The Good German (2006)

While in post-war Berlin to cover the Potsdam Conference, an American military journalist is drawn into a murder investigation which involves his former mistress and his driver.

Director:

Steven Soderbergh

Writers:

Paul Attanasio (screenplay), Joseph Kanon (novel)

Stars:

George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Tobey Maguire

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
George Clooney	...	Jake Geismer
Cate Blanchett	...	Lena Brandt
Tobey Maguire	...	Tully
Beau Bridges	...	Colonel Muller
Tony Curran	...	Danny
Leland Orser	...	Bernie
Jack Thompson	...	Congressman Breimer
Robin Weigert	...	Hannelore
Ravil Isyanov	...	General Sikorsky
Christian Oliver	...	Emil Brandt
Dave Power	...	Lieutenant Schaeffer
Don Pugsley	...	Gunther
Dominic Comperatore	...	Levi
John Roeder	...	General
J. Paul Boehmer	...	British Press Aide

Storyline

Berlin, July, 1945. Journalist Jake Geismer arrives to cover the Potsdam conference, issued a captain's uniform for easier passage. He also wants to find Lena, an old flame who's now a prostitute desperate to get out of Berlin. He discovers that the driver he's assigned, a cheerful down-home sadist named Corporal Tully, is Lena's keeper. When the body of a murdered man washes up in Potsdam (within the Russian sector), Jake may be the only person who wants to solve the crime: U.S. personnel are busy finding Nazis to bring to trial, the Russians and the Americans are looking for German rocket scientists, and Lena has her own secrets.

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Plot Keywords:

driver | journalist | russian | american | secret | 

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Taglines:

If war is hell then what comes after?

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, violence and some sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Germany] Warner Bros. [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English German Russian

Release Date:

19 January 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

El buen alemán

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$32,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$76,817, 17 December 2006, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,308,696, 12 April 2007

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,914,908, 12 April 2007

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sunset Gower Studios, Warner Bros., Section Eight

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

DTS SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Once or twice in the film adverts for Persil washing powder are seen, before Lena gets her "Persilschein".

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Goofs

Colonel Muller says "a year ago I was up to my balls in mud at Anzio" The Anzio operation was over by May 12, 1944. The European part of the war ended May 8, 1945. It would have been a lot more then a year since he was fighting in Anzio.

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Quotes

Lena Brandt: You can never really get out of Berlin.

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Crazy Credits

All the logos appear in black and white, while the Warner Brothers logo appears in the forties old style

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Connections

Referenced in The Dialogue: An Interview with Screenwriter Paul Attanasio (2007)

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Soundtracks

Somebody Else Is Taking My Place
Written by Bob Ellsworth, Dick Howard and Russ Morgan
Performed by William Marsh, Chris Ross, Johnny Britt and Gary Stockdale

User Reviews

Tired Thriller in post-war Germany

The veneer of neo-noir techniques and B&W cinematography can't conceal the numerous shortcomings of "The Good German". The film resembles a formulaic retread with none of its characters particularly sympathetic or likable - and worse yet, their intrigues make little sense. Tobey Maguire does a nice turn against type as a venal opportunist, but everybody else plows through the script like robot actors supplied by Central Casting.

The plot is full of deceits and betrayals which attempt to elevate the proceedings into the genre of dark thriller. A femme fatale and tainted romance are stirred into the conspiracies, until the story eventually culminates in the standard breathless pursuit of the movie's stock villain. Despite all the scheming and double-dealing, the characters and their narrative arcs seem stale and conventional, as if seen a thousand times previously. Soderbergh has the ability to produce challenging and original films, but he frequently turns out bland uninspiring concoctions - and this is one of his worst.