The Good German

2006

Drama / Mystery / Romance / Thriller / War

14
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 33% · 152 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 33% · 25K ratings
IMDb Rating 6.0/10 10 26882 26.9K

berlin, germany chauffeur corruption love of one's life nazi war correspondent

Plot summary

An American journalist arrives in Berlin just after the end of World War Two. He becomes involved in a murder mystery surrounding a dead GI who washes up at a lakeside mansion during the Potsdam negotiations between the Allied powers. Soon his investigation connects with his search for his married pre-war German lover.

Director

Steven Soderbergh Photo
Steven Soderbergh

Top cast

Cate Blanchett Photo
Cate Blanchett as Lena Brandt
Tobey Maguire Photo
Tobey Maguire as Tully
George Clooney Photo
George Clooney as Jake Geismer
Harry S. Truman Photo
Harry S. Truman as Self
720p.BluRay 720p.WEB 1080p.BluRay 1080p.WEB
993.05 MB
1280*960
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 48 min
Seeds 5
988.61 MB
958*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 47 min
Seeds 3
1.99 GB
1440*1080
English 5.1
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 48 min
Seeds 6
1.79 GB
1436*1080
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 47 min
Seeds 4

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by Espontaneo 5 / 10

40's Movie styling does not a thriller make.

Soderbergh continues to experiment, but as with Solaris, it just doesn't pay off.Its clear that from the off that Soderbergh has set himself a strict mandate for this film, make it as much like a forties movie as possible. The music, the acting style, the lighting, the process shots and background paintings all give it a great look and feel. However, everything is so low key and downbeat that it fails to deliver any suspense or menace. What is essentially a modern thriller dressed as classic noir just isn't thrilling. The plot twist and turns but the drama is never heightened, the pace never seems to increase, it just plods along to its conclusion. Apart from the sex and swearing, the actors seem straight jacketed into their roles by the 40's styling seemingly because the script lacks any of the dry wit and charm you'd find in a genuine movie of this era. George Clooney for example has every little to do, his character has none of the snappy dialog you'd expect, given his Marlowe-esquire role in the plot. Soderbergh compounds matters by drawing an unfortunate comparison with Bogart. Though generally the acting was of the high quality you'd expect from such a sterling cast, it's difficult to empathise with their characters plights given the lack of suspense or melodrama.Overall the experiment fails to deliver anything other than a beautifully shot but unengaging film.Very disappointing.
Reviewed by char treuse 5 / 10

Not-so-good German

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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