The train ride from Berlin to Prague was really fun.  It was really nice to get a little time to sit.  As we passed all these towns in Germany there were sections of the town that had tiny tiny houses that all had little paths and gardens.  When I say, they were small, I mean about the size of my bedroom.  I am curious what those areas of town are called.  There were no roads around the houses, they were just large tracks of land with tons of tiny houses and little paths and gardens.  I wish I had a picture, it kindof reminded me of a modern hobbit shire.

The other thing that surprised me was the carnage in many of the Czech cities we passed.  I could be totally off here, but it looked almost like the towns were destroyed by bombings in a war and some of the buildings were never rebuild. 

So halfway through the trip I talked to this German guy and we found out we were not stopping at the main train station in Prague but the one outside of town.  Additionally, I was starting to realize I really did not know how to get to my hostel either way.  When we got to the station in Prague it was a mad house with tons of people everywhere and I was a little overwhelmed.  I sat for a bit and gathered my thoughts.  I finally found what metro station I needed to get off at and I hopped on the tram.  Once I got to my station I still had no idea where to go so I just asked some people if they knew where my street was and I found the hostel few problems.  In my room I found two Danish guys, Sven and Thomas.  They gave me an orange and a licorice pipe and we sat and talked for a bit while we ate.

I decided not to waste my evening so I struck out on the town.  I ended up walking a couple miles through Old Town and saw much of the old sites.  Dusk over the river was beautiful and the sunset/castle was amazing.  Prague definitely lived up to my expectations and they were pretty high.  It is almost like Disneyland but so much better because everything is real and it is a whole city instead of just a park.  Also, you don't have to deal with all the long lines at Magic Mountain.

That night I crashed hard and woke up refreshed.  I am surprised I am sleeping so well given these beds are poor at best.  This hostels bed consists of some couch cushions stacked on each other.

The one things bad about Prague is the cobblestone streets.  They are destroying my feet.  I swear I have big bruises on the bottom of my feet.  I am pleading with Tyler to bring me some Dr. Sholes, or whatever those things are called.  Speaking of cobblestone streets...one of the most amazing feats I have ever seen is all these tall women walking around in high-heels.  I can barely walk around without tripping and they gracefully saunter around without their heel getting caught in any cracks and never twisting a delicate ankle.  How amazing.

My second day in Prague was perfect, I really don't know how it could have gotten much better.  I woke up really early and the sun was shining.  I jumped up ready to blog and see the world.  Little did I know nothing opens here until nine at the earliest.  So I just wandered the empty streets for a couple hours.  Then I met a group of people for a free walking tour.  It was pretty good, but not nearly as fun as the one in Berlin.  I think the reason is the Berlin History is so much more fascinating to me.  I mean WW2 is way more relevant to me than something that happened in 1218.  I met a funny couple from Wisconsin who are studying in Budapest.  We decided to spend the day together so after the tour we found an old monetary that brews their own beer.  We had lunch there in the sun.  We then walked to the top of this hill and took in the Prague skyline. 

I was completely wiped so I went back to the hostel and slept for a while.  Upon waking, the Danes and others were going out for the night.  I was still groggy but they convinced me I should so with them.  I am really happy I did, it was a blast.  There were four Danes, two Germans, a Kiwi and a French guy and we took off cruising the city.  We had a blast going from place to place and seeing all sorts of funny people.  General consensus of everyone there is that Obama is the man they want for President but they don't really know why.  They know he is more liberal and they want that.  Their feeling is that America is so conservative compared to Europe, and they are correct.  They say our liberal party is very conservative compared to their conservative parties.  I guess what I don't understand is why we have to be just like them, does it matter if we have some different policies.

Back to the story though, I was tired again about 2am so the Kiwi and I walked back to the hostel.  I tried to sleep but someone was having relations very loud and it was hard to sleep with all the noise. 

Today I have spent most of my time relaxing and waiting for my train.  I feel like I have see most of Prague.  Also my legs are feeling really tired and hurt from all the walking.  I did go see St. Nicholas Church and its interior was probably the coolest I have seen.  There were really intense statues everywhere and a really immense fresco mural on the ceiling.  I took tons of pictures but I am pretty sure they will fail to do it justice. 

I am really surprised about how beautiful the people are here.  It is isn't really like you see one or two people that are more attractive than normal,  on the whole, people seem to me certifiably more beautiful across the board.  It is just really hard to believe.  Makes me wonder if the rest of the world got hit with an ugly gene or if they just got lucky.  The guys from Denmark were saying that most people in Eastern Europe are really beautiful though.

Today I think I saw the cheesiest filming of a movie ever.  One one the streets it looked like a really low-budget German outfit was trying to make a movie set in winter.  They had all these people decked out in winder gear on a fake ice rink and they had snow everywhere.  The snow made me laugh though because it was just tons of white wool material draped over everything.  I tried to get in some of the shots but I think I failed.

It is funny how people I meet are on the same track as me.  The Kiwis are going to be in Krakow a couple days while I am there and the girls from Chile are going to be in Budapest when I am there.  I feel like everyone is following the same itinerary. 

"If the war is lost, I do not care that my nation suffers. I will not shed a single tear. It deserves nothing better."

-Adolf Hitler

2004's Downfall is the first German film to ever to be specifically about Adolf Hitler. Der Utergang, as it is called in Germany was written based on the diary of Hitler's personal secretary, Traudl Junge. The film is mostly told from her perspective, but as mentioned before, this is the story of Hitler's final days alive; living miserably in his bunker trying to win an impossible war.

Minor Spoilers Follow

The film begins with a short clip of a video interview with the real (and very old), Traudl Junge. She's talking about how angry she is at her younger self for working for a monster like Adolf Hitler, and how she was so stupid. We then cut to the beginning of the movie, when Junge is having her first interview with Hitler. There is a bit of irony in this scene. They stall his entrance and they don't really show us his face until well into the scene. But when he finally starts to really interact with Junge, he seems extremely nice, even father like. At first I was confused; Hitler was this evil, crazy, twisted man! Why would he be portrayed as being warm and nice...and then I got it. As evil, crazy and twisted Hitler was, he was also a human being. He was not a monster, but a sick mother fuc*er.

The film then skips three years to 1945, Hitler's 56th birthday. By this time, Hitler and all his major officers were living in an underground bunker in Berlin. The Allies were closing in and all Nazis knew that the war was a lost cause...everyone except Hitler. Hitler continues on obsessing with his "Aryan Nation," and says that once he wins the war, he will build the empire he always wanted. Meanwhile, Ava Braun (Hitler's Mistress) is bust trying to make everyone have a fun time, she even tries to throw a big dance, which is interrupted by a huge bomb that explodes right above the bunker.

You'd think that a movie which is over 2 hours and a half and mostly takes place inside a bunker would be extremely boring, but I actually found it fascinating. We get an in depth look at history's most infamous dictator and his equally evil followers.

There are a few subplots, such as the secretary's friends and how they deal with living inside the bunker, a doctor that is trying as best he can help the wounded in abandoned cities, a Nazi child soldier, a wealthy family that supports Hitler until the very end and even Hitler's officer and brother in law. Most of them worked very nicely with the main plot. I only had a small problem with the subplot concerning Hitler's brother in law; the reason being that his story is set up at the beginning of the film, but is then forgotten for an entire hour, until it is (very well) concluded. All of the plots in this film are extremely well developed and are resolved in a satisfying and meaningful way.

There are about two handfuls of characters who come and either leave or die very fast, so I do suggest that if you watch this film you pay close attention to every word spoken. Also, I would advise anyone watching this film to have Wikipedia ready as you may want more information on specific characters or may get confused between all the middle aged men running around in Nazi uniforms.

The film has a number of good qualities, such as the special effects (a hell of a lot of suicides), the cinematography, the directing (which I will talk about later), the costumes, the screen writing, the editing, the make up etc. But what most impressed me was the acting. Bruno Ganz was mind blowing as Adolf Hitler. He plays Hitler as a tired old man who believe that he single handedly can win a war. The scenes in which Hitler is cheerful a moment and yelling at the top of his lungs the next are simply amazing. You can see Hitler's enthusiasm in Ganz's smile, Hitler's ability to persuade in Ganz's eyes and Hitler's ability to kill in Ganz's voice. The supporting cast is also wonderful, every single actor in this is believable, even the drunk soldiers are fascinating to watch!

The part of the film that deals with Hitler focuses on his war strategy and how he deals with defeat; it also shows the citizens of Germany and how they try to survive the war. This film has absolutely nothing to do with the Holocaust; there is only one small monologue said by Hitler about Jews and nothing more. Even though the Holocaust is not featured, the movie is still able to capture Hitler's evilness and his selfishness. At one point he says that the bombing of Berlin is helping the Nazis because he will not have to tear down buildings to build his dream empire.

One thing that I really liked about this film is how I felt nothing when these Nazi and SS Officers and followers died. I was cheering each time a gun went off or when a building exploded. The scene in which Hitler commits suicide was one of the best ever captured on film and will remain in my memory for a long, long time.

The movie ends with the remainder of the clip shown at the beginning. It is the secratary speaking of how she truly felt guilty for working for Hitler years after the war had ended, when she saw a memorial on a girl the same age as her who had died in the Holocaust. I don't know why, but this felt fake to me; like she was trying to hard to justify her actions, instead of just facing the truth.

There is criticism towards this film that it shows some Nazi's as being portrayed as "Hollywood Heroes." I agree, and think that it is important to remember is that all these characters are evil. Even the "noble doctor" is a supporter of a bigot, dictator who helped and and organized the killing of millions and millions and millions of people.

Overall this is one of the best movies I have ever seen. It features fascinating characters and an amazing screenplay. I am extremely disappointed that the Academy Awards failed to honor this film. It was nominated only for best foreign film, but it did not recognize Bruno Ganz (who was said to give the performance of the century), the screen writing, the direction or the film itself. I urge everyone to watch this movie, even if you are not a history buff like me.

I think James Berardinelli was 100 percent correct when he wrote:

"Downfall and Bruno Ganz are deserving of Oscars they will not get."

 

Probably you have heard any of the numerous versions of the song popularly known as "Gloomy Sunday". It is originated from Hungarian "Szomorú Vasárnap", a song written by the Hungarian self-taught pianist and composer Rezső Seress in 1933. According to urban legend, it inspired hundreds of suicides. When the song was first marketed in the United States, it became known as the "Hungarian suicide song". If you have already listened to this song you know that both the lyric and the tune of the song is very hard to forget and has  a distinctive captivating power. So when I’m talking about the movie with the same name as the song, you may assume beforehand that the movie and the song has a common the. But as a viewer I could not relate these two piece-ofart, though the film has a wonderful implication of the appeal of the song.  

The story of “Gloomy Sunday” (directed by Rolf Schübel) evolves through the relationships of László (Joachim Król), Ilona (Erika Marozsán) and Andras (Stefano Dionisi) in the time of Second World War. It all starts in a restaurant of Budapest in Thirties. László , the owner of the restaurant is in deep love with the beautiful waitress Ilona. He hired a pianist- Andras. Andras and Ilona fell for each other and andras composed his only creation “Gloomy Sunday” as a birthday gift for Ilona. Though He created the tune he could not understand the cryptic call of the tune, which everyone feels when listening to it. Later it was revealed that this call is to cross the border of life and numerous people commited suicide, as the popular urban legend really exists.  Caught in a triangular love-hate web, László, Ilona and Andras surely faced some complex and bitter situation but they could overcome taboos and could happily continue this unconventional relationship. The story gets a twist when Hans (Ben Becker) came to Budapest as a superior personnel of German Army. Years earlier, Hans fell in love with Ilona at first sight and tried to commit suicide being rejected. Mighty heart László saved him and they became good friends. But in this episode of the film, the characteristics of Hans got changed a lot. On the other side, Andras got more and more famous for the song and became equally frustrated as the song was identified as a primary reason of numerous suicide all over the world. The story goes on and it ended with a twist at the last.

I admit, the relationship among the main three characters of the movie with all its complexities made me think a lot. And the part of László really enthralled me. He is quite a character, quite a human character. Not any angel, he envied Andras, not a devil- he could not even think of taking any revenge on Andras and Ilona when he was left behind. Not only this aspect, I must respect this character a s it is portrayed all over the film. László is  strong, bold, has aesthetic sense, sensitive, and above all Human.

The last part or I better say, the twist of the film could not make me amused and I’m a bit doubtful whether it was really needed or not. But overall it is a good movie, pleasure to watch and have some food for thoughts. The lyrics and tune of “Gloomy Sunday” is excellent and very much appropriate to create such urban legend. I’m concluding with the lyric and a suggestion to the readers to make sometime to watch this movie.

Gloomy Sunday Lyrics

Sunday is gloomy
My hours are slumberless
Dearest the shadows
I live with a numberless
Little white flowers
Will never awaken you
Not where the black coach
Of sorrow has taken you
Angels have no thoughts
Of ever returning you
Would they be angry
If I thought of joining you?

Gloomy Sunday
Gloomy Sunday

Gloomy Sunday
With shadows I spend it all
My heart and I
Have decided to end it all
Soon there'll be candles
And prayers that are said I know
But let them not weep
Let them know that I'm glad to go
Death is no dream
In death I'm caressing you
With the last breath of my soul
I'll be blessing you

Gloomy Sunday
Gloomy Sunday

Dreaming,I was only dreaming
I wake and I find you asleep
In the deep of my heart

Darling I hope
That my dream never haunted you
My heart is telling you
How much I wanted you

Gloomy Sunday……

• DVD Title: The Good German DVD
• Genre: Drama / Mystery / Thriller
• Info: Widescreen
• Rating: R
• Release Date: 2007
• Running Time : 105 min
• Total Cost : USD $17.00
• Director : Steven Soderbergh
• Writer : Paul Attanasio (screenplay)
  Joseph Kanon (novel)
• Actors: Jack Thompson, John Roeder, George Clooney, and Tobey Maguire
• UPC : B000Q7ZCUA
  
• In Stock, Next Day Dispatch

Synopsis: While in post-war Berlin to cover the Potsdam Conference, an American military journalist is drawn into a murder investigation which involves his former mistress and his driver.