Germany Year Zero (1948)

Edmund: I have no work, and neither does Eva. My brother still won't report and get his card.
Il maestro: I understand, but what can I do?
Edmund: My father needs treatment. Can't you help me? What can I do?
Il maestro: There's nothing you can do. Times are hard for everyone, worse for weak and old people. You've done all you can.
Edmund: But what if he dies?
Il maestro: If he dies, he dies. We all die sooner or later. Would you rather die yourself or let an old man live?

Director:  Roberto Rossellini
Producer:  Roberto Rossellini
Main Cast:  Edmund Moeschke, Ernst Pittschau, Ingetraud Hinze, Franz-Otto Krüger, Erich Gühne
Runtime:  78 minutes

Rubble films.  These are films that were filmed soon after World War II that showed the destruction (rubble) of war torn countries.  The first Hollywood film to be made in Germany after the war was The Berlin Express (1948) (an enjoyable thriller) but that pales in comparison to Roberto Rossellini’s stunning film Germany, Year Zero.  Whilst The Berlin Express shows sections of bombed out Frankfurt and Berlin, Germany Year Zero dumps you right in the middle of Berlin and tells the story of a family’s survival post war.  This is actually Roberto Rossellini’s final film in his War Trilogy, the former two being Rome, Open City (1945) and Paisan (1946).

Filmed around Berlin in 1948, Germany Year Zero is quite a sobering sight to see.  The amount of destruction is hard to grasp and apart from documentaries, it doesn’t get more sobering than here in Rossellini’s film where we see not just a city with much rubble but broken lives affected by the war and it would have to be one of the most complete post-war views in cinema.  The scenery isn’t fake and the lives are generally quite real and authentic though they are naturally not the greatest actors available on screen at the time.  The movie is, in a way, two films in one where the scenery forms a documentary of the times and life of the people and then of course there is the story within the film.

The film follows the life of a young boy, Edmund (Edmund Moeschke) who goes out each day trying to sell and scrounge whatever he can to help the rest of his family to survive.  They live in an overcrowded apartment block that is in poor shape just like many buildings in Berlin during that time.  His mother died in the war, father is bedridden due to illness, older brother (who served in the war) refuses to register his name and therefore has to remain in hiding unable to get a job and finally Edmund’s sister who also helps to support the family. Overall it is a story that tells us of the hardships of post war in a country that lost the war and it can almost have a documentary feel to it at times.  Naturally, considering the surroundings, setting and time you will not find a happy story here but something quite down to earth in its story telling and a glimpse of real post war life in incredibly difficult times.

As shown in the above images, this is not some constructed set and you often need to remind yourself that the backdrop is real.  Only the interior shots were mostly filmed in Rome the rest however, is the real deal.  It’s a fascinating yet sad film knowing that mankind does this to each other (Nazi Germany did the same, even worse, to other countries).  Another film I recently viewed is the wonderful The Man Between (1953) which again shows Berlin in ruins though some of the rubble has naturally been cleared.  The first film to be shot in Germany after the war was Die Mörder sind unter uns also known as The Murderers are Among Us (1946) and as you could imagine is also a sad eye opener in terms of destruction it shows to both man and landscape.

The Bluray reviewed here was imported from the UK and in this case is a limited run of 3000 copies in the trilogy pack which contains Roberto Rossellini’s three rubble films being “Rome, Open City”, “Paisa” and “Germany Year Zero” on three separate Bluray’s.  You can also get DVD copies of the film though I doubt they will have the same restored image and extras as the Blurays here.

The image is quite rough and naturally so considering film stock would not have been easily available, however the image is still very acceptable and the roughness of it just adds to the documentary and authentic feel of the movie.  To be honest I doubt you will ever see this film in better condition than this, hence the higher marks for image quality (the source is the issue, not the transfer to Bluray).  The film is presented in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio and runs for a brisk 73 minutes.  The audio is also quite good considering and is in a PCM Mono format in German with English subtitles.  

The Bluray also contains an 80-minute feature by Roberto called L’amore (1948) as an extra feature on the same disc as Germany Year Zero.

Having only seen the film in review from the boxset, I would have to say that this is quite an important film for restoration as it gives a raw image of the horror people had to go through after the war and gives us perspective of the devastation that occours not just to the cityscape but also to individual lives.  Highly recommended for those interested in a different aspect of War movies.

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