Rotten
Whatever the facts of the case, "Berlin 36" doesn't clear the bar for dramatic impact.
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times
Berlin '36
Nazi Germany 1936. Gretel Bergman is one of Hitler's best gold medal contenders. And she's Jewish.
2009 · 1h 40m · N/A
Drama, History
Directed by
Kaspar Heidelbach
Overview
Berlin 36 is a 2009 German film telling the fate of Jewish athlete Gretel Bergmann in the 1936 Summer Olympics. She was replaced by the Nazi regime by an athlete later discovered to be a man. The film is based on a true story and was released in Germany on September 10, 2009. Reporters at Der Spiegel challenged the historical basis for many of the events in the film, pointing to arrest records and medical examinations indicating German authorities did not learn Dora Ratjen was male until 1938.
Director and cast
- Kaspar Heidelbach Director
- Karoline Herfurth as Gretel Bergmann
- Sebastian Urzendowsky as Marie Ketteler
- Axel Prahl as Hans Waldmann
- Robert Gallinowski as Sigfrid Kulmbach
- Thomas Thieme as Hans von Tschammer und Osten
- Johann von Bülow as Karl Ritter von Halt
- August Zirner as Edwin Bergmann
- Maria Happel as Paula Bergmann
- Franz Dinda as Rudolph Bergmann
- Leon Seidel as Walter Bergmann
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
43%
Tomatometer
Rotten
Tasteful to a fault, "Berlin 36" turns real-life controversy into disappointingly tepid drama.
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times
Fresh
The lack of new insights on the subject of National Socialism's wickedness ultimately reduces a well-staged film to a historical footnote.
Nick Schager, Time Out New York
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