnowPriceless
2006/12/15

hyped garbage

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Odelecol
2006/12/16

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

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Kien Navarro
2006/12/17

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

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Gary
2006/12/18

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

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roystephen-81252
2006/12/19

Steven Soderbergh's directorial debut, Sex, Lies & Videotape instantly marked him as one to watch, but unfortunately, he later proved to be a very much hit-and-miss filmmaker. He has made some great movies (like Traffic, Erin Brockovich, maybe Ocean's Eleven) and some atrocious ones (like Full Frontal or The Informant!), as well.The Good German is one of his better efforts and it's definitely worth a watch, if for nothing else than the astonishingly faithful recreation of the film noir style of the 1940s and the beautiful black-and-white cinematography (Soderbergh's own work under a false name). I honestly feel the cinematography should have been nominated for an Academy Award. Thanks to the amazing lighting and make-up, Cate Blanchett looks jaw-droppingly beautiful in this one (and very noir-ish).A word of caution, however: despite what the theatrical poster suggests, this is not a romantic movie like Casablanca, rather a blend between American film noir and the Italian neorealism of the 1940s. The tone is quite somber and the characters are not likable heroes, which is appropriate since the film is about how war twists people inside out (that aspect is masterfully conveyed through Tobey Maguire's genuinely chilling character), how it compromises our moral integrity and blurs the line between good and evil. It's about what people would do in order to survive such horrendous times.

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geekerr
2006/12/20

The paucity of present day Hollywood.All it has is a special effects.Trying to imitate a movie made in the 1940s and that is all you will get.Embarrassing No ability to write.The movie equivalent of Threes Company Pure bimbo stuff.The actors in it won't be putting this on their resume Makes Hollywood look like it is all promotion and no substanceit could be viewed as a comedy if you have time to waste.Just a terrible self indulgent workIncredible that it got made.

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ivo_shandor
2006/12/21

Never have I seen a worse blight on film than this movie. This is a blatant ripoff of Casablanca, or rather a movie trying to be Casablanca, ripping off the poster exactly, even the lettering and style.I rented this film, hoping to see a period thriller piece. I was more interested in hearing the plot. This movie has the worst plot, and spoilers, the plot doesn't go anywhere, it just shoves in this piece of rubbish on building weapons and killing scientists. Soderbergh tries to do the old filmmaking tricks from the 40s, but they just fall flat and look stupid. When he does the old zoom in on a letter, with the black boxes around it like in the 40s films, you can't even read what the letter says, it's that terrible.It's a waste of time, don't bother with it, even with the cast, Toby Maguire is terrible, Clooney isn't anything special and everyone else is just forgettable.I'm surprised more people don't like this film for what it represents.

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Terrell Howell (KnightsofNi11)
2006/12/22

In the past ten years or so Steven Soderbergh has become a director who does what he wants, when he wants. He makes the film he wants to make and he does it exactly how he feels it needs to be done, no matter how unorthodox or inconvenient. In 2004 he made Ocean's Twelve, the sequel to one of his biggest blockbuster successes. Then in 2005 he made the film Bubble, a small independently released film with no professional actors. Then in 2006 he picks his stars back up and makes The Good German with George Clooney and Cate Blanchett. And yet he does this film in a completely unconditional way that somewhat negates the star power that the film has.The Good German is about an army general who is visiting Berlin shortly after World War II. What begins as a routine mission quickly becomes a complicated murder mystery involving his mistress and his driver. The plot of the film is straightforward enough, but what makes this film different is the significant style choices that Soderbergh makes. The Good German is essentially an homage to classic film noir and war time thrillers. Soderbergh does everything in his power to make this film seem as if it were made in the 40's or 50's and if it didn't have all of the big names attached to it I might believe it really was that old. Sadly, this film goes all the way for style, and leaves behind all of its substance. Thus, after we become acquainted with the film's style we are left to watch a dull and hollow story unfold, never becoming more than a typical Hollywood junk film trying to be something it's not.The Good German is a film that deserves all the style points it gets. I commend Soderbergh for his efforts in making this pastiche film with the nuances he wanted. He got it just right, but to the extent where it takes away from everything else about the film (i.e. the story). This is a story that goes nowhere and is not interesting or compelling in the slightest. It's a mystery without mystery. I never found myself excited about finding out the answers to the questions the film raises. It is sloppy in its delivery of a hard hitting story and lazy in the way it develops said story. I tried my best to get into the film towards the beginning, but quickly found myself losing interest. Also, the film never improves. It's climax is terribly underwhelming and its conclusion is completely forgettable. From start to finish The Good German is all style and no substance.If you're a Soderbergh fan I might recommend this if you truly care about seeing everything the man has ever done. If you're a mild fan then there are plenty of other films from him that you should check out. This is definitely way towards the bottom in my Soderbergh recommendation list. Not including the film's acute style, it's easily one of his poorest efforts.

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