THE MURDERERS ARE AMONG US is the first German feature film in post-war history. The film crew shot directly in the ruins of the Berlin. Berlin, shortly after the end of the war. A photographer returns from a concentration camp and finds her apartment inhabited. Dr. Mertens, a surgeon who has recently returned from the war, has been living here, trying to suppress his terrible memories with excessive alcohol consumption. The two come to an arrangement, and with Susanne's help, Dr. Mertens slowly finds himself again. Then he meets his former captain Brückner, now a slick businessman who doesn't care whether he turns steel helmets into cooking pots or vice versa. Mertens' conscience rebels, and on Christmas Eve 1945 he wants to kill Bürckner. "The first German film of the post-war period, which immediately founded a new genre: the Trümmerfilm. Hildegard Knef's first major role, in which she shines as concentration camp survivor Susanne Wallner. The film impressively poses the question of guilt, atonement and the right to vigilante justice in the face of outrageous, almost unbearable injustices. Knef's restrained performance and the filming in the ruins of Berlin give the movie an authenticity and intensity that is impossible to resist." (Sooner curator Justina Jürgensen)
Timeless
1h 20min
6 FSK
DE
After returning from a concentration camp, Susanne finds an ex-soldier living in her apartment. Together the two try to move past their experiences.
THE MURDERERS ARE AMONG US is the first German feature film in post-war history. The film crew shot directly in the ruins of the Berlin.
Berlin, shortly after the end of the war. A photographer returns from a concentration camp and finds her apartment inhabited. Dr. Mertens, a surgeon who has recently returned from the war, has been living here, trying to suppress his terrible memories with excessive alcohol consumption.
The two come to an arrangement, and with Susanne's help, Dr. Mertens slowly finds himself again. Then he meets his former captain Brückner, now a slick businessman who doesn't care whether he turns steel helmets into cooking pots or vice versa. Mertens' conscience rebels, and on Christmas Eve 1945 he wants to kill Bürckner.
"The first German film of the post-war period, which immediately founded a new genre: the Trümmerfilm. Hildegard Knef's first major role, in which she shines as concentration camp survivor Susanne Wallner. The film impressively poses the question of guilt, atonement and the right to vigilante justice in the face of outrageous, almost unbearable injustices. Knef's restrained performance and the filming in the ruins of Berlin give the movie an authenticity and intensity that is impossible to resist." (Sooner curator Justina Jürgensen)