Germany Year Zero [Germania Anno Zero] ***** (1948, Edmund Moeschke, Ernst Pittschau, Ingetraud Hinze, Franz-Otto Krüger, Erich Gühne) – Classic Movie Review 7541

Director Roberto Rossellini’s 1947 Italian neo-realist masterpiece classic drama Germany Year Zero [Germania Anno Zero] is a horrific portrait of Germany in the aftermath of the Second World War, as experienced by a 12-year-old lad (Edmund Moeschke) and his family living in the rubble of Berlin.

Struggling to survive, the boy trades on the black market to look after his bedridden father Franz (Ernst Pittschau) and brother, who are hiding from the authorities.

Working with non-professional actors in the war-smashed city of Berlin, and filming on location in the Italian post-war neo-realist style, Rossellini produces another riveting documentary record of the time and an overwhelmingly moving tragedy.

Also in the cast are Ingetraud Hinze, Franz-Otto Krüger, Erich Gühne, and Barbara Hintz.

It was released as Roberto Rossellini’s War Trilogy on the Criterion Collection, along with Rome Open City and Paisà.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7541

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