The title "08/15 - Zweiter Teil" already says that this is the second movie from the "08/15" trilogy and it was released a year after the first, namely in 1955, so this one is also already over 60 years old. The director is again Paul May and the film is based again on the work of writer Hans Hellmut Kirst. Several actors returned to reprise their characters, such as Blacky Fuchsberger and some new actors showed up to portray crucial characters for the story here. I myself was pretty unimpressed with the first film from these three and sadly I must say this second movie does not change my opinion. Yes it was important to come to terms what happened in Germany between 1933(/1939) and 1945, but it has to be done better and more interestingly than these films here. This movie came out 10 years after the end of World War II and it is just one of so so many films that dealt with Nazi Germany back then. So so many tried to make an impact, but so so many also stayed underwhelming and this one here is just another example of how it shouldn't be done. The title "08/15" is actually very fitting as, here in Germany, these numbers stand for and symbolize something that is really by the books, but also very forgettable or even worse and that disappears in the mass of mediocrity and this feels so so true for this film. Nothing stands out about the action, the plot and story or the acting, even if you can somehow not really blame the actors as they can only be as good as the script they are given, But the also do not elevate the material. This is a very bleak and sterile movie that does not offer half as much insight as it wants to into one of the most crucial times in German history. Before watching this film, i felt that the trilogy should have ended after the first film already. Now I feel my theory to be confirmed and I just cannot believe that there is even a third film out there.
Review of 08/15 - Zweiter Teil
