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"THE GOOD GERMAN" (2006) (George Clooney, Cate Blanchett) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Moderate Heavy Extreme Heavy Extreme Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Minor Minor Heavy None Extreme Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Extreme Extreme Mild Moderate Extreme QUICK TAKE: Drama/Thriller: An American military correspondent tries to get to the bottom of a post WWII murder mystery when his former lover's boyfriend ends up dead at the onset of a peace conference. PLOT: It's 1945 and American military correspondent Jake Geismer (GEORGE CLOONEY) has arrived in post WWII Berlin to cover the upcoming Potsdam Peace Conference. With motor pool driver Tully (TOBEY MAGUIRE) assigned as his escort, Jake makes the rounds of his old reporting haunts. During that, he discovers that Tully, who's actively involved in the black market including trying to sell hot goods to General Sikorsky (RAVIL ISYANOV) over in the Russian occupied zone, is also with Lena Brandt (CATE BLANCHETT), Jake's former lover. She's a prostitute who rooms with fellow hooker and burlesque dancer Hannelore (ROBIN WEIGERT) and desperately wants out of Berlin. Unfortunately for her, but piquing Jake's interest, others don't want her to leave as both American and Russian forces are interested in finding her husband, Emil (CHRISTIAN OLIVER), who she claims is dead. Things get more complicated following a murder, thus getting Jake's investigative juices going, all of which leads him into hot water with American Colonel Muller (BEAU BRIDGES) as he tries to get info out of various sources, including American Bernie Teitel (LELAND ORSER) who's there trying to round up former Nazis guilty of war crimes. As Jake continues to rock the boat by digging deeper for answers regarding the murder and finding out more about Emil, his investigation endangers both his and Lena's lives. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Unless they're fans of someone in the cast or director, it doesn't seem too likely. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R For language, violence and some sexual content. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: GEORGE CLOONEY plays an American military correspondent who arrives in post WWII Berlin to cover the upcoming peace conference, but is drawn in by a murder mystery. He smokes, drinks, uses strong profanity, had an affair with Lena in the past, and is compelled to find answers to what's occurring. CATE BLANCHETT plays his former lover, a Jewish German prostitute who cheats on her husband with both Jake and Tully, although her motives are unclear until late in the film. She smokes, and wants out of Berlin. TOBEY MAGUIRE plays an American motor pool driver who's assigned to transport Jake. He acts appropriately around him, but is involved in the black market, has sex with Lena, smokes, uses strong profanity, and can be violent (including with Lena). ROBIN WEIGERT plays Lena's roommate, a prostitute and burlesque type performer who smokes and offers to have sex with Jake. BEAU BRIDGES plays an American colonel in charge of the American zone in Berlin who isn't crazy about Jake nosing around. LELAND ORSER plays the American prosecutor who's after Nazi war criminals, uses some profanity, and is unsure of what to make of Jake's claims, although he's sure Lena is lying. He uses some profanity. CHRISTIAN OLIVER plays the man everyone is looking for, a person who may hold the secret to technology both the Americans and Russians want. RAVIL ISYANOV plays the Russian general who's suspicious of the Americans and particularly Jake, gets black market stuff from Tully, and smokes. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: Here's a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated drama. Profanity consists of at least 21 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are uttered. Sexually related dialogue (much of it explicit) is present, as is a graphic sexual encounter (with movement but no nudity). Other sex is offered or implied, while a burlesque style performer is briefly seen topless and several women are noted as being prostitutes. Violence consists of people being killed in various fashions, including a woman shooting her rapist point blank in the head during the attack. Non-lethal fighting also occurs in several scenes. Some of that has bloody results and those scenes and others may be unsettling or suspenseful to some viewers. Various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes, while characters drink and/or smoke in various scenes If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Jake complains about a broken martini glass from a bombing. Tully gives Jake a bottle of booze. Tully tries to sell General Sikorsky some scotch, and the two then have some. Lena drinks. Jake drinks in a bar, with the bartender then joining him by downing a shot. Bernie jokingly comments to Jake that they should get a drink and catch up (adding, "In 1946"). Jake has a drink in a bar, as do others. Jake and Hannelore have drinks. We see cases of Johnny Walker behind General Sikorsky and Jake has a drink in his office. Miscellaneous people drink at a reception where Muller and Jake have champagne. Various people drink in a bar. BLOOD/GORE Jake has a tiny bit of blood from his mouth after Tully beats him. We see a body pulled from some water and there's a bullet hole in the clothing and what look like bloody scrapes on the face (where the eyes are open). A man hits Jake with a chair and tries to get away, but Jake trips him. The two struggle on the shadowy floor and then standing, with the guy behind Jake and then somehow injuring his ear (Jake has blood on his hand from that). We see a flashback to a Russian soldier raping Lena (seen first in a head and shoulders shot and then the camera pans down their clothed bodies). We see movement, but no nudity and there isn't any sound. During this, she reaches down, grabs his pistol, and then shoots him point blank in the head (with bloody results there and the wall beside him). After being hit on the head with a gun, Jake has streams of blood there. A man kills another man in a crowd of people watching a parade (we don't see the actual act), followed by a view of the dead victim with a little blood from his mouth and a pool of blood on the street behind him. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Those who murder others obviously have bad attitudes. Tully is involved in the black market. Tully tells a man, "Don't Jew me on the price." Wanting to know about Emil, Tully slams Lena back against a wall and then punches her in the gut. We see that Tully stole Jake's wallet and uses it to cross a checkpoint. Bernie tells of a German he's trying to prosecute who drove a truck where Jews in the back were gassed to death en route. Hannelore comments on Lena and others being raped by the Russians. Lena cheats on her husband, first with Jake (in the past) and then Tully. We see a flashback to a Russian soldier raping Lena. There's talk of 30,000 people being killed at a rocket assembly camp in the past (where they and others were used as slave labor). A man with no legs states that the Nazis experimented on him, trying to find out if a leg bone transfer was possible (it wasn't). We hear that Lena turned over 12 people to the Gestapo in the past, but she says she did so (along with everything else) to survive. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence" might also be unsettling or suspenseful to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. Tully finds Lena's door ajar and enters with his gun drawn. But someone slams the door into his arm, throws him across the room, and proceeds to kick him there repeatedly. We then see him dunking Tully's head into a sink, while asking for the whereabouts of Emil. That man then breaks Tully's arm while he has him on the floor (we hear the break more than see it). We see a body pulled from some water and there's a bullet hole in the clothing and what look like bloody scrapes on the face (where the eyes are open). A gunshot is fired as a warning and then Russian soldiers aim their guns at Jake. We see a flashback to a Russian soldier raping Lena (seen first in a head and shoulders shot and then the camera pans down their clothed bodies). We see movement, but no nudity and there isn't any sound. During this, she reaches down, grabs his pistol, and then shoots him point blank in the head (with bloody results there and the wall beside him). After Jake grabs Lena and won't let her go, she pulls a gun on him, prompting him to release her. Hearing someone approaching, Jake has Lena answer the door. Jake then slams the door into the man and the two struggle, with the man hitting Jake on the face with his handgun. Lena and Emil flee, with the man firing shots at them, including one that hits Lena, dropping her to the floor. She tells Emil to continue on, but he hurts his leg at the bottom of the steps. The man then tries to shoot Lena, but his gun doesn't fire, and when he pulls back the chamber, this time he fires at Jake who's approaching. He then tries to shoot Emil on the floor, but the gun again jams. As he tries to pull back the chamber, Jake jumps down onto him from the stairwell, picks up a brick or something similar and proceeds to smash the guy's head (we don't see the impact). Jake helps along an injured Lena as they try to get to Emil in a crowded parade gathering. She then ends up collapsing from her wound and we think she's dead, but later see her okay. GUNS/WEAPONS Handguns/Rifles/Machine Guns: Carried and/or used to threaten, wound, or kill others. See "Violence" for details. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Poor f*cking stupid Lena," "You don't know f*cking nothing," "You're my f*cking driver," "You stupid f*ck," "F*ck it," "Bullsh*t" "She didn't give two sh*ts," "You look like sh*t," "The entire city spread its legs for you," "What the hell /does that mean/happened to you/are you doing here?" "Cry me a river, "Don't Jew me on the price," "I got pissy about it," "Pretty damn embarrassing," "We're doing a hell of a job," "Balls" (testicles) and "Bloke." JUMP SCENES A gunshot suddenly hits near Jake in some trees. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A heavy amount of ominous and dramatic music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 21 "f" words (6 used sexually as are the terms "screwing" and "lay"), 5 "s" words, 2 slang terms using male genitals ("d*ck"), what sounded like 1 slang term using female ones ("c*nt"), 7 hells, 1 ass, 1 crap, 1 damn, 1 S.O.B. and 1 use each of "G-damn" and "God." SEX/NUDITY About Jake and Berlin, Tully says (in voice over narration), "The entire city spread its legs for you." We see Tully having rear entry sex with a woman who's lying face down on a bed while he's standing behind her in a tank-top. We see graphic movement and hear his sounds, but there's no nudity from either. Lena shows some cleavage. Tully makes some sarcastic sexual comment about Lena including the sexual use of the "f" word. Tully asks Jake about Lena, "You want an hour with her?" About Lena and Tully, Jake tells a bartender that she "ends up f*cking my f*cking driver." That prompts the barkeep to ask, "You were screwing your secretary?" with Jake correcting him that Lena was his stringer, not a secretary. Muller refers to Tully as a dumb G.I. who got his "d*ck" stuck in (what sounded like) a pitch (or piss) pot. Referring to what Jake previously said about Lena, Bernie comments on "What a great lay your secretary was." Hannelore performs a burlesque type routine while topless and in small shorts. Walking Hannelore back to her place, Jake asks if she lives alone, prompting Hannelore to reply suggestively about him being a big man and wanting two girls. Referring to Lena, she says one could break her in two (meaning during sex) and then mentions (in subtitles) "F*ck" in bed, adding that it's easier on the knees. She then strips down to just her bra and panties, climbs into bed and tells Jake, "Come, f*ck me, Dutch." But he doesn't do that. Lena and Hannelore are prostitutes. About Jake arranging for a hiding spot for her and Lena, Hannelore says it's okay as long as it's on the cuff (or something sounding like that) and "not on my back." When Lena says she's a Nazi, Jake is surprised, prompting her to ask how he could "f*ck" someone and not know. She then asks if he ever "f*cked" a Nazi, the same about a Jew, and then "Better yet, both" (referring to herself). The "f" word is used sexually. Hannelore tells Jake that Lena would make a good wife, as she knows all the tricks (presumably meant sexually). Lena asks a barkeep if he has a rich "John" (prostitute client) for her, as she needs traveling money. She then arrives at a place, only to find that it's Jake. She then does the usual bit, asking if he wants it (sex) straight or something special. He asks how Tully liked it, and she says rough. She then asks if he's going to take off his clothes, he tells her to do it (remove his clothes). He then says to forget it and for her to just keep the money, but she says no, that she wants to (have sex). They kiss, but the scene ends there, so we don't know what else, if anything, happens. SMOKING Jake smokes at least 10 times, Tully at least 5 times, Lena, General Sikorsky, and Hannelore at least two times each, Emil and Bernie at least once each, while many miscellaneous characters smoke in many scenes. We see Tully rolling his own cigarettes, stating, "Waste not, want not." We see newsreel footage of Stalin smoking. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Lena says her entire family was murdered by the Nazis, but her life (as a Jew) was spared due to being married to an SS officer. Lena states that her husband is dead, but we later learn that's not the case (although she worries about his safety as he's in hiding). TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT WWII and the subsequent Potsdam Peace Conference. The comment that money allows you to be who you really are. We see a man with no legs getting around the bombed out city on a cart and holding metal cups or something similar to get traction and propel himself. Hannelore comments on Lena and others being raped by the Russians. Lena's comment that an affair has more rules than a marriage. Lena says her entire family was murdered by the Nazis, but her life (as a Jew) was spared due to being married to an SS officer. Nazi Germany's V2 rocket program in WWII. How Berlin was divided by the Americans and Russians immediately after WWII. There's talk of 30,000 people being killed at a rocket assembly camp in the past (where they and others were used as slave labor). A man with no legs states that the Nazis experimented on him, trying to find out if a leg bone transfer was possible (it wasn't). Jake is shown a newspaper headline about the use of the first atomic bomb. We hear that Lena turned over 12 people to the Gestapo in the past, but she says she did so (along with everything else) to survive. VIOLENCE We see bombed-out, post WWII Berlin (from unseen violence). Tully finds Lena's door ajar and enters with his gun drawn. But someone slams the door into his arm, throws him across the room, and proceeds to kick him there repeatedly. We then see him dunking Tully's head into a sink, while asking for the whereabouts of Emil. That man then breaks Tully's arm while he has him on the floor (we hear the break more than see it). Wanting to know about Emil, Tully slams Lena back against a wall and then punches her in the gut. Tully pushes Jake and then punches him to the ground. He tries to escape with Lena, but Jake catches them, prompting Tully to strike Jake repeatedly with some sort of pole or rod (with Jake trying to block the blows with his hands and arms). We see a body pulled from some water and there's a bullet hole in the clothing and what look like bloody scrapes on the face (where the eyes are open). A gunshot is fired as a warning and then Russian soldiers aim their guns at Jake. A gunshot suddenly hits near Jake in some trees, followed by a Russian solider hitting Jake with the butt of his rifle, sending Jake unconscious down an embankment. A man hits Jake with a chair and tries to get away, but Jake trips him. The two struggle on the shadowy floor and then standing, with the guy behind Jake and then somehow injuring his ear (Jake has blood on his hand from that). The man then kicks Jake before fleeing. We see a flashback to a Russian soldier raping Lena (seen first in a head and shoulders shot and then the camera pans down their clothed bodies). We see movement, but no nudity and there isn't any sound. During this, she reaches down, grabs his pistol, and then shoots him point blank in the head (with bloody results there and the wall beside him). Jake hits an approaching man with a chair and then runs off. After Jake grabs Lena and won't let her go, she pulls a gun on him, prompting him to release her. Hearing someone approaching, Jake has Lena answer the door. Jake then slams the door into the man and the two struggle, with the man hitting Jake on the face with his handgun. Lena and Emil flee, with the man firing shots at them, including one that hits Lena, dropping her to the floor. She tells Emil to continue on, but he hurts his leg at the bottom of the steps. The man then tries to shoot Lena, but his gun doesn't fire, and when he pulls back the chamber, this time he fires at Jake who's approaching. He then tries to shoot Emil on the floor, but the gun again jams. As he tries to pull back the chamber, Jake jumps down onto him from the stairwell, picks up a brick or something similar and proceeds to smash the guy's head (we don't see the impact). A man kills another man in a crowd of people watching a parade (we don't see the actual act), followed by a view of the dead victim with a little blood from his mouth and a pool of blood on the street behind him. Reviewed November 28, 2006 / Posted December 22, 2006

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