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birdienlYou know, every once in a while you watch a movie that leaves you feeling totally stunned and detached from real life. In 8 out of 10 times, for me, these are WWII movies, a period which seems to touch me very much for some reason. I wrote and tought about this a little bit in an earlier post about The Sinking of the Laconia (also a movie in the stunned-and-detached category).
Anyway, this weekend I watched the 2006, made for TV movie Dresden. As the name implies, this movie is about the Allied bombing of the city of Dresden in january 1945. The story is seen through the eyes of Anna, a nurse and daughter of the director of the hospital she works in. Her fiance is a doctor in the same hospital. In the days leading up to her engagement party, she finds the downed English bomber pilot Robert Newman, hiding in the basement of the hospital. She takes care of him and their reluctant friendship turns into a romance which endagers them both. Then the life of every inhabitant of Dresden changes forever when the city is target of a large Allied bombardment which ruins 90% of the city centre. (On my dvd the synopsis ends with: Who will survive? which I personally find a bit ... off, but back to topic)
I knew of the bombing of Dresden ofcourse. I more or less knew the figures: how many people died and how many houses were destroyed. But after watching this movie you get an idea of the horrors people in Dresden really had to live through in the night of 13 to 14 January 1945. In 2006, Dresden was the most expensive movie ever made in Germany. This shows, mainly in the second half. The fire and destruction are almost tangibly real. This means the movie is not easy to watch, there are some really gruesome scenes. I disagree with some reviewers over at IMDb who said they didn't feel the bombing was real enough. I don't know which movies they are accustomed to watch, but I know I sat staring wide-eyed at my screen and feeling cold inside from what I saw.
I know there are historical errors in Dresden, also thanks to helpful reviewers at IMDb (note to self: must really stop reading reviews of movies I like at IMDb). Personally I accept there are historical errors in most, if not all historical movies and tv-series. Some are artistic license, some are just overlooked, I believe it happens in even the best productions. I believe the historical mistakes in Dresden should not keep anyone watching it from enjoying the movie and learning something about both history and human behaviour. At least, that's what Dresden did for me.
The central romance in the story is touching, mainly due to the acting of John Light (Robert) and Felicitas Wohl (Anna). There are few words spoken between them, but they speak volumes with their eyes and body language. I would have liked to have the relationship developed a bit slower. It was not entirely clear why Anna would all of a sudden fall for Robert when she also really seemed to be in love with her fiancé. But I guess it is impossible to have a well-developed romance and a thorough look at the night of the bombing in one 3 hour movie.
I would recommend Dresden to anyone with a love for historical movies, an interest in WWII stories and who is not afraid to walk around thinking about the movie for a few days afterwards!
"He wo has forgotten how to cry will learn it again at the sight of this fallen city of Dresden" - Gerhart Hauptmann (German dramatist and novelist 1862-1946)
Anyway, this weekend I watched the 2006, made for TV movie Dresden. As the name implies, this movie is about the Allied bombing of the city of Dresden in january 1945. The story is seen through the eyes of Anna, a nurse and daughter of the director of the hospital she works in. Her fiance is a doctor in the same hospital. In the days leading up to her engagement party, she finds the downed English bomber pilot Robert Newman, hiding in the basement of the hospital. She takes care of him and their reluctant friendship turns into a romance which endagers them both. Then the life of every inhabitant of Dresden changes forever when the city is target of a large Allied bombardment which ruins 90% of the city centre. (On my dvd the synopsis ends with: Who will survive? which I personally find a bit ... off, but back to topic)
I knew of the bombing of Dresden ofcourse. I more or less knew the figures: how many people died and how many houses were destroyed. But after watching this movie you get an idea of the horrors people in Dresden really had to live through in the night of 13 to 14 January 1945. In 2006, Dresden was the most expensive movie ever made in Germany. This shows, mainly in the second half. The fire and destruction are almost tangibly real. This means the movie is not easy to watch, there are some really gruesome scenes. I disagree with some reviewers over at IMDb who said they didn't feel the bombing was real enough. I don't know which movies they are accustomed to watch, but I know I sat staring wide-eyed at my screen and feeling cold inside from what I saw.
I know there are historical errors in Dresden, also thanks to helpful reviewers at IMDb (note to self: must really stop reading reviews of movies I like at IMDb). Personally I accept there are historical errors in most, if not all historical movies and tv-series. Some are artistic license, some are just overlooked, I believe it happens in even the best productions. I believe the historical mistakes in Dresden should not keep anyone watching it from enjoying the movie and learning something about both history and human behaviour. At least, that's what Dresden did for me.
The central romance in the story is touching, mainly due to the acting of John Light (Robert) and Felicitas Wohl (Anna). There are few words spoken between them, but they speak volumes with their eyes and body language. I would have liked to have the relationship developed a bit slower. It was not entirely clear why Anna would all of a sudden fall for Robert when she also really seemed to be in love with her fiancé. But I guess it is impossible to have a well-developed romance and a thorough look at the night of the bombing in one 3 hour movie.
I would recommend Dresden to anyone with a love for historical movies, an interest in WWII stories and who is not afraid to walk around thinking about the movie for a few days afterwards!
"He wo has forgotten how to cry will learn it again at the sight of this fallen city of Dresden" - Gerhart Hauptmann (German dramatist and novelist 1862-1946)
