"Murderers among us" is a unique film about the Second World War made right after the ending of this war by a German director.
With respect to the actuality, the film resembles "Germania anno zero" (1948, Roberto Rossellini). The images of a totally destroyed Berlin are not unlike later post apocalyptic science fiction films.
Interesting is the view of the German director on the recent history of his own land so close to the end of the war. To be honest I found the self criticism rather courageous. In the Netherlands such self critiscism on the role played in Indonesia just after the war is not self evident, even after more than 70 years.
Central to the film is the relation between Susanne Wallner (Hildegard Knef) and Dr Hans Mertens (Wilhelm Borchert). Susanne wants to forget about the past and look forward to the future. Dr Hans Mertens can and will not forget about the past. This is certainly true when Frerdinand Brueckner (Arno Paulsen) appears on the scene. Brueckner was the commander of Dr Mertens in the German army and did give the orders for excecuting innocent Polish people. In post war Germany he presents himself as a successful businessman and a perfect family man.
The interaction between Susanne and Dr Mertens is fascinating. In the past decade there were films such as "Im Labyrinth des Schweigens" (2014, Giulio Ricciarelli) and "Der Staat gegen Fritz Bauer" (2015, Lars Kraume). These films are about war criminals from the Second World War who managed to built a successful career in post war Germany. Evidently right after the war there were more Susanne's than Dr Mertens in Germany.
With respect to the actuality, the film resembles "Germania anno zero" (1948, Roberto Rossellini). The images of a totally destroyed Berlin are not unlike later post apocalyptic science fiction films.
Interesting is the view of the German director on the recent history of his own land so close to the end of the war. To be honest I found the self criticism rather courageous. In the Netherlands such self critiscism on the role played in Indonesia just after the war is not self evident, even after more than 70 years.
Central to the film is the relation between Susanne Wallner (Hildegard Knef) and Dr Hans Mertens (Wilhelm Borchert). Susanne wants to forget about the past and look forward to the future. Dr Hans Mertens can and will not forget about the past. This is certainly true when Frerdinand Brueckner (Arno Paulsen) appears on the scene. Brueckner was the commander of Dr Mertens in the German army and did give the orders for excecuting innocent Polish people. In post war Germany he presents himself as a successful businessman and a perfect family man.
The interaction between Susanne and Dr Mertens is fascinating. In the past decade there were films such as "Im Labyrinth des Schweigens" (2014, Giulio Ricciarelli) and "Der Staat gegen Fritz Bauer" (2015, Lars Kraume). These films are about war criminals from the Second World War who managed to built a successful career in post war Germany. Evidently right after the war there were more Susanne's than Dr Mertens in Germany.