Anonyma - Eine Frau in Berlin (2008)

Director:

Max Färberböck

Writers:

Anonyma (book)
Max Färberböck (writer)

Release Date:

23 October 2008 (Germany)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

World War II ends and her story begins...

Plot:

A woman tries to survive the invasion of Berlin by the Soviet troops during the last days of World War II.

Plot Keywords:

Invasion | Marauder | Based On Diary | Russian Abroad | Post War

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Nina Hoss	...	Anonyma
Yevgeni Sidikhin	...	Major Andreij Rybkin
Irm Hermann	...	Witwe
Rüdiger Vogler	...	Eckhart
Ulrike Krumbiegel	...	Ilse Hoch
Rolf Kanies	...	Friedrich Hoch
Jördis Triebel	...	Bärbel Malthaus
Roman Gribkov	...	Anatol
Juliane Köhler	...	Elke
Samvel Muzhikyan	...	Andropov
Viktor Zhalsanov	...	Mongole
Aleksandra Kulikova	...	Masha
Oleg Chernov	...	Erster Vergewaltiger
Anne Kanis	...	Flüchtlingsmädchen
August Diehl	...	Gerd

Also Known As:

A Woman in Berlin (International: English title)
Kobieta w Berlinie (Poland)

Runtime:

USA:131 min | Canada:131 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

Germany | Poland

Language:

German | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Germany:12 | Netherlands:16

Filming Locations:

Cologne, North Rhine - Westphalia, Germany

Company:

Constantin Film Produktion

Trivia:

As a protective measure the author requested her anonymity as author of her book: Eine Frau in Berlin (A Woman In Berlin).

Now we step on the corpses of dead women just to get to a jar of jam.

War is not a pleasant experience. Those who follow the news know that there have been several of our own soldiers accused and prosecuted for rape and murder in Iraq. In all wars there are local citizens who prostitute themselves to feed their family. It is often hard to make a choice between honor and survival.

This is the story of German women at the end of WWII when the Russians have moved into Germany. They are, of course, raped and abused, as women often are by invading armies. The question then becomes, how best to survive. Anonyma (Nina Hoss) decides the best way is to find the best Russian officer to care for her in exchange for sex.

It is easy to see why the Germans and the Russians hated the book, upon which this film is based, when it came out after the war. They are not shown in a good light. That is no surprise. Soldiers usually do not come from Ivy League universities, but from farms and shops.

Nina Hoss is one of the very few women that can look splendid even in rags.

Oustanding film.