Truly Dreadful Film

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

"Alone in Berlin" is supposedly based in actual facts about a couple of working class Berliners, Otto and Elise Hampel, that after Elise's brother died in the the taking of France by the III Reich in 1940, they start a shadow campaign against Adolf Hitler by writing anonymous postcards and leave them in strategic places through the city. Well, the message of this movie directed by the actor-turned-director, Vincent Perez who also co-wrote the screenplay, based on the 1947 fictionalized novel "Every Man Dies Alone" by Hans Fallada, is that the couple (as portrayed in this film) were, in fact, hypocrites. So, before the death of their only son (everybody knows that every war is tragic, and casualties of war are, unfortunately, expected), they both were avid Nazi Party supporters, like the majority of the Germans during the early stages of the Second World War and the wife was even in a League for support the wives of soldiers in combat and encouraging them to become useful for public and factory work to help the war efforts and then suddenly, both had a change of heart and their political & social beliefs. Losing their only offspring, surely is 'hell on earth' for every caring parents, but if the son hadn't died, does the parents still started their campaign against Adolf Hitler ? Let me repeat myself that it was 1940, before the deportation of Jews & Germany was in full gas, summing victory after victory for the glory of the III Reich and the viewer must be situated in the time which the action takes place for full analyzing this peculiar case which serves the main plot of the movie and it did look indeed far-fetched & unrealistic. Technically and artistically, the movie looks good for its budget, even if it is limited in outdoor's scenarios, but it's OK in recreating Berlin in the early 40's. The pacing is too slow and nothing much happens in the middle, there's some sub-plots included, like the elderly Jewish lady who lives in the attic, just for adding a little more juice to the whole, but the final product is tasteless and a bit dull. Emma Thompson & Brendan Gleeson deliver good performances limited to the given material & Daniel Bruhl can do this type of role in his sleep, the witty & cocky German who is obstinate in his wills. Verdict: "Alone in Berlin" is a way forgettable film that give us nothing new in the subject matter, it may worth a watch for fans of this trio of actors & maybe earns an 1 or 2 extra points for the production values and i'm being generous.

First of all, if I would have been in the shoes of Otto Hampel, the one who inspired the character of Otto Quangel, I would not have exposed myself by buying cards in shops, I would have written those messages on plain paper or pieces of cardboard. Which I would have left in more populated places, such as tram stops, train stations, big shops, restaurants, etc. very crowded public places. It would have been even easier and less dangerous and with much greater effect. Or I would be writing at night with paint on the walls of the city Berlin. Interesting story, well done film, worthy of appreciation the acting of all actors, especially the protagonists, Emma Thompson and Brendan Gleeson.

this is not a terrible movie, but it's hard to capture to real terror of Nazism. the book is a tough read but it's as near as I've seen to reality. the total fear of carrying out even the most trivial oppositional act. the certainty that your life is endangered if anyone knows what you're doing - even if it's your family. people always think they would have been in the resistance, but likely they wouldn't. this movie does a reasonable job of showing that only those with nothing to lose would even think about it.

War films are stories writ large about aggression between nations. Few of them explore small-scale human undercurrents of suppressed dissent inside the countries at war. Alone in Berlin (2016) does this by looking at an ordinary working-class couple and their compulsion to express feelings about Hitler's dictatorship at time where dissent meant certain death. It is also an essay on parental grief struggling to voice its pain of loss.Based on real events, the story opens in a small flat in Berlin where Otto Quangel (Brendan Gleeson) and his wife Anna (Emma Thompson) learn that their son has died in battle. In a long marriage that is under strain, the news pushes them further apart as they cannot console each other in grief. Otto had encouraged his son to join the Nazi army and now Anna blames him for their loss. Desperate to voice his rage against Hitler's regime, he painstakingly writes postcards and secretly leaves them on stairwells and doorways where they can be seen by passers-by: he calls them "small grains of sand in Hitler's machine". Initially he keeps Anna away from his dangerous mission, but she insists on being involved and they both become clandestine resistance fighters whose weapons are simple messages about the evils of Nazism. They manage to write and distribute over 260 cards despite extensive investigative efforts to stop them. In the process, they resurrect their marital relationship. After almost two years of card-writing they are caught and together face Nazi justice.This film has two parallel narratives that start in opposition and end in convergence: one is Otto and Anna's actions, the other is the investigation. The first is focused on the smallness of the couple's actions in contrast to the enormous risk they are taking, like a pair of mice squeaking at roaring lions. The filming, colour palette and period setting are drab and lifeless; the atmosphere is paranoid with suspicion and mistrust; and the acting is subdued and understated. Brendan Gleeson and Emma Thompson are actors with broad performance repertoires but here they are minimalist in expression and Spartan in dialogue, with much being conveyed through furtive glances or avoided eye-contact. It is a slow-moving story, observant of small details in an alienated world. This has the effect of amplifying the intensity of Otto and Anna's actions. Close-ups of a pen leaving a trail of outrage on a small white card become powerful portraits of bravery that are ultimately futile as most of the cards were handed in to authorities. The couple's nemesis is a young German investigator (Daniel Bruhl) who pursues his work with ideological fervour for the Fuhrer but whose success turns into the film's most devastating moments of despair.This is a joyless story about humble heroism. Otto and Anna are emblematic of ordinary people dealing with tragedy and anger inside a world of fear and danger. Far from being mere victims, their small protests seriously unsettled the Nazi hierarchy and the closing scenes are a tribute to the power of their "small grains of sand".