Jeder stirbt für sich allein (2016)
63KJeder stirbt für sich allein: Directed by Vincent Perez. With Emma Thompson, Brendan Gleeson, Daniel Brühl, Mikael Persbrandt. After a Nazi German working class couple loses their son in World War II, they decide to retaliate by secretly leafletting handwritten cards in Berlin denouncing their government.
“Greetings again from the darkness. When war hits close to home, the grieving of surviving family members never ends. At the end of World War II, author Hans Fallada was given access to the Gestapo file of Otto and Elise Hampel. Fallada wrote a 1947 novel based on their story, and in 2009 it was translated to English for his bestseller u0026quot;Every Man Dies Aloneu0026quot;. Director Vincent Perez collaborated with Achim von Borries and Bettine von Borries to adapt the novel for the big screen.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOtto (Brendan Gleeson) and Elise (Emma Thompson) play a mostly quiet, working class couple who pay the ultimate price for a cause in which they donu0026#39;t believe. Their protest takes the form of a clandestine 2 person operation. They systematically distribute postcards with anti-Hitler messages nearly 300 of the cards between 1940 and 1942. Itu0026#39;s a drip campaign that takes the form of non-violent political resistance, and certainly rankles those of the Third Reich.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDaniel Bruhl plays Escherich, the Nazi officer put in charge of the investigation (labeled Operation: Hobgoblin). He is charged with finding the source of the cards and punishing those responsible. As the hunt drags on, Escherich is presented as a Nazi with a conscience, and bears the brunt of his superioru0026#39;s frustration, while living in as much fear as those he is chasing.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film has a somber tone, and somehow never generates the tension or dread that this couple must have been dealing with on a daily basis for so long. In fact, Alexandre Desplatu0026#39;s score seems to fit a movie much more intense than what we are watching on screen. Mr. Gleeson delivers his usual grounded and believable performance despite a script that could have used a bit more potency. The film does deliver the always powerful message of having no regrets when you are standing up for whatu0026#39;s right.”
