Even though the film was made by a master Italian director, Roberto Rosselini, this film is the best German Neo-Realism piece ever made. It might have been too painful a subject for German directors at the time, but Fritz Lang and others had other fish to fry. The scenes of Berlin in 1948 are unforgettable. One can only imagine how horrible it must have been in 1945. The central character of Edmund, a young boy about ten or so, is so visceral, that you feel like grabbing him out of the movie and trying to protect him. Pedophiles, Black-marketeers, Petty crooks, prostitutes of all ages, and scavengers of every ilk infested the entrie city. Almost no German was immune. Every member of the family portrayed in the film has a cross to bear. The culmination of these problems is a solution so horrific, that I cannot mention it in the review; not to mention the consequences of that solution. A must-see film for those who want to experience living in the Hell that was Germany in 1945 or so.
Review of Germany Year Zero
