A young German boy faces the problems of the tough life in the immediate post WWII Berlin.
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Title: Germany Year Zero (1948)
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3 wins.
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Cast
| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Edmund Moeschke | ... |
Edmund Köhler
(as Edmund Meschke)
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 |
Ernst Pittschau | ... | |
| Ingetraud Hinze | ... |
Eva
(as Ingetraud Hinz)
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|
|
|
Franz-Otto Krüger | ... |
Karl-Heinz
(as Franz Grüger)
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|
|
Erich Gühne | ... |
Il maestro
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Plot Summary
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Add Synopsis
Storyline
Edmund, a young boy who lives in war-devastated Germany after the Second World War has to do all kinds of work and tricks to help his family in getting food and barely survive. One day he meets a man who used to be one of his teachers in school and hopes to get support from him, but the ideas of this man do not lead Edmund in a clearer or safer way of living... Written by Hugo <transit@cam.org>
Taglines:
The country is obliterated, the buildings are dilapidated and the people are desolated.Parents Guide:
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Details
Release Date:
19 September 1949 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Germany Year Zero See more »Company Credits
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company contact information
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IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
| (TCM print)Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound System)Color:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1
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Il maestro: He clears the ruins.
Edmund: No mandatory labor for you?
Il maestro: Luckily, no.
Edmund: My brother thought he'd have to. He stayed away.
Il maestro: They all should stay away, those that share our ideas. Remember? Long ago, your father falsified a document to get you out of Hitler Youth. But you said right away that it was false. You knew your duty. I should have reported your father for that, but I didn't because I like you.
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Did You Know?
Trivia
According to his autobiography, Klaus Kinski went in to audition for an unspecified part for Roberto Rossellini when he came to Berlin. He claims that after hours of waiting while Rossellini was on the phone with Anna Magnani in another room, Kinski characteristically burst out in anger and cursed Rossellini. The Italian director was reputedly heard saying as Kinski was storming out: "Chi è quello? Mi interessa! Fategli un provino!" (Translation: "Who is he? Interesting! Arrange for a screen test!") See more »Quotes
Edmund: Your friend is in the work service?Il maestro: He clears the ruins.
Edmund: No mandatory labor for you?
Il maestro: Luckily, no.
Edmund: My brother thought he'd have to. He stayed away.
Il maestro: They all should stay away, those that share our ideas. Remember? Long ago, your father falsified a document to get you out of Hitler Youth. But you said right away that it was false. You knew your duty. I should have reported your father for that, but I didn't because I like you.
See more »
Rossellini's films just after World War II are to be appreciated as both social comment and for artistic advancement in the matter of film. This film, like no other, deals with Germany as a vanquished nation, driven downward toward annihilation. Edmund, a young boy, made to beggar himself in order to survive, gives one of the truly authentic portraits of youth driven to despair ever seen on the screen.
How used to sentimentality we Americans had become by the time Rossellini made this desolate vision of a destroyed post-war Europe.
How coddled and led astray were we by image after image of dimpled, freckled kids clutching hold of their pets. Children the likes of Mickey Rooney or Dean Stockwell. How engaging...and yet how unreal.
Edmund isn't just a child, we learn. But more so, a country.
A nation bombed into rubble and tasting its own ashes. Stripped of everything of any value and reduced to zero. Rejected by everyone and forced into murder...in the end made to stare death in the face.
Germany YEAR ZERO will shock you. Make you wince as the tragedy of a nation corrupted unfolds, and self-destructs.
Edmund is no longer just a boy made to suffer in a world he never made. In the end he's our conscience.