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Unsere Mutter, unsere Vater


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I know, there should be umlauts.

Dunno if anybody's seen it or mentioned it before a new German telly drama series on WW2, Unsere Mutter, unsere Vater.

I only got to hear of it when I read about it in The Economist website about an hour ago.

You can watch it on Youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qpcn3pFc7So

Some great action scenes.

Dan

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Pretty bad movie in my opinion. Not as bad as the usual German TV movie but still bad.

Unrealistic, apologetic, anachronistic, full of clishés etc etc.

Calling it a German Band of Brothers like in some German media is a pretty ridiculous claim, and I don't even like BoB ;)

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Pretty bad movie in my opinion. Not as bad as the usual German TV movie but still bad.

Unrealistic, apologetic, anachronistic, full of clishés etc etc.

Calling it a German Band of Brothers like in some German media is a pretty ridiculous claim, and I don't even like BoB ;)

I am just watching it and unfortunately i have to agree with you. The first 3 seconds (winter battle) really did look very promising, though. I am gonna watch it till the end anyways.

Cant we make this a thread about good movies about the war from the german perspective? There are really few of them(or at least few of wich i know).

I know three:

Stalingrad

Der Untergang (Downfall)

Die Brücke

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@agusto: you missed the obvious: 'Das Boot' :)

I saw the first episode of 'Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter' and liked it. It's not 'Band Of Brothers' at all (which would be hard to imagine - just think of the interviews!). If you expect that you will be disappointed.

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Can Germany ever make a movie about WW2 and really face the truth?

What made for TV movies produced in any western country realistically and truthfully portray the chaos and horror of World War Two?

With my limited grasp of the German language, I was still able to watch and enjoy part 1. Sometimes if you watch something just for the pure entertainment value rather than trying to pick apart the motives and politics of the show, it becomes a far more rewarding experience.

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I like it.

Next too all the idiots back then who did a 'no seeing, no hearing, no saying'-policy there were quite a few people who thought like the two brothers in this movie.

Technically it is way up front for a german straight-to-tv production.

They covered up their lack of finances by clever filming

Thanks for the great link! There is a full version of 'Zeit zu Leben, Zeit zu Sterben' in the link list! :)

Best regards

Olf

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Typical anti-german political re-education propaganda garbage out of the FRG.

Didn't expect another comment from you. Don't think that you even watched it.

I have seen all three parts including some of the documentaries which come with it (I also have "Das Boot", "Die Brücke" - the 1959 version, "Der Untergang" etc as well as the US BoB, TP etc in my collection). Here my comments:

Pro's

  • I liked the attempt to show the war from the point of view of common people.
  • Crimes against humanity are one of the core themes of the movie - also how "normal" Germans became involved in those.
  • The movie also tries to show the difficulties of common people to see the real face of the regime - and their difficulty to react when they finally have seen it.
  • The locations, the units and as it seemed to me the equipment is quite well done and historical (some goofs though).
  • I liked the ending of the movie as it shows how the system transitioned into the FRG/GDR.

Con's

  • The series is too short to develop the characters over a rather long period properly - BoB e.g. is almost three times longer - so some changes in the characters are rather surprising.
  • They seem to try to show every negative aspect of this time period. Too much for the short time available.

In the end it is a well intended serial, but a bit exaggerated on some sides. I would give it a 5.5 on a scale of 10. Although it gets an 8.3 on imdb.com.

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I just finished watching the first part of Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter and i have to say it is not only bad. If you just watch it as war movie, it is okay - actually i enjoyed watching it and i want know how it continues in parts 2 & 3. But something that bugs is for example that it is to easy to distinguish between right and wrong, the "good" and the "bad" guys. Also some of dialogues appear so, you know, obvious and appear "enforced" to match nazi cliches.

[*]They seem to try to show every negative aspect of this time period. Too much for the short time available.

IMO that kinda makes everything apear somhow artificial.

@agusto: you missed the obvious: 'Das Boot' :)

How could i forget Das Boot! Saw it in 2008.

Another very interesting movie about the the Second World War that just came to my mind is Aus einem deutschen Leben, a biography of Rudolf Höß, commander of Ausschwitz.

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Without any look at the political part of the film, I can say, from military point of view - this series is ****!

If the German soldiers of WWII had fought this way, Germany would have been forced to surrender on September 2nd 1939 :P

Regards

Frank

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What truth did you want them to face? Looked like they covered all the things uncomfortable for the Germans, or anyone else for that matter.

I was referring to German entertainment businesses in General, but after I watch this entire program, I'll try to determine if what you say is true. Once again my German is poor so I really cant judge the fine nuances of the dialogue. I can get the general gist of what is being said, and obviously the visual tells a lot as well.

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One problem with those German war movies is that they are way too political imho. A movie were that worked was Downfall. In Das Boot it is ok, too. There's the nazi 1WO but it's not too much in your face. Actually Das Boot is my favourite war movie of all times.

Another good German war movie that hasn't been mentioned is Stalingrad.

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Stalingrad and Downfall.

Can Germany ever make a movie about WW2 and really face the truth?

What made for TV movies produced in any western country realistically and truthfully portray the chaos and horror of World War Two?

With my limited grasp of the German language, I was still able to watch and enjoy part 1. Sometimes if you watch something just for the pure entertainment value rather than trying to pick apart the motives and politics of the show, it becomes a far more rewarding experience.

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I am just watching it and unfortunately i have to agree with you. The first 3 seconds (winter battle) really did look very promising, though. I am gonna watch it till the end anyways.

Cant we make this a thread about good movies about the war from the german perspective? There are really few of them(or at least few of wich i know).

I know three:

Stalingrad

Der Untergang (Downfall)

Die Brücke

Does 'Cross of Iron' count?

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT1Yqe5fyPQGFPXoXyqgWkz8_Qlj-ksnT6alXg0cLX6-WwzT_-pfA

Or is this thread more for movies made in Germany, by German's?

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Stalingrad is a very bad movie, to my opinion. A waste of good actors and budget.

I liked this movie a lot. I think it is much better than any american movie covering this topic (including the frequently appraised "enemy at the gates").. So I am curious upon what foundations your statement is based.. Could you justify your point of view?

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Or is this thread more for movies made in Germany, by German's?

Absolutely not! I am happy with any suggestion on good movies that show the german perspective. I looked up some trailers on youtube and i think i am gonna get Cross of Iron if i find it sommewhere. Thanks for the input.

One problem with those German war movies is that they are way too political imho. A movie were that worked was Downfall. In Das Boot it is ok, too. There's the nazi 1WO but it's not too much in your face. Actually Das Boot is my favourite war movie of all times.

Another good German war movie that hasn't been mentioned is Stalingrad.

I think the political aspect of the war is important in movies that show the german perspective, the war generation was highly politicized. In fact, the war in the east was (also) seen as fight for survival between political systems. Besides that, "war is politics with different methods", to quote Clausewitz.

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Enemy at the Gates was awful...Stalingrad beats it hands down.

Yes - enemy at the gates was truly awful. Stalingrad was better - if you are comparing the two - but still a pretty dire movie.

The biggest problem a war film from the german pont of view faces is the attempt to elicit any sympathy for any of the german characters which for most watching will utterly fail. Unless you are german of course. Der untergang was the best german war film I have seen - but thats largely because it didnt rely on any emotional attachment to characters - it was more just a documentation of history. Band of Brothers worked so well not only because of the superb battle scenes but because people we cared about were heading into them.

It would likely be a cold day in hell before I felt the same for a german character as I did for an american or british one.

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