An American journalist arrives in Berlin just after the end of World War Two. He becomes involved in a murder mystery surrounding a dead GI who washes up at a lakeside mansion during the Potsdam negotiations between the Allied powers. Soon his investigation connects with his search for his married pre-war German lover.
Nominated for 1 Oscar. 3 wins & 5 nominations total
Top Critics Reviews
rotten:
The Good German is a movie wonk's triumph and no one else's. Soderbergh gets the visuals right but not the clean storytelling line of classic cinema, nor the iconic characters or moral certainty of the oldies.
– Ty Burr,
Boston Globe,
22 Dec 2006
rotten:
We get no heroes, not even flawed ones. Clooney, our marquee man, chases through numbing plot contortions only because of his lust for Lena. By the time The Good German ended, I had barely a clue if the good ones had lived or died.
– Michael Booth,
Denver Post,
19 Jan 2007
rotten:
There's a line between homage and mimicry, and Soderbergh has crossed it.
– Amy Biancolli,
Houston Chronicle,
19 Jan 2007
rotten:
This cast almost makes The Good German watchable. It's just that their screenwriter and director don't do them any favors.
– Roger Moore,
Orlando Sentinel,
19 Jan 2007
fresh:
Why emphasise flaws in a film of such overall ambition and expertise?