In 1959,a book was published in Switzerland,entitled 'Anonyma:Eine Frau In Berlin',about a woman who had lived through the liberation of Berlin by the Red Army,in 1945,just mere months before Adolf Hitler committed suicide. This book shocked those who had read it,also resulting in it being immediately banned in Germany (although it was eventually published there many years later). In 2008,German film maker,Max Farberbock adapted this eye opening novel into a new film from the original novel by the author (Anonyma). The film stars the lovely to look at,Nina Foss as Anonyma,who's husband is seen shipping out for the elite S.S. squad of the German Army the very morning of the Soviet invasion of Berlin in 1945. For the next three months,she,as well as the rest of the residents of Berlin are subjected to brutal treatment of their captors. Determined to survive this nightmare,she forges a relationship with the Russian leader, Major Andrei Rybkin (played by Yevgeni Sidikhin,who commands a genuine presence here),as well as a renegade member of the German army,that is hiding in the attic of the apartment block she lives in. The rest of the cast is made up of both German & Russian actors who truly live up to their roles (and watch out for a winning performance by Irm Hermann, generally known for her work in the films of the late Rainer Werner Fassbinder,as Witke).Comparisons to Paul Verhoeven's 'Black Book' will be obvious. Benedict Neuenfels' camera work,which gives this film it's grainy,grim look & Ewa J.Lund's tight editing is right on track This grim,gritty film is yet,another winning entry from Constantin Film Produktion,who gave us the likes of 'Last Exit to Brooklyn',and the recent,'Der Bader Meinhof Komplex'. The film is a bit long in the tooth,but there isn't a slack moment in it's 131 minute running time. Spoken in German & Russian with English subtitles. Not rated by the MPAA,this film contains rough language, violence,flashes of nudity & sexual content,including several unpleasant rape scenes
Review of A Woman in Berlin
