A Woman in Berlin (2008)

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

Director:

Max Färberböck

Writers:

Max Färberböck, Marta Hillers (book) (as Anonyma)

Stars:

Nina Hoss, Evgeniy Sidikhin, Irm Hermann

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nina Hoss	...	Anonyma
Evgeniy 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
Aleksandra Kulikova	...	Masha
Viktor Zhalsanov	...	asiatischer Rotarmist
Oleg Chernov	...	Erster Vergewaltiger
Eva Löbau	...	Frau Wendt
Anne Kanis	...	Flüchtlingsmädchen

Storyline

A nameless woman keeps a diary as the Russians invade Berlin in the spring of 1945. She is in her early 30s, a patriotic journalist with international credentials; her husband, Gerd, a writer, is an officer at the Russian front. She speaks Russian and, for a day or two after the invasion, keeps herself safe, but then the rapes begin. She resolves to control her fate and invites the attentions of a Russian major, Andreij Rybkin. He becomes her protector of sorts subject to pressures from his own fellow soldiers and officers. Dramas play out in the block of flats where she lives. Is she an amoral traitor? She asks, "How do we go on living?" And what of Gerd and her diary?

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Plot Keywords:

woman raped | raped by soldier | defeat of nazis | forced sexual contact | year 1945 | 

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Taglines:

World War II ends and her story begins...

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Germany]

Country:

Germany Poland

Language:

German Russian Georgian

Release Date:

23 October 2008 (Germany)

Also Known As:

A Woman in Berlin

Filming Locations:

Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,439, 19 July 2009

Gross USA:

$294,014

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,863,939

Company Credits

Production Co:

Constantin Film, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF), Tempus

Technical Specs

Runtime:

131 min 175 min (2 parts)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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Goofs

In the film it was announced that Germany had surrendered and the Russians broke into singing the anthem version that had been adopted somewhat in 1944 and known as the "Alexandrov version." However it had no lyrics until Stalin intervened. It is doubtful that war events would have permitted all soldiers to learn it because of the fierceness of the war. Most likely they would have broke into the chorus of the better known anthem which was known as "The Internationale."

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Quotes

Anonyma: [in German] Soldier! Why are you taking a woman against her will?

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Connections

Featured in History: Anonyma - Die Frauen von Berlin (2010)

User Reviews

Hard hitting subject matter, could have been more gripping..

Anonyma - Eine Frau in Berlin – A Woman in Berlin - CATCH IT (B+) A Woman in Berlin (German: Eine Frau in Berlin) is an autobiographical account of the period from 20 April to 22 June 1945 in Berlin (Battle of Berlin). At the author's request, the work was published anonymously for her protection. The book purports to detail the writer's experiences as a rape victim during the Red Army occupation of the city. Two years after her death in 2003 the anonymous author was identified in the Süddeutsche Zeitung by Jens Bisky (a German literary editor) as Marta Hillers. (Wiki) The controversial German movie is about the women who survived the war by working as captivate prostitutes for the Russians. Just like every war all the men were killed and women were tortured and captured by the occupiers. The starting of the movie is really nice as how it shows how people have to go through and live through once Russians won over Germany. The women whose husbands were Nazi were bound to be raped and tortured by the occupiers. The performances by all the German actor and actresses and especially Nina Hoss, August Diehl & Evgeniy Sidikhin are admirable. Because the performances in these hard hitting movies makes you believe the situation. The beginning of the movie really good but the movie falls when they start showing the romance between German woman and the Red Army commander, it slowed down the phase. On the whole, A woman in Berlin is a really nice movie about the aftermaths of the War.