''The Berliner'' (german: Berliner Ballade; also known as ''The Ballad of Berlin'') is a 1948 comedy film adapted by Günter Neumann from his cabaret, directed by

Robert A. Stemmle Robert Adolf Stemmle (10 June 1903 – 24 February 1974) was a German screenwriter and film director. He wrote for more than 80 films between 1932 and 1967. He also directed 46 films between 1934 and 1970. His 1959 film '' Die unvollkommen ...

, and starring

Gert Fröbe Karl Gerhart "Gert" Fröbe (; 25 February 1913 – 5 September 1988) was a German actor. He was best known in English-speaking countries for his work as Auric Goldfinger in the James Bond film '' Goldfinger'', as Peachum in ''The Threepenny Oper ...

in his first leading role. It offers a satirical portrayal of life in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

in the aftermath of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Plot

The film has a framing narrative set in 2048 where viewers are offered the chance to look back at "The Ancients", which introduces the main narrative set in 1948. The film reflects the struggles of Otto Normalverbraucher (Otto Average-Consumer, played by Fröbe), a former German soldier returning to civilian life in

after

. After many travails, struggling to find food, shelter, and work, he eventually falls in love and ends up happily with his dream woman.

Production

The film was adapted by Günter Neumann from his cabaret program ''Schwarzer Jahrmarkt'', was filmed in

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

at the time of the Soviet blockade, and shot on location and at the

Tempelhof Studios The Tempelhof Studios are a film studio located in Tempelhof in the German capital of Berlin. They were founded in 1912, during the silent era, by German film pioneer Alfred Duskes, who built a glass-roofed studio on the site with financial back ...

. Joseph Burstyn Inc. distributed the film in the U.S.

Critical reception

The Darmstädter Echo praised it for its lack of spite and viciousness and its humor and humanity. Angelica Fenner compares the film to

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...

with devices such as the

omniscient narrator Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the a ...

, prototypical characters, and satirical tone. Sabine Hake points out that although within the genre of post-war ''Trümmerfilme'' (

rubble film Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size, shape and texture; undressed especially as a filling-in. Rubble naturally found in the soil is known also as 'brash' (compare cornbrash)."Rubble" def. 2., "Brash n. 2. def. 1. ''Oxford English Dictionary ...

) it offers a refreshing change from the majority of those films through its use of satirical humor. However, Stephen Brockmann has criticised the film for portraying an optimistic message about the survival of the human spirit after World War II while ignoring the causes of the war.

Awards

It was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Film from any Source in the 1950 ceremony, when it was beaten by '' Bicycle Thieves''. It won an International Prize at the

10th Venice International Film Festival The 10th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 11 August to 1 September 1949. The Venice Film Festival came back permanently to the Palazzo del Cinema on the Lido di Venezia. The award for the Best film is first called " The Lio ...

in 1949.

References

External links

* 1948 films 1940s satirical films 1940s science fiction comedy films West German films 1940s German-language films Films set in Berlin Films shot in Berlin Fiction set in 2050 German satirical films German science fiction comedy films German black-and-white films Films shot at Tempelhof Studios 1948 comedy films 1940s German films {{1940s-Germany-film-stub