IMDb > The Good German (2006)
The Good German
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The Good German (2006) More at IMDbPro »

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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.
The Good German (2006) -- Clip: You should have never come back to Berlin
The Good German (2006) -- Interview: Cate Blanchett "The Film's Location"
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.
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.

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Overview

User Rating:
6.1/10   11,929 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 8% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Paul Attanasio (screenplay)
Joseph Kanon (novel)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Good German on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
14 February 2007 (France) more
Genre:
Tagline:
If war is hell then what comes after? more
Plot:
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. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(47 articles)
User Comments:
Not-so-good German more (149 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Jack Thompson ... Congressman Breimer

John Roeder ... General

George Clooney ... Jake Geismer

Tobey Maguire ... Tully

Cate Blanchett ... Lena Brandt

Dominic Comperatore ... Levi

Dave Power ... Lieutenant Schaeffer

Tony Curran ... Danny

Ravil Isyanov ... General Sikorsky

J. Paul Boehmer ... British Press Aide
Igor Korosec ... Russian Soldier

Boris Kievsky ... Russian Soldier
Vladimir Kulikov ... Russian Soldier
Yevgeniy Narovlyanskiy ... Russian Soldier
Aleksandr Sountsov ... Russian Soldier
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for language, violence and some sexual content.
Runtime:
105 min
Country:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
When Geismar checks Lena's file in the Records archive at Military Government headquarters, he discovers only a note in the folder saying the file has been "sent to Overcast." Operation Overcast was the U.S. Army's 1945 operation to bring German rocket scientists (such as Wernher Von Braun) and their families to America following the end of the war. (It was later re-named Operation Paperclip.) more
Goofs:
Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Upon Geismer's first visit to her apartment, Lena lights the stove and begins heating a kettle. Shortly, she announces she is going to bed, leaving the kettle over the stove's flame (as well as a lit candle on the table). more
Quotes:
Patrick Tully: [threatening a Jewish double amputee] Don't you jew me over the price! more
Movie Connections:
References Casablanca (1942) more
Soundtrack:
Somebody Else Is Taking My Place more

FAQ

Is this movie based on a true story?
more
85 out of 129 people found the following comment useful.
Not-so-good German, 24 January 2007
5/10
Author: char treuse from new york city

A clever look: imitation vintage B-movie in black and white; Steven Soderbergh's appropriate, artful gimmick for this film set in Berlin in the immediate aftermath of WWII.

Cate Blanchett turns in an apt theatrical performance given "The Bad German's" archly retro conceit. As the film's mother/whore femme fatale, Cate is sphinx-like, world-weary and made up like a drag queen at Mardi Gras. George Clooney, meanwhile, turns in his routine performance that is altogether too modern and casual. Put him in scrubs and he's ready again for the ER. Together, they create no chemistry nor any other natural science. Toby McGuire, as a sleazy, black-marketing GI, is so painfully hammy you'll find yourself begging for him to stop.

The storyline is awkwardly developed and unnecessarily opaque, its characters cold and remote. There's really nobody to cheer for or identify with; no emotions to hook us into this world. When was the last time that international intrigue, on-screen, was so unintriguing? It's too bad we've been served such an exciting cinematic look -- an overly lit, noir-like one -- only as window dressing on a story as bleak and dreary as the blitzkrieged landscapes on view.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Good German (2006)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
What was the point? jnybsnoogins
Cate actually disappoints naveron
The Third Man (1949) blueharvestblues
Why was Emile Brandt killed. As a rocket scientist he was valuable alive teddyballgame
Cate's German? aps17
Plot holes - Emil Brandt filippobardazzi
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