Germany Year Zero

This is Rossellini's third and final part in his war trilogy. The biggest difference with the previous two entries is that the film isn't set in Italy, instead, we move to Germany to explore the post-War situation. It's an interesting shift, at least on paper, I wish I could say the same about the actual film.

We follow Edmund, a young boy who lives in a demolished country. His family has no money and no food, and the boys walks through the rubble of the city, hoping to find something to help his family. One day, he bumps into an old teacher, but this encounter will just make Edmund's life worse.

Italian neorealism set in Germany, that's what you should expect. The performances are weak, and the drama is sentimental (made worse by an overbearing soundtrack). Visually not much is happening either, and the ending lacks impact. The result is a pretty tepid film, at least it was pretty short.