Uncertainty In The Film Germany Year Zero

As Nichols explains, the relationship between form and content in a film expands the abstract ideas of a film into solid, concrete figures. Providing concrete representations of these otherwise intangible figments solidifies these ideas for the viewer. The director of Germany Year Zero tackles many abstract concepts and provides them with a physical representation. One strong concept throughout the film is uncertainty.

Directly after World War II was a very ambiguous time for the people of Germany; their cities had been left in ruins. Roberto Rossellini uses the ruins of the city to show the uncertainty of the people’s surroundings. They were living in a city where buildings were in shambles, homes were destroyed, and there was no way of knowing when their current surroundings would be altered again. Rossellini frequently pans over the city’s ruins with a wide, long shot to solidify the feelings of the people of Germany.

The lighting Rossellini uses throughout the film also

assists in solidifying this ambiguous time for Germany’s people. Many scenes, especially those shot in moments of distress, are shot using dark lighting and manipulating shadows. For instance, shots where Edmund is in the subway station with Jo and Christl are so poorly lit that the viewer may be uncertain of the finer details. Making the viewer unsure of what they’re seeing helps them to internalize the feelings many people in Germany at this time were experiencing.
The solidification of ambiguity throughout the film is exhibited in more than just Rossellini’s choices of shots and lighting; the character’s actions themselves display this feeling. Edmund is a young boy who is going through great lengths to keep his family from drowning. A child his age, who was not being raised in a country after a disastrous war, would generally be more concerned with school and friends. However, he is not that fortunate and therefore, is forced to ‘grow up’ and provide for his family. His circumstances do not change the fact that he is only a young boy without enough life experiences to handle the situation he’s in. This causes him to be consistently unsure of his actions; he’s always looking for someone else to guide him in the ‘right’ direction, and ultimately this has detrimental outcomes.
Other character’s socialization patterns demonstrate the ambiguity of the time: Edmund’s father is uncertain of when he will die and how his children will survive without him, none of the family knows when they will or will not have power, Eva and Karl-Heinz have no idea what their brother is up to.

The overwhelming amount of uncertainty is vividly represented by each characters chaotic actions. No one can be certain about the effects of the war on Karl-Heinz, they don’t know what he’s experienced or if he will ever recover from it; this is why Edmund feels he needs to provide in place of his older brother. Similarly, Eva feels she needs to be the caregiver because their only parent is deathly ill. The constant state of not knowing what will come next is something all viewers can relate to. Many viewers have likely had an ill family member or less than ideal living situations at one time or another and therefore, they can make sense of the character’s actions in these extreme

scenarios.
Rossellini’s use of the formal and social contexts throughout the film helps to concrete the abstract feeling of ambiguity. He forms direct ties between what the viewer is physically seeing and what he wants them to feel. Of course, Rossellini cannot control every aspect of a viewer’s feelings about the film, but through long shots of the ruined city, dark lighting and shadows, and character’s actions; he is able to evoke a feeling of uncertainty.