Ich war neunzehn

Director Wolf has a small masterpiece in this film, which is about the exploration of a young German-born Russian soldier's attempt to find his roots during the final days of World War II as the Russian Army advances on Berlin. This is also an unsweetened account of the chaos of war. Many suspenseful moments and never boring. Gregor, the nineteen-year-old of the title reveals himself throughout as the confused, self-conscious, prideful and sometimes ruthless young man that he is, not unlike any young man of 19 caught up in wartime situations. Highly recommended. Another look but an unusual one at the war that marked the 20th Century.

Shot in Eastern Germany in 1968, 'Ich war neunzehn' (= German for 'I was nineteen years old') is among the better films from the former Communist part of Europe.

Set in the last days of Adolf Hitler, 'Ich war neunzehn' deals with Stalin's Red Army invading Germany from the East. To avoid the countless atrocities committed by both sides in the most savage war in history of mankind, the East German filmmakers choose to show events through the eyes of a nineteen year old boy. A logical choice: this introduces innocence, as well as hope for the future.

The rest of this enjoyable film is propaganda, sold in a friendly and human way. The Red Army is presented as liberating the German common people from Hitler's rule. Its victorious soldiers show themselves eager to make friends with them.

In reality, after three terrible years of German occupation in the Soviet Union, Stalin's soldiers applied a fearful revenge when invading Germany. A revenge encouraged by steady Communist propaganda. It resulted in many crimes, such as the free rape of German women. You will understand that 'Ich war neunzehn' ignores this.

I rented this film because of an interest in German culture and history. I lived there for a while, and have a (former East-) German wife and relatives. My wife, who was 11 in 1945 when this film takes place, says that it was much worse then than the movie shows, particularly with regard to the utter devastation, starvation, and behavior of the Russian soldiers. Few women between ages of 13 and 50 escaped being raped, and most boys of her age and a bit older were taken away and never seen again. After reunification, the mass graves of many of them, killed by Russians, have been found. Her father, who was never a soldier or Nazi, was shipped off to slave labor in Kazakhstan for about ten years. In the movie, it is implied that the surrendering German soldiers were rewarded with extra food, and then sent home. Get real.

The intent of the movie, made in the GDR at a time when they were barraged with propaganda trying to make them believe that Russians were their friends, is obvious.

Nevertheless, I did enjoy watching it, because even propaganda can be interesting for what it is. (Example: Triumph of the Will, which is infinitely better than this movie). The events involving the surrender of Spandau prison to the 19 year old Russian "commandant", which may have been based on fact and the director's own experience, were of particular interest, and well dramatized.

This movie is superb!

If you enjoy Wes Anderson, then watch this film! It's very similar in characters, cinematography, costuming and actor blocking.

What a powerful message to the German people at the same time. This piece of art calls out their hatred and is quite blunt about it.

No spoilers, but I love that the lead Russian soldier is German. It adds a sense of rebellion to his actions.

It's refreshing and fun to watch. Again, I highly recommend this to Wes Anderson fans. The cinematography is fantastic! Great long shots, close ups and framed scenes.

A film definitely worth finding and owning. :)

The main problem with Ich war 19 is that glosses over several essential realities. It seems like a Soviet propaganda movie trying to white wash the past. The invasion of Germany by Soviet troops in 1944/5 was nothing short of barbaric. 18 million people were driven from their ancestral lands - over 2 million civilians were brutally murdered. More than a million POW's were liquidated and another 2 million Ukrainians, Poles and White Russians of German descent were also exterminated by the Soviets.

The landscape was almost completely destroyed by allied bombing and soviet artillery. 80% of the buildings were destroyed. Women (and boys) were frequently raped on the spot. The boys were lucky - they were invariably bayoneted after-wards - but the women were passed to next comrade. Of course we can argue that this was justified because of the Holocaust and the German barbarism in Russia and Poland. But women and children?

The film does not even suggest this was happening. It represents the war as a sort of part time activity in which a few unlucky people got killed. The buildings are all intact. The people all look well fed. The faces look completely undramatized. It doesn't bring home the reality of truth.

1945 was truly horrific for everyone between Berlin and Konigsberg (Kaliningrad)It is an indelible scar on the memory of everyone old enough to remember it. This film does not convey that horror.