Hans Kloss-More at Stake than Death (2012)

IMDb Ratings: 4,6/10 from 400 users

Hans Kloss. Stawka wieksza niz smierc (English: Hans Kloss: More at Stake than Death.) is a 2012 Polish action espionage war film. The film uses the same characters as the 1967 Polish Television series Stawka wieksza niz zycie (More at Stake than Life)

In 1945, Polish intelligence agent Hans Kloss, codenamed J-23, goes to Konigsberg to search for the treasure stolen by the Nazis. It's there that he meets his old friend and rival, SS Officer Hermann Brunner.

The cinema war-action movie takes place partly during WWII and partly in 1975 in Spain. The main characters: agent Capt. Hans Kloss and Herman Bruner, want to find the stolen treasure, putting their lives at stake.

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Europa Europa (1990)

IMDb Ratings: 7,7/10 from 11.366 users

Seorang pemuda di Nazi Jerman, berusaha menyembunyikan jati dirinya yang bangsa Yahudi,dan bergabung dengan organisasi Hitler Youth dan menjadi pahlawan perang Jerman.

A Jewish boy separated from his family in the early days of WWII poses as a German orphan and is taken into the heart of the Nazi world as a 'war hero' and eventually becomes a Hitler Youth. Although improbabilities and happenstance are cornerstones of the film, it is based upon a true story.

Europa Europa (German: Hitlerjunge Salomon, lit. "Hitler Youth Salomon") is a 1990 film directed by Agnieszka Holland. It is based on the 1989 autobiography of Solomon Perel, a German Jewish boy who escaped the Holocaust by masquerading not just as a non-Jew, but as an elite "Aryan" German. The film stars Marco Hofschneider as Perel; Perel appears briefly as himself in the finale. The film is an international co-production between CCC Film and companies in France and Poland.

The film should not be confused with the 1991 Lars von Trier film Europa, which was initially released as Zentropa in the United States to avoid such a confusion.

Plot

Nazi Germany

Solek (a nickname for Solomon, also called "Solly") and his family live in Nazi Germany. On the eve of Solek's bar mitzvah, Kristallnacht occurs. He escapes, naked, then hiding in a barrel. At night, he calls his acquaintance to bring him clothes from his house. She refuses, but throws him a leather jacket with a swastika band on its arm. He comes back home. His family is together at home, but his sister is killed by Nazis. The father, who was born in Lódz, Poland, decides to go back there.

Poland

The Perel family (Solek, his parents, and his two brothers, David and Isaak) decides to move to Lódz, central Poland, where they believed they will be safe. Solly causes criminal damage and the police are called. Living in Lódz, Solly meets Kasia, a cashier working in a cinema. Thanks to her Solly can go to the cinema without paying for the ticket. Later, they establish a romantic relationship. However, less than a year later, World War II begins with Germany invading western Polish borders. Solly is happy that the criminal case will be forgotten, since the police will have more important issues to solve. Solek's family decides he and his brother should leave for the European East. Solek meets hysterically upset Kasia, but his brother separates them. Isaak and Solek flee, towards the eastern border of Poland, which soon has been invaded by the Soviet Union. (In an ironic scene, as Solek and other Jewish refugees cross a river in a small boat, while a boat carrying Polish refugees fleeing the Soviets passes in the opposite direction, Solomon explains in an internal monologue that the Jews, fearing Nazi persecution, fled toward the Soviets, while the Poles, who feared the Soviets more, fled toward the Germans.) The brothers are separated, and Solek is placed in a Soviet orphanage in Grodno with other Polish refugee children.

Soviet Union

Solek lives in the orphanage for two years, where he joins the Komsomol and receives Communist education. Being a teenager, he has a romantic interest in Inna, a young and attractive instructor who defends him when the authorities at school discover that his class origin is bourgeois. He even climbs outside the building to watch her in her bedroom. One scene features a Russian version of the German Communist song Dem Morgenrot Entgegen ("Towards The Dawn") before mail call, where Solek receives a letter from his parents who have been re-settled in a ghetto.
Nazi-occupied Soviet Union

Then, with the crash of a bomb, Germany invades the Soviet Union. The orphanage is evacuated, but Solek is left behind, to be found by German soldiers. Solek gets rid of his identity papers, and tells the Germans he is "Josef Peters", a Volksdeutscher (ethnic German) from a Baltic German family in Latvia. Although he does not respond to his made up name, the soldiers deduce that he was in the orphanage because his parents were killed by the Soviets, and promise him vengeance. When the unit captures Yakov Dzhugashvili, the son of Joseph Stalin, with Solly's help translating Russian, they declare "Jupp" to be their "good-luck charm", and adopt him as an auxiliary. Thanks to his fluent German and Russian, he becomes their cultural guide and interpreter. He accompanies the unit for several weeks, and sees all the horrors of war, including murdered civilians, as the Germans seek to crush Soviet resistance.

Nonetheless, Solek is still in danger. He cannot let anyone see him bathing, because his circumcised penis would expose "Jupp" as a Jew. Robert, one of the soldiers, is a homosexual, and sneaks in on "Jupp" when he finally manages a private bath. Solek rejects Robert's advances. However, knowing that both of them have secrets the Nazis would kill them for, they become close friends.

Then a bizarre combat incident occurs. Robert is killed and Solek, left alone, tries to get to the Soviet lines. As he crosses a bridge, the unit charges across behind him, and the Soviet troops there surrender. "Jupp" is hailed as a hero.

The company commander decides that "such a fine young German" should be properly educated. He is childless himself, so he tells "Jupp" that he will adopt him and that "Jupp" will be sent to the elite Hitler Youth Academy in Berlin where he is to receive Nazi education. (This is much to Solek's consternation, but of course he cannot refuse.)

He is escorted for much of the trip by Rosemarie, a middle-aged female Nazi official. Rosemarie thinks "Jupp" resembles Hitler, and observes that he even has the same birthday. On the train, she makes "Jupp" have sex with her, crying out "Mein Führer!" as they have intercourse.
Nazi Germany

At the school, "Peters" is introduced to the other boys as a heroic combat veteran. The problem of concealing his circumcision continues, and Solek uses string and rubber bands in various painful ways to simulate a foreskin. He evades a medical examination by pretending to have a violent toothache, and then must endure having the dentist pull it without anesthetic.

Girls from the Bund Deutscher Mädel (League of German Girls, the female equivalent of the Hitler Youth) serve meals at the Academy. Leni, one of these girls, becomes infatuated with "Jupp", but he dares not take advantage - Leni is a fervent Nazi and even speaks of wanting to kill Jews. Leni strongly hints that she would happily bear "Jupp"'s child, but after a particularly venomous anti-Jewish remark he refuses any intimacy. She calls him a Schlappschwanz ("limp-dick"), and they break off.

A less serious threat is the visit to the Academy of a Nazi "expert" in "racial science", who claims particular skill in detecting Jews. The Nazi selects "Jupp" as his subject for a demonstration, and carefully measures his head and face. He then calculates "Jupp"'s anthropometric indexes, and pronounces him mixed but "pure Aryan stock", to Jupp's relieved surprise. Soon after, while working in a factory for the war effort, Jupp and his classmates learn that the Sixth Army has fallen at Stalingrad.

After several months without seeing Leni, Solek visits Leni's mother, who does not sympathize with the Nazis. She tells him Leni is pregnant and intends to "give the child to the Führer", in the Lebensborn program. Solek realizes that the child's father is his best friend and classmate Gerd. When Leni's mother presses Josef on his identity, he breaks down and confesses that he is a Jew; she tells him that she suspected that and promises not to betray him. Leni never finds out.

Solek's pretense is nearly exposed when the Gestapo investigates "Jupp"'s supposed parentage. He is summoned to Gestapo offices, but cannot show a Certificate of Racial Purity, which he claims is in Grodno. The Gestapo official says he will send for it, and then rants about how the war will be won by Hitler's Wunderwaffen ("wonder weapons"). As Solek leaves, the building is destroyed by Allied bombs. Solek's relief is tempered by Gerd's death in the bombing.
Soviet-occupied Nazi Germany

As Soviet troops close in on Berlin, the Hitler Youth at the school are sent to the front. There Solek manages to surrender. His captors refuse to believe that he is a Jew. "If you're a Jew, why don't you look like this? Look!" demands a Soviet officer as he shows Solek photos of murdered Jews from the death camps they had liberated. Jupp had not been aware this was going on. They are about to have Solek shot by an elderly Communist political prisoner (wearing a red triangle on his camp uniform) when Solek's brother Isaak, just released from a concentration camp, identifies Solek and saves him. Before leaving the camp, Isaak tells Solek to never reveal his story to anyone, saying it would never be believed. He is released shortly thereafter and emigrates to the British Mandate of Palestine, the future state of Israel, where he embraces his Jewish heritage. The films ends with the real Solomon Perel, as an old man, singing a Jewish folk song taken from the Book of Psalms ("Hineh mah tov," Psalm 133:1).

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The Tin Drum (1979)

IMDb Ratings: 7.6/10 from 16,377 users

Danzig pada tahun 1920/1930. Oskar Matzerath, anak dari dealer lokal, adalah anak yang paling tidak biasa. Dilengkapi dengan kecerdasan penuh sejak lahir ia memutuskan pada hari ulang tahun ketiganya untuk tidak tumbuh karena ia melihat kegilaan dunia di sekelilingnya menjelang Perang Dunia II. Jadi ia menolak bermasyarakat dan dengan drum kalengnya dijadikan lambang protesnya terhadap mentalitas kelas menengah dari keluarga dan lingkungan, yang bersikap pasif terhadap gerakan Nazi Jerman pada waktu itu. Namun, (hampir) tidak ada yang mendengarkan dia, sehingga bencana yang terjadi sudah terlambat untuk dicegah.

Diangkat dari novel berjudul sama karya Günter Grass, film black comedy ini meraih Palm d'Or di Festival Film Cannes tahun 1979 dan Academy Award untuk Best Foreign Language Film.

Cerita berawal dari kakek pemeran utama, Oskar Matzerath, yang bersembunyi di dalam rok seorang wanita saat dicar-cari polisi. Wanita yang akhirnya dia nikahi dan menghasilkan seorang anak perempuan, Agnes, yang adalah ibu dari Oskar.

Kisah Agnes akhirnya bertemu dengan ayah Oskar dan berlanjut dengan lahirnya anak mereka, serta perjalanan hidup Oskar bersama drum kecil yang ia dapatkan di ulang tahunnya yang ketiga bisa kita saksikan bersama.

Cerita ini berkisah tentang kehidupan Oskar Marzerath, sebagaimana diriwayatkan oleh dirinya sendiri ketika dikurung di rumah sakit jiwa antara 1952 dan 1954. Lahir pada tahun 1924 di kota Danzig (sekarang Gdansk, Polandia), yang berisikan orang dewasa lengkap dengan pemikiran dan persepsi mereka, Oskar memutuskan untuk tidak mau menjadi orang dewasa setelah ayahnya menyatakan ingin menjadi penjual bahan makanan. Dianugerahi dengan jeritan melengking yang bisa menghancurkan kaca atau digunakan sebagai senjata, Oskar menyatakan dirinya sebagai salah satu dari “bayi waskita pendengaran”, dimana “perkembangan spiritualnya selesai saat lahir dan hanya perlu untuk menegaskan dirinya sendiri”. Dia mempertahankan postur seorang anak pasca Perang Dunia II dan beberapa urusan cinta, dan dunia pasca perang di Eropa. Melalui semua ini, satu drum kaleng yang ia terima sebagai hadiah pada hari ulang tahun ketiga tetap menjadi miliknya yang berharga, dan ia bersedia membunuh siapa pun demi mempertahankannya.

Oskar menganggap dirinya memiliki dua “ ayah” –suami ibunya adalah Alfred, seorang anggota Partai Nazi, dan kekasih rahasinya dan sepupunya Jan, Danzig Pole, yang dieksekusi karena membela Kantor Pos Polandia di Danzig selama invasi Jerman dari Polandia. Setelah ibu Oskar meninggal, Alfred menikahi Maria, seorang wanita yang diam-diam menjadi nyonya pertama Oskar. Setelah menikahi Alfred, Maria melahirkan anak yang kemungkinan dari Oskar, yakni Kurt. Tapi Oskar kecewa karena mengetahui bayi tersebut tetap tumbuh, namun tidak bisa terus mengikuti pertumbuhannya hingga usia tiga tahun.

Selama perang, Oskar bergabung dengan rombongan lalu melakukan tindakan lucu untuk menghibur pasukan Jerman di garis depan. Tapi ketika cinta keduanya, yakni Roswitha, dibunuh oleh pasukan sekutu dalam invasi Normanda, Oskar kembali ke keluarganya di Danzig, di mana ia menjadi pemimpin sebuah geng kriminal muda. Tentara Rusia segera menangkap Danzig, lalu Alfred ditembak oleh pasukan setelah ia menyerang masuk lalu ia kejang setelah menelan jarum partainya supaya tidak diketahui identitasnya yang sebenarnya sebagai Nazi.

Oskar bersama dengan seorang janda dan anak tiri mereka pergi ke Düsseldorf, di mana dia menjadi model telanjang bersama Ulla dan memahat ukiran batu nisan. Oskar memutuskan untuk hidup terpisah dengan Maria dan anaknya Kurt setelah meningkatnya ketegangan. Dia memutuskan menyewa flat milik Zeidlers. Kemudian dia jatuh cinta dengan tetangganya, yakni suster Dorothea, tetapi ia gagal untuk merayunya. Selama pertemuan dengan Klepp, Klepp bertanya kepada Oskar tentang selera musiknya. Oskar bersedia untuk membuktikan kepada semua dan Klepp, sebagai sesama seorang musisi, lalu dia mengambil drum dan tongkatnya meskipun dia telah bersumpah untuk tidak main lagi setelah kematian Alfred dan akhirnya memainkan drum itu. Berikutnya Klepp bertindak sebagai pengarah, lalu bersama Oskar, dan Scholle, gitaris, membentuk band jazz yakni Rhine River Three. Kemudian mereka ditemukan oleh Mr Schmuh, yang mengajak mereka untuk bermain di klub Onion Cellar. Setelah Virtuoso melihat, yang merupakan perwakilan perusahaan rekaman pencari bakat, menemukan drummer jazz itu, ia menawarkan kontrak kepada Oskar. Oskar segera mencapai ketenaran dan kekayaan. Suatu hari sambil berjalan melalui lapangan, ia menemukan sebuah jari terputus: jari cincin suster Dorothea, yang telah dibunuh. Dia kemudian bertemu dan berteman dengan Vittlar. Oskar membiarkan dirinya dengan identitas palsu dihukum karena pembunuhan dan menjalani hidup terbatas di rumah sakit jiwa, dimana ia menulis memoarnya.

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The Edelweiss Pirates (Edelweisspiraten) (2004)

IMDb Ratings: 6.3/10 from 385 users  

Spring 1945. The Americans march into Cologne. Documents are burning at the Gestapo's headquarters. Prisoners are being lined up. At the last minute, superintendent Kuetter tries to get the orders to execute them. But all lines are dead. Kuetter shoots himself. The prisoners survive. One of them is Karl, a 17-year-old boy. Karl remembers his life before. One and a half years previously, his life is about as normal as normal can be in a bombed out town. His mother is dead, his father is on the front, and he lives together with his younger brother Peter. Peter is a member of the Hitler Youth, Karl is an Edelweiss Pirate, the natural enemies of his brother's gang. Karl is also in love with his fallen brother's fiancee, Cilly. Karl's life changes when he and his friends find a runaway prisoner named Hans. Until Cilly falls in love with Hans.

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Max Schmeling (2010)

Ratings: 4.8/10 from 790 users

In the opening scene, set in May 1941 during the German invasion of Crete during World War II, a German paratrooper is seen being injured and receiving treatment. He is then detailed to escort a British prisoner of war named Alan (Elliot Cowan) who recognizes him as the famous heavyweight boxer Max Schmeling (Henry Maske) and asks him to tell his life story.

Most of the rest of the film is told in flashback starting on June 12, 1930 with Max Schmeling's match against Jack Sharkey. In a fight billed as the 'Battle of the Continents,' Schmeling, known as a slow starter, falls slightly behind on points going into the fourth round. Schmeling is trying to corner his opponent when Sharkey let loose with a blow to the body which strayed below the belt line to the kidneys. He immediately clutched his groin and fell to the canvas, claiming to have been fouled. When Schmeling's manager Joe Jacobs (Vladimir Weigl) runs into the ring, prompting all kinds of chaos, the confused referee disqualified Sharkey and declared Schmeling the victor and the first (and only) man to win the heavyweight championship on a foul. The New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC), reviewing the call, agreed.

The first European-born boxer to win the heavyweight championship in 33 years, Schmeling is also the first from Germany to hold the distinction. Still, the way in which he won the title proved an embarrassment. Called the 'low blow champion,' he was disparaged in both America and Germany as an unproven titleholder. When he initially refused to face Sharkey in a rematch, the NYSAC officially stripped him of their recognition as world champion, but he remained recognized by both the National Boxing Association (NBA) and The Ring magazine.

Upon returning to Germany, he accompanies Jacobs to a nightclub where he meets Czech-born actress Anny Ondra (Susanne Wuest). In trying to get Anny's attention, Schmeling visits her at her apartment the next day with a gift of red roses. But Anny refuses to accept them and tells Schmeling that she dislikes boxing.

Schmeling's next match is in Berlin on August 2, 1930 against Wurner Heller where Schmeling retains his reputation when he beats his opponent to the mat in the first round. Anny attends the match, but leaves before Schmeling punches Heller out.

On July 3, 1931, Schmeling travels to Cleveland, Ohio for his match against Young Stribling where after 15 exhausting rounds, Schmeling knocks down Stribling and retains his Heavyweight Championship.

On June 21, 1932, Schmeling's next match is back in New York where his championship picture becomes even more muddled when facing Jack Sharkey again who wins a highly controversial split decision, taking the championship. Many in attendance feel that Schmeling had proven himself the better man and was robbed. In losing the championship, the German had managed to elevate his reputation in the minds of boxing fans.

Schmeling's image in America begins to take a decided turn. In 1933, the Nazi Party becomes the most powerful political force in Germany, and its ideologies, voiced by party leader Adolf Hitler, overflowed with anti-Semitic tendencies. Major American cities such as New York had large Jewish populations, who worry over what the party could mean for people of their religion in the future. Schmeling, because he was German, was viewed as an extension of Hitler's plans for world domination.

After a whirlwind courtship, Schmeling and Anny get married on July 6, 1933. By this time, the Nazis have fully taken control of Germany. Schmeling has no sympathy for the Nazi ideology and is seen to be protective of his Jewish manager Jacobs. One day, Schmeling is called to the Reichskanzlei offices in Berlin where he meets Hans von Tschammer und Osten, the head of the German Reich Sports Committee, who tells Schmeling about the USA offer to box against the undefeated African-American sensation Joe Louis (Yoan Pablo Hernández) and wants the match to be in Germany's favor to support Adolph Hitler's "master Aryan race" ideology. Schmeling agrees to box, but only for himself and not for Nazi Germany's views.

After a long and grueling training regiment which lasts several months, Schmeling returns to America on June 19, 1936 to face Joe Louis for the German's first fight on American soil in more than two years, he was clearly the betting underdog, considered a name opponent for Louis to roll over on his route to the title. Prior to the match, Schmeling carefully studies films of Louis's prior fights, dissecting apparent flaws in the Detroit fighter's technique. Among the weaknesses he noticed was the fact that Louis lowered his left hand after throwing a left jab. In the ring, Schmeling exploited this subtle flaw to his own advantage, countering nearly every Louis jab with his best punch, the right cross. The fight proves to be a competitive, hard-hitting affair for the first three rounds, but, in the fourth, a counter right from the German dropped Louis for the first time in his career. Though Louis rose, he was badly dazed for the remainder of the fight and Schmeling subsequently delivered the finest performance of his career. For a further eight rounds he battered Louis, often standing toe-to-toe with the vaunted puncher and landing that same right hand to the jaw repeatedly. In the 12th round, he sent the American tumbling to the floor once more, and this time Louis could not recover. He was counted out on the floor and Schmeling had scored the most talked-about sports upset of the year. Yet, after the fight, Joe tells Schmeling that he will not be returning to Germany with him which upsets Schmeling as well as his trainer Max Machon.

Schmeling returns home three weeks later a hero and after receiving honors from the Nazi-controlled press, he and Anny move from Berlin to avoid the publicity and settle in a elegant cottage in the Pommern countryside. However, two years later on June 22, 1938, Schmeling returns to New York and takes on Joe Louis again in a rematch. However, feeling not supportive of his own nation and government anymore, Schmeling suffers a humiliating defeat when he is knocked out by Louis in the first round after only two minutes (124 seconds); Louis comes out blazing and Schmeling tries to counter-punch as he had during the first bout, but to no avail. Driven into the ropes and battered with a fusillade of short, crisp blows from every angle, Schmeling turned his back to his opponent and clutched onto the ropes, letting out a scream before falling to the mat.

When he returns to Germany, Schmeling is now shunned by the Nazis. During the Nazi purge of Jews from Berlin, he personally saves the lives of two Jewish children by hiding them in his apartment. It was not the first time that Max defied the Nazi regime's hatred for Jews. When war breaks out in September 1939, he obeys an instruction to enlist in the paratroops rather than fleeing abroad.

The story returns to Crete where Schmeling allows the British prisoner to escape. Back in Germany in 1945, with the German Army on the brink of defeat, he returns to his wife. They abandon their country estate to the advancing Soviets and settle in Hamburg, West Germany.

In 1947, Schmeling has another run-in with Alan, the former British prisoner of war, who helps him out of a jam and persuades him to return to boxing when the money-strapped German has trouble finding work. Max has a reunion with his former trainer Max Machon who agrees to train Schmeling again for boxing.

On September 29, 1947, Schmeling (in his first boxing match in eight years) takes on and defeats local boxing contender Werner Vollmer at the Waldstadion in Frankfurt. Over the next year, Schmeling enjoys a modesty successful return to boxing, despite his growing age. He takes on and defeats boxing hopeful Hans Joachim Draegestein in Kiel on October 2, 1948 where afterwords, he has a run-in with a boxing talent agent who advices him to get out of boxing before it kills him.

Schmeling's very last boxing match is on October 31, 1948 in West Berlin where he fights against Richard Vogt where after the 10th round, Schmeling suddenly surrenders to Vogt and then announces to the crowd of his retirement from boxing forever. He walks out of the ring, while the joyful Anny looks on, and out of the stadium for good.

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Good (2008)

IMDb Ratings: 6.2/10 from 5,210 users

Plot
Good is the story of John Halder (Mortensen), a German literature professor in the 1930s, who is reluctant at first to accept the ideas of the Nazi Party. He is pulled in different emotional directions by his wife, his mother, his mistress (Whittaker) and his Jewish friend (Isaacs). Eventually Halder gives in to Nazism in order to advance his career. He is granted an honorary position in the SS, due to his writings in support of euthanasia. His involvement in the party makes his relationship with his Jewish friend more and more fraught. Finally, Halder finds himself working for Adolf Eichmann. Under the pretext of work he engineers a visit to a concentration camp where he imagines that he sees his emaciated friend. Seeing inmates arriving and the suffering of those at the camp he realizes what his deeds have accomplished.

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Eichmann (2007)

IMDb Ratings: 5.9/10 from 2,146 users

Eichmann is a biographical film detailing the interrogation of Adolf Eichmann. Directed by Robert Young, the film stars Thomas Kretschmann as Eichmann and Troy Garity as Eichmann's Israeli interrogator, Avner Less. It was first released in Brazil in September 2007, and was released in the United States in October 2010. The film is based on manuscripts of the interrogations of Adolf Eichmann (Thomas Kretschmann) before he was tried and hanged in a prison in Israel. Eichmann recounts events from his past to a young Israeli officer, Captain Avner Less (Troy Garity), who is faced with the immense task of tricking the skilled manipulator into self-incrimination. While the world waits, Less' countrymen call for immediate execution, forcing him and Eichmann to confront each other in a battle of wills.

Based upon the final confession of Adolf Eichmann, made before his execution in Israel as he accounts to Captain Avner Less, a young Israeli Police Officer, of his past as the architect of Hitler's plan for the final solution. Captured by intelligence operatives in Argentina, 15 years after World War II, Eichmann (Kretschmann), the World's most wanted man, must be broken down and the truth unveiled. As the world waits, two men must confront each other in a battle of wills- the result of which will change a nation forever.

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Black Book (Zwartboek) (2006)

IMDb Ratings: 7.8/10 from 55,707 users

Film ini bercerita tentang kisah seorang wanita, Jewish, yang bernama Rachel (Carice van Houten) di era pendudukan Nazi Jerman di Belanda pada perang dunia II. Diceritakan ketika pada masa pendudukan itu, kaum Yahudi di Belanda berlomba – lomba untuk lari ke wilayah yang lebih aman di bagian Selatan Belanda. Rachel dan keluarganya berencana hal yang sama dengan bantuan Smaal (Dolf de Vries) seorang lawyer. Namun ternyata ditengah perjalanan, tentara SS Nazi Jerman membunuhi seluruh penumpang kapan tsb dan merampas harta mereka. Rachel selamat dan menyadari bahwa semua itu adalah jebakan.

Rachel kemudian bergabung dengan kaum pemberontak Belanda dan ditugaskan untuk menyusup ke markas tentara Jerman di Den Haag. Dia kemudian menggoda Ludwig Müntze (Sebastian Koch) dan menjadi kekasihnya. Di markas itu pula, Rachel mengenali Günther Franken (Waldemar Kobus) yang menjadi pemimpin pasukan yang membunuh keluarganya. Rachel malah jatuh cinta dengan Muntze sampai akhirnya Muntze mengetaui tentang penyamaran Rachel dan mencoba menggali informasi tentang aksinya itu. Rachel menceritakan tentang kisah pelariannya dan memberitahu tentang aksi Gunther yang merampas harta para pengungsi yahudi. Muntze jatuh simpati dan kemudian melaporkan aksi Gunther kepada atasannya General Käutner (Christian Berkel) untuk memeriksa lemari besi yang ada di ruangan Gunther yang diduga sebagai tempat menyimpan harta tersebut. Tapi kemudian tidak terbukti, dan Muntze malah kemudian ditangkap dengan dakwaan bekerjasama dengan kaum pemberontak.

Saat yang bersamaan, beberapa orang dari kaum pemberontak di tangkap tentara NAZI dan dimasukkan kedalam penjara. Kemudian kaum pemberontak merencanakan pembebasan mereka dan Rachel juga bertugas untuk melancarkan jalan untuk masuk ke gedung penjara dengan imbalan Muntze ikut dibebaskan. Pembebasan itu gagal, dan hampir semua pasukan pemberontak dan para tahanan terbunuh. Rachel kemudian ditangkap. Namun tidak lama, berkat bantuan temannya, dia bisa melarikan diri bersama Muntze.

Ketika Belanda terbebas dari penjajahan Jerman, Rachel ditangkap atas dakwaan sebagai pengkhianat dan Muntze akhirnya di eksekusi mati. Rachel diselamatkan oleh Hans Akkermans (Thom Hoffman) yang ternyata adalah terlibat dalam pembunuhan kaum Yahudi. Hans juga mencoba membunuh Rachel dengan menyuntikkan insulin secara berlebihan. Tapi Rachel selamat dengan memakan coklat.

Rachel kemudian membuktikan bahwa dia bukan pengkhianat dengan menunjukkan buku yang ditulis secara detail oleh Smaal. Buku tsb diberikan oleh Smaal sesaat sebelum terbunuh, ketika Rachel mencari Smaal karena dia curiga atas keterlibatan Smaal dalam pembunuhan kaum Yahudi.  Dengan  bukti itulah,  Rachel bersama  Kuipers berhasil menangkap Hans. Setelah semua itu, Rachel kemudian pergi ke Israel dan memulai hidup baru disana.

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The Book Thief (2013)

Rating IMDb : 7.6/10 - ?33,209 votes


Ditengah kengerian Perang Dunia II, seorang gadis muda bernama Liesel Meminger (Sophie Nélisse) hadir ditengah keluarga barunya dan memberikan perubahan untuk orang-orang disekitarnya. Ayah angkatnya (Geoffrey Rush) memberi ia tempat untuk belajar membaca dan menulis. Sejak saat itu Liesel gemar mengumpulkan buku-buku yang ia peroleh dari mana saja.

Sampai pada akhirnya ia bertemu dengan Max Vandenburg (Ben Schnetzer), seorang pemuda Yahudi yang tengah bersembunyi dari kejaran Nazi. Hans sangat berhutang budi pada Ayah Max dan mengambil resiko untuk menyembunyikan Max dirumahnya. Max yang kagum dengan semangat Liesel mengajarkannya membaca dan membuat Liesel tahu banyak hal tentang dunia. Di satu sisi, Liesel sangat senang dengan kehadiran Max namun disisi lain ia tahu bahwa Max akan menjadi ancaman bagi dirinya dan keluarga angkatnya. Bagaimana kisah Liesel selanjutnya yang membawa perubahan pada orang-orang disekitarnya dan bagaimana juga ia bertahan hidup bertaruh nyawa di tengah ganasnya Perang Dunia II? .
 

Pada tahun 2005 Markus Zusak menulis novel yang berjudul The Book Thief. Novel ini lah yang kemudian menginspirasi Brian Percival untuk membuat film dengan judul yang sama pada tahun 2013 dan berhasil membukukan pendapatan sebesar 68,4 juta dollar. The Book Thief juga masuk menjadi salah satu nominasi Oscar untuk kategori Best Original Score.

Film ini adalah film yang sangat inspiratif. Kegigihan dan semangat untuk belajar seorang Liesel Meminger meskipun berada dalam kondisi yang tidak memungkinkan dapat dijadikan contoh bagi para kaum muda. Visual effect yang dihadirkan juga bagus. Suasana Perang Dunia II sangat terasa sekali. Akhir kata film ini adalah film yang wajib ditonton. :)

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My Best Enemy (Mein bester feind) (2011)

IMDb Skor: 6,7/10 - 1.070 suara

It starts in 1943 with a plane crash. Two SS officers and a Jew are on board of that plane. They must be found. Especially the Jew. We don’t know why but the movie rewinds to the year 1938 and the back story will be told.

Vienna, 1938. The rich Jewish gallery owner Jakob Kaufmann just recently arrived with his family in Vienna. They have left Germany, fearing Hitler’s rise may bring difficulties. The Kaufmann’s have only one child, Victor (Moritz Bleibtreu), who grew up together with Rudi (Georg Friedrich), the son of their housekeeper. For the Kaufmann’s Rudi is like a son and the two young men are close friends. At least that’s how Victor sees it. Rudi’s point of view is slightly different. He is bitter and jealous and resents all the good things the Kaufmann’s did for him. Fact is, they are rich and he is poor. Victor will be a rich heir, while he will have to work hard. On top of that Lena, the girl Rudi fancies, is in love with Victor.

When the SS give him the opportunity to lead a better life, he takes it and joins them. He doesn’t even care that the price is high. He will have to spy on his former friends and benefactors and find out where one of Michelangelo’s original drawings is hidden. The drawing which has been stolen centuries ago from the Pope, is meant for the Führer Adolf Hitler who wants to offer it to his ally Mussolini.

It is easy for Rudi to find out where the painting is as Victor trusts his friend. Not long after he showed him where it is hidden, the villa is stormed, the drawing confiscated and the Kaufmann’s sent to labour camps.

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Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)

IMDb rating 8,3/10 - 35.986 suara

Film bersetting di Nuremberg Jerman th 1948. pasca jatuhnya hittler. Para mantan pejabat tinggi Nazi  diadili oleh pengadilan Sekutu di Nuremberg sebuah kota kuno di Jerman. Film ini membahas pengadilan 4 orang terdakwa yg merupakan mantan hakim dan orang2 dibelakang layar kekejaman Nazi. disini dikuak peristiwa2 yg terjadi saat itu. satu orang terdakwa Dr. Ernst Janning adalah hakim yg disegani pada masanya dan mempunyai reputasi yg baik. dia dibela oleh seorang pengacara Jerman yg mati2an mencari celah agar Janning bisa bebas. sedangkan janning sdr merasa dia bersalah dan tdk layak dibela. film ini 80 persen memang berisi debat2 dipengadilan termasuk pemanggilan saksi2 yg sedikit demi sedikit fakta mulai terkuak. dan yg paling membuat hati terenyuh dan hampir menangis adalah video dokumentar tentang kekejaman nazi. tak sanggup berkata2 apa. 

Film yg masuk 11 nominasi oscar termasuk buat 4 pemain utamanya. hebatnya montgomery clift dan judy garland hanya main beberapa menit dan bisa masuk nominasi, tapi sayang best picture dikalahkan oleh west side story. gue pribadi suka banget sama west side story tapi setelah menonton film ini harusnya film ini yg menang. dan bintangnya tentu saja maximilian schell actor jerman yg bermain sebagai pengacara ngotot yang akhirnya memberikan oscar best actor buat dirinya. spencer tracy bermain cemerlang tapi krn dikategory best actor hrs bersaing dengan rekannya disatu film tentu saja spencer hrs mengakui keunggulan actor jerman itu.

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Before the Fall (2004)

IMDb Skor: 7,5/10 -9.776 suara

Before the Fall (also known as NaPolA: Hitler's Elite; German).Sebelum Albrecht menyelesaikan puisinya, ia diseret keluar oleh guru. Puisi yang dibaca remaja 17 tahun berperangai lembut itu dianggap menghina kepahlawanan Nazi. Anak petinggi Nazi itu pun diinterogasi ayahnya yang merasa sangat kecewa dan marah. Puisi itu menggambarkan sikap dan perasaan Albrecht atas peritiwa yang dialaminya semalam. Kepala sekolah menugasi murid-murid sekolah itu bergerak turun mengepung tahanan Rusia yang berusaha kabur. Albrecht menyaksikan kawan-kawannya melepaskan tembakan ke arah tahanan Rusia yang kabur dalam kegelapan malam di perbukitan. Namun, ketika mereka memeriksa mayat-mayat ternyata tahanan itu anak-anak yang tak bersenjata.

Albrecht mencoba menolong seorang anak yang masih hidup. Namun tindakannya dicegah para seniornya. Bahkan seniornya kemudian menembak tahanan yang sekarat hingga benar-benar tewas. Albrecht terguncang menyaksikan adegan kekejaman itu.

Albrecht dalam film Before the Fall , hanya tokoh sekunder. Tokoh primernya adalah Fredrich, remaja dari keluarga kelas pekerja di distrik Reich, Jerman. Fredrich yang memiliki tubuh kuat dan berbakat tinju kagum melihat sekolah yang didirikan untuk generasi Nazi. Sekolah ini menyediakan fasilitas lengkap secara gratis bagi anak-anak muda Jerman yang akan didik untuk kebesaran Nazi. Mengingat ayahnya tidak sepakat dengan keinginan Friedrich, ia  kabur dari rumah untuk bersekolah di sana. Friedrich yang satu kelas dengan Albrecht selalu mewakili sekolahnya dalam kompetisi tinju antar sekolah.

Albrecht dan Friedrich berkawan dekat meski keduanya seperti dua kutub yang berseberangan. Albrecht selalu memprotes Friedrich setiap melihat kekejaman kawannya itu ketika ‘menghabisi’ lawan-lawanya di atas ring. “Kamu tidak perlu melakukan itu,” protes Albrecht.

Bagi Albrecht sebagai anak petinggi Nazi, hidup adalah jebakan fanatisme yang menyedihkan. Tak ada jalan keluar selain kematian. Itulah yang kemudian ditempuh Albrecht ketika tak mampu menolak mengikuti perintah ayahnya dikirim ke fron timur untuk menulis kebalikan dari kenyataan yang ditulis dalam puisinya. Albrecht menenggelamkan diri ke dasar danau di bawah hamparan salju yang membatu ketika mereka tengah latihan ketahanan fisik. Film ini mengingatkan kita bahwa fanatisme kepada apa pun akan melahirkan tragedi kemanusiaan.

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The Counterfeiters (2007)

Skor: 7,6/10 - 33.744 suara

The Counterfeiters adalah pilihan bagi Anda yang menyukai film dengan latar belakang sejarah. Diangkat dari kisah nyata pada masa Perang Dunia II, The Counterfeiters menggambarkan konflik psikologis yang dialami oleh seorang tahanan NAZI bernama Salomon Sorowitsch . Sorowitsch adalah seorang pemalsu uang yang dipekerjakan dalam industri uang palsu milik NAZI.

Film ini menceritakan bagaimana penguasa menciptakan sistem ekonomi untuk mendukung kebutuhan perang pada saat itu. Tentu saja Anda akan mendapat banyak hikmah dari film ini, terutama mengenai kondisi ekonomi pada masa Perang Dunia II dan bagaimana pemerintah menyembunyikan kebangkrutan. Dengan sinematografi yang menawan, tidak mengherankan kalau film ini kemudian menjadi film berbahasa asing terbaik di ajang Academy Awards tahun 2007.

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Sophie Scholl - The Final Days (2005)

IMDb Skor: 7,7/10 - ?20.675 suara

Sophie Scholl - The Final Days (judul Jerman: Sophie Scholl - Die letzten Tage) adalah sebuah film Jerman tahun 2005 yang disutradarai Marc Rothemund. Film ini menceritakan tokoh anti-Nazi Sophie Scholl yang dihukum mati oleh pemerintah Third Reich 1943 berdasarkan transkrip interogasi yang telah dinyatakan terbuka untuk umum.

sinopsis
Film ini dibuka dengan adegan Sophie Scholl dan kawannya mendendangkan lagu Barat yang diputar di alat perekam suara. Hari telah larut malam, Sophie keluar dari rumah kawannya dan bergegas menuju rapat organisasi Mawar Putih. Di sana, ia bersama rekan-rekannya sibuk memproduksi selebaran-selebaran.

Keesokan harinya pada 18 Februari 1943, Sophie dan kakaknya Hans Scholl, seorang tentara yang baru kembali dari medan perang, pergi ke Universitas München untuk menyebarkan selebaran-selebaran subversif secara gelap. Setelah meletakkan tumpukan terakhir di sandaran tangga di lantai paling atas gedung, lonceng pergantian jam pelajaran berbunyi. Karena terlalu riang dan bersemangat, Sophie sengaja menjatuhkan tumpukan itu. Selebaran-selebaran itu pun jatuh di aula utama yang dipenuhi para mahasiswa. Keduanya lalu bergegas menuju pintu keluar gedung namun petugas universitas memerintahkan seluruh orang untuk tetap di tempatnya. Keduanya tertangkap basah dan digiring ke sebuah ruangan sementara pihak universitas menelepon petugas berwenang.

Saat ditanyai oleh seorang petugas SS, Sophie mengklaim dirinya tidak mengetahui isi selebaran itu. "Saya seorang pembuat onar," katanya. Keduanya hampir saja meyakinkan si petugas, namun seorang penjaga gedung yang awas berhasil membuktikan mereka sebagai tersangka.

Sophie dan Hans lalu dibawa ke markas Gestapo, pasukan rahasia Jerman. Keduanya lalu dipisahkan. Sophie diinterogasi oleh Robert Mohr, ahli interogasi yang berpengalaman selama 26 tahun. Sophie awalnya mengaku dirinya tidak bersalah. Namun setelah Mohr membacakan pengakuan kakaknya, ia pun mengaku sepenuhnya. Mohr menawarkan peluang bebas dengan syarat menanggalkan kepercayaan anti-Nazinya dan bergabung dengan Nazi. Sophie dengan serta merta menolak tawaran itu. Selain kedua bersaudara Scholl, Gestapo juga menahan sesama rekan Christoph Probst.

Pada 22 Februari, ketiganya diadili dalam sidang yang ditonton para anggota Nazi. Ketua hakim Roland Freisler memvonis hukuman mati dengan guillotine kepada ketiga terdakwa. Mereka akan dihukum mati beberapa jam kemudian. Kedua orang tua Scholl tiba untuk mengucapkan salam perpisahan. Sebelum masuk ke ruangan guillotine, seorang petugas penjara mengizinkan ketiganya merokok bersama.

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Iron Sky (2012)

Skor: 6/10 - 73.720 suara

Film ini bukan produksi Hollywood Amerika melainkan produksi gabungan dari beberapa negara yaitu Jerman, Finlandia dan Australia. Film yang bergenre komedi perang ini disutradarai oleh Timo Vuorensola yang berasal dari Finlandia. Dia menggarap film ini cukup lama yaitu sekitar 7 tahun karena tingkat kesulitannya dan tentu saja ingin hasilnya bagus.

 

Di akhir Perang Dunia II tahun 1945, beberapa ilmuwan Jerman membentuk pangkalan militer rahasia milik Nazi di bulan. Selama beberapa tahun, pangkalan militer ini menjadi tempat permanen tentara Nazi yang berhasil melarikan diri, sekaligus menjadi tempat dimana para ilmuwan mengembangkan teknologi persenjataan Nazi untuk kepentingan perang. Di tahun 2018, para keturunan Nazi di bawah pimpinan Jendral Klaus Adler dan Letnan Renate Richter akhirnya mendeklarasikan perang untuk menguasai seluruh isi bumi. Saat Presiden Amerika Serikat menentang rencana ini, tentara Nazi pun menyiapkan perlawanan menggempur Amerika Serikat."

Plot

Pada tahun 2018 Amerika mengirim astronotnya ke bulan namun yang dijumpainya ternyata adalah markas tentara nazi Jerman. Salah satu astronot yang tertangkap bernama James Washington (Christopher Kirby) yang berkulit hitam. Warna kulit inilah yang membuat para nazi heran dan melakukan penelitian terhadap tubuhnya. Doktor Richter (Tilo Prückner) yang merupakan seorang ilmuwan tua dengan gaya dan model Einstein memberikan ramuan yang mengubah warna kulit Washington menjadi bule seperti ras arya pada umumnya. Doktor Richter juga membangun sebuah pesawat tempur terbesar bernama Gotterdammerung yang bisa menghancurkan bumi. Dia mempunyai anak perempuan bernama Renate (Julia Dietze) yang merupakan pakar tentang bumi. Diam-diam Renate menyukai Washington.

Jendral nazi yang bernama Klaus Adler (Götz Otto ) mempunyai keinginan untuk menyerang bumi bahkan sampai rela membunuh pimpinannya sendiri. Dia berharap dapat mengawini Renate agar mendapatkan keturunan ras Arya yang sempurna namun jiwa Renate berkata lain.
Rupa-rupanya pada saat akhir perang dunia kedua di tahun 1945 tentara nazi mempunyai program rahasia di angkasa luar dan sisa-sisa tentara melarikan diri ke sana, yaitu di bulan. Mereka membangun benteng pertahanan dan pasukan piring terbang dengan teknologi yang masih kuno. Sehingga diperlukan telepon genggam atau komputer versi bumi untuk membantu mereka menjalankan program rahasia tersebut.

Seperti biasanya Presiden Amerika Serikat yang kali ini berjenis kelamin perempuan memimpin PBB (Perserikatan Bangsa Bangsa) untuk melawan serangan nazi tersebut. Amerika Serikat mengerahkan pesawat ruang angkasa khusus yang disebut USS George W Bush. Australia juga mengirim pesawat tempur ruang angkasa bernama Dundee. Ada juga MIR dan pesawat-pesawat dari negara lainnya. Akhirnya, kemenangan berada di tangan Amerika dan kawan-kawannya. Namun siapa sangka bila suatu bentuk keserakahan akan menghancurkan mereka sendiri. Ya, karena ingin berebut tambang Helium 3 maka mereka yang semula bersatu melawan nazi justru saling berperang sendiri satu sama lain. Hancurlah mereka semuanya.

 

Yang patut diacungin jempol adalah permainan Julia Dietze yang pas memerankan karakter tersebut. Sosok tentara Jerman yang sangat kentara sekali pada wajahnya yang kebetulan berasal dari Jerman juga. Di suatu saat bisa tampak keras dan dilain waktu bisa tampak kalem.

Mengingat film ini bergenre komedi maka abaikanlah hal-hal yang tidak masuk akal dan jangan dianggap serius. Sayangnya pengambilan gambar dilakukan dengan agak keabu-abuan seperti setengah hitam putih terutama untuk gambar di markas nazi. Kalaupun ingin memberikan kesan kuno atau klasik, menurut penulis tidak harus seperti itu. Toh generasi piring terbang adalah generasi modern.

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