Touches You

People are voting emotionally.

Crappy film

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

The setting is Berlin immediately after the end of WW2 and Hildegard Knef (Susanne) returns home from time spent in a concentration camp. I must say she looks pretty good considering where she has just been. Anyway, someone else is now living in her apartment – doctor Wilhelm Borchert (Mertens) – and he's not going anywhere. Borchert has lost his mojo when it comes to the medical practice and prefers to spend his days getting drunk. Good man. These two characters share the apartment as they come to terms with what they have lived through during the war. They come from opposing sides but can they unite at the end? The film has a great setting, especially given the historical significance of Berlin at this time. I have read that it was set in the East part of the city then under the control of Soviet troops and soon to become part of East Germany. The cast are good – Borchert is a bit over-dramatic at times and the film's story gets going with the introduction of former Nazi captain Arno Paulsen (Brueckner). He was in charge of Borchert's unit and callously ordered the execution of civilians one Christmas Eve during the war. Borchert wants retribution for this.This film is one of two films that are worth having in your film collection from Germany in the 1940s. The other is their version of Titanic (1943).

The film The Murderers are Among Us was the first film to be produced after the Second World War and was also the first film during that period to evaluate the sense of collective guilt among the German people for the atrocities committed in WWII. This film focuses on the character Dr. Mertens, who is a returning soldier after the war. He is plagued by guilt derived from an execution order given by his superior officer, Brückner, which resulted in the death of many women and children. Dr. Mertens eventually finds out that Brückner is still alive and attempts to kill him, however, in the end decides that personal revenge is not the best option, and that wartime offenses are best left punished by the law.This ending is slightly different from the original (in which Dr. Mertens follows through with Brückner's murder), because the Russian occupying power in Germany at the time of its production called for a more constructive approach. The Russians were the only occupying power in Germany to give consent for this films production, because the other occupying powers felt the German people needed to undergo much more post war re-education before they would be ready to produce films free of propaganda. This film was a great first example to show that the German's were capable of producing a film after the war that was both democratic and humanistic. This film also began a trend of "rubble films". Rubble films, such as this one, employ the use of Berlin's demolished buildings to evoke emotion and add a realistic edge to the setting.I personally really enjoyed this film, as the use of rubble throughout the film brought a piece of history to life. This film also successfully gave me another impression of Germany post WWII, that being of a more innocent side of Germany that felt guilt for the atrocities of war, and also a Germany that was taking lawful action against guilty parties. I would recommend this film to anyone who is interested in learning more about German history or WWII history, as it realistically portrays the physical and emotional damages of the war, and also, is itself a historically relevant film, marking the beginning of a new age of German cinema.

"Report for December 24, 1942. Execution. 36 men, 54 women, 31 children, 347 rounds of ammunition" It's now Berlin, a year after Germany surrendered. The city is little more than destroyed buildings and mountains of uncleared rubble. Susanne Wallner (Hildegarde Knef) has made her way to a crumbing apartment building where she lived before being sent to a concentration camp in 1943. She finds her apartment is now occupied by a man called Hans Mertens (Ernst Wilhelm Borchert). He's withdrawn, depressed, sardonic, and he refuses to leave. She finally says that she is moving in but that he can stay a few days until he finds other quarters. Mertens, it turns out, is a doctor who has lost all desire to do anything but drink. He had been a surgeon assigned to the Germany army in Poland. As he and Susanne tentatively develop feelings for each other, two things happen. He discovers the man who had been the captain of his unit in 1942 is now in Berlin, a happy and confident factory owner, father of two, and untroubled by any war experiences. Ferdinand Brueckner (Arno Paulsen) is a brisk little man with thinning hair, rimless glasses and a small mustache. He tells Mertens, "Every era offers its chances if you find them. Helmets from sauce pans or sauce pans from helmets. It's the same game." Mertens plans to shoot him. Mertens also is called to help a young girl who is slowly suffocating. He reluctantly identifies himself as a doctor. He does not want to do anything, but knows the girl will die if he doesn't take emergency steps. He winds up realizing a new self-worth in his skills as a doctor. He and Susanne begin a much happier time together. Then Christmas Eve brings back all the memories of an atrocity he tried and failed to stop, and of the captain who gave the order to shoot dozens of hostages while he prepared a Christmas Eve celebration for his officers in a village in Poland. Mertens is determined this time to see that justice is done, and so be it if that means he must be a murderer, too. He finds Brueckner in Brueckner's darkened factory. The conclusion is tense but not without hope. This sounds almost melodramatic. The Murderers Are Among Us, however, is anything but. The film was the first movie made in Germany after WWII. It's a sad, thoughtful reflection on the crimes Germany committed and on the need for some kind of accountability. Weaving through the sadness of Mertens, however, is the recognition of how important hope is. The movie, itself, is so well photographed and edited that it remains a gripping piece of work. The film was shot in Berlin and all the bombed-out buildings, the rubble and the sight of Berliners struggling to live is real. Director Wolfgang Staudte brings an effective mixture of expressionism and documentary realism to the film. He creates some wonderful scenes of angled stairways, broken windows, low, upward shots and harsh shadows. And a word about Hildegarde Knef. She has always been one of my favorite actresses. She was an attractive woman but no Hollywood starlet type. She had a long face, a strong mouth, intelligent eyes with a mind you could see working. When she came to La La Land and Hollywood couldn't figure out what to do with her, she shrugged and immediately headed back to Europe, where she became an international star. She had a great success later on Broadway as Ninotchka in Cole Porter's Silk Stockings. She's one of the best reasons for watching The Lost Continent. (Eric Porter is the other.)

This powerful piece of Historic Fiction shows a realistic look at Post-WWII Germany, and the determination of the shook-up nation to pick up the pieces and survive their darkest chapter in modern history. Many gripping moments include the "return" of a young woman (played by a very young Hildegard Knef) who had spent years in Nazi concentration camps. Her innocence and purity are reflected in the woman's complete willingness to "forgive and forget" the attrocities witnessed and experienced.A main character was a commanding officer responsible for horrible acts against innocent civilians, while another had refused to take part in such evil. The final scenes "drive home" the message how some feel no remorse for their evil deeds, while others remain plagued with the images of those mercilessly tortured and murdered. Seeing the young woman who had been victimized by the evil regime step in to prevent a altercation between the man she loves and the man responsible for much of the suffering shows that humans are capable of forgiving and thus surviving into a better life, free of hate and vengeance.I highly recommend the original German version with or without the subtitles. Many of the effects require the original sound track. This would be a valuable teaching tool for an advanced German class, or a related European History lesson