The Good German

[A Black Falcon]

"The Good German" is a quite good film by Steven Soderbergh, currently in theaters. (I saw it today in the local arthouse theater) The movie, described as an espionage thriller, is set in Berlin in mid 1945, soon after the defeat of Germany but before Japan's surrender. It is a throwback film, shot using only things available in the 1940s -- black and white film, no zoom, boom microphones instead of clipons on the actors, etc. As a result it does a very good job of seeming to be from the period, though some things do give it away as a modern film, such as how the German characters speak subtitled German to eachother, while I would expect a period Hollywood film would have used English there. Things like that do not detract from the feeling of the era, however. The film quality seems like an old movie, and not a high-definition modern thing; the story being told is a more timeless tale of suspense, though, and is very interesting. It is impossible to tell at the beginning where the film is going to go, and there definitely are surprises in store...

The movie stars George Clooney, as well as Tobey Macguire and Cate Blanchett. It's odd to see Tobey Macguire here as the pretty slimy character he plays, with how I think of him from the Spiderman... it works, though. The intricate plot of politics, deception, and betrayal as seen by Clooney's war reporter character Jake Geismar are sometimes confusing, but come together in the end to show the truth of the situation. Some background in post-World War II politics and the fate of postwar Germany helps I would think, but isn't necessary. In short, this is a quite good film, and if it's playing somewhere near you, you should consider watching it.