Berlinale Opens with Hollywood Stars and a Political Tone
February 13, 2007
However, the weekend was not only about starlets but more about politics and contemporary history, as both films deal with Cold War themes. By choosing these, along with a third film about National Socialism called “Der Fälscher” (“The Counterfeiters”) by the Austrian director Stefan Ruzowitzky, the festival committee seemed to set the tone for this year’s Berlinale -- profound cinema about World War II and its worldwide consequences.
Post-war destiny in Berlin
“The Good German” by Steven Soderbergh is set in Berlin shortly after the end of the Second World War. A US journalist played by George Clooney is sent to the bombed-out city where he meets his ex-girlfriend, a German played by Cate Blanchett. The story deals with the beginnings of the Cold War and the fight between the United States and the Soviet Union to win over German scientists and glean their knowledge about rocket construction.
Soderbergh said he had made a conscious decision to let the story start after the war: “There have been so many great movies about the war that I didn’t feel I had anything to add.” One of the reasons he had finally decided on this particular screenplay was that he himself hardly knew anything about the post-war period and the hunt for German scientists, he stated.
Post-war destiny around the world
When Robert de Niro presented “The Good Shepherd”, a film which deals with the beginnings of the CIA and the 1961 Cuba crisis, one could have thought that he had made a deal with his colleague when he said he was fascinated by the Cold War. “I am a child of the Cold War,” de Niro told reporters recalling a trip he had made to Berlin when the city was still divided. “That whole period and the intelligence world is fascinating.”
In contrast to James Bond and other action-packed secret-service films, de Niro said he had decided to choose a more “realistic” and “believable” approach. The result is a three-hour film about espionage and counter-espionage, about make-believe and truth, and about the birth of the CIA. Matt Damon is a young civil servant who meets a translator in post-war Berlin, played by the German actress Martina Gedeck.
The two American films have outstanding actors, brilliant shots and impressive settings -- technically perfect Hollywood productions -- but they might be somewhat lacking in soul for some.
German approach to the Holocaust theme
Meanwhile, “Der Fälscher” -- the Austro-German contribution to the competition -- has a smaller dimension. It tells the astonishing real-life story of a Holocaust survivor who saved his life by counterfeiting British and American bank-notes for the Nazis.
Director Ruzowitzky said it was important to go on telling stories about National Socialism. “We have to make conscious that National Socialism was not just about building highways and the Holocaust was not a simple misadventure.”
Three courageous films about contemporary political history then -- no masterpiece and no favourite for the Golden Bear but a pretty good opening for the 2007 Berlinale.