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Woman in Berlin, A

EMAILPRINTStrand Releasing

Woman in Berlin, A reviews
74
N/A User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 12 critic reviews
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Drama  |  War

Written by: Max Färberböck

Directed by: Max Färberböck

Release Date:
Theatrical: July 17, 2009

Running Time: 131 minutes, Color

Origin: Germany | Poland

Summary

RATING: Not Rated

Starring Nina Hoss, Evgeny Sidikhin, Irm Hermann, Rüdiger Vogler, Ulrike Krumbiegel, Rolf Kanies, Jördis Triebel, and Roman Gribkov

Set in 1945 during the Red Army invasion of Berlin. Women are victims of rape and devastation; one of them is Anonyma , who had been a journalist and photographer. In her desperation, she decides to look for an officer who can protect her. She meets a Russian officer Andrej - an encounter which develops into a complex symbiotic relationship that forces them to remain enemies until the bitter end. (Strand Releasing)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

The New York Times A.O. Scott

That the film manages to be understated, calm and intelligent in spite of its wrenching subject matter is perhaps its most impressive accomplishment. In avoiding sensationalism, it feels very close to the truth.

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100

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

It's intelligent, provocative and intensely dramatic. Its subject matter may be tough but it is as powerfully authentic as anyone could want.

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90

Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir

A distinctive achievement, a World War II movie unlike any other and one of the few films ever to address a topic that makes almost everyone want to look away: What happens to women in wartime.

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80

Village Voice Ella Taylor

One of the best of a new breed of indigenous movies prying open the Pandora's box of German suffering in World War II, A Woman in Berlin takes on the mass rape of German women by victorious Russian soldiers entering the country in 1945.

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75

New York Post V.A. Musetto

A Woman in Berlin, which is based on an anonymously written memoir of the same name, serves also as a testimony to women who put men in their place.

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70

NPR Mark Jenkins

A Woman in Berlin doesn't justify retribution, but in such moments it does clarify the horrible logic of vengeance.

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67

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

Anonyma stands out in A Woman in Berlin not only because of her ragged nobility but also because, alas, Färberböck has surrounded her with a gaggle of Berliners who seem right out of Central Casting.

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67

Portland Oregonian Marc Mohan

Like "The Reader," this film treads unsteadily over the terrain of German guilt.

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60

Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall

Director Max Farberbock (Aimee & Jaguar) mainly avoids graphic depictions of sexual assault, but that only increases the tension in this austere, claustrophobic drama.

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50

The Hollywood Reporter Peter Brunette

The film ends up relying on stating a basic situation over and over rather than developing any sort of dramatic story concerning recognizable human beings, at least until things get moving a little faster in its second hour.

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50

Variety Eddie Cockrell

A stately, intermittently gripping, ultimately overlong drama.

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40

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Unfortunately, Färberböck never gives us reason enough to sit through such unremitting punishment. Though the story is based in truth, an emotionally removed Hoss feels more like a symbol than an actual person, while her detached narration keeps us at further remove.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 0.0 (out of 10) based on 0 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

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