Review of Germany Year Zero

The bleakest of all the neo-realist films is, to my mind, perhaps the greatest. The lack of music means that our emotions are orchestrated completely by the story that unfolds on the screen. A complete absence of hope lies at the centre of the film, pervading every action, every word. An extraordinarily powerful film, whose horrific climax, with the childs suicide, serves only to heighten the effect of desperation.