Alone in Berlin (2017)

There have been a few World War II dramas in recent months. Another Mother's Son was released in March, Their Finest and The Zookeeper's Wife both had their UK release in April, and then we had Churchill in June.

What's notable about all these films is that they take place away from the front line. Another Mother's Son takes place in Nazi-occupied Jersey, The Zookeeper's Wife in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, and Their Finest and Churchill show the war from the perspective respectively of propaganda filmmakers and the allied war leaders.

Alone in Berlin continues this theme, showing the activities of a German couple and their small acts of resistance after their son dies fighting Hitler's war.

Based on a true story, the film serves more as a curiosity than anything deeper. It provides a peek at the life being led on the German home front, but its focus is narrow, so we don't see much beyond the scope of the couple's activities and the resulting police investigation (the lead investigator played by Daniel Bruhl, who also featured in The Zookeeper's Wife). There are moments where it shows something wider - the treatment of a Jewish woman living in the couple's apartment block, the preferential treatment given to the German elite, but generally it doesn't stray far.

Overall an interesting footnote to the war that shows not all Germans were fans of Hitler, but then to any student of human behaviour, that should come as no surprise. There are also a few interesting parallels to the current political situation in America, but I think that any time I see a film with Nazis, so that's probably just me.

The film itself is decently enough put together with some good performances from most of the cast (a couple of the minor characters engage in a bit of scenery nibbling though), but ultimately feels slight.