Spring came to still-frosty Berlin this week courtesy of George Clooney, who had ice cleared from sidewalks and added green trees to the landscape for the filming of The Monuments Men, set in the waning days of the Second World War.
The film is inspired by the true story of a US military unit comprising seven museum directors, curators and art historians sent into Germany with the mission of rescuing art works plundered by the Nazis.
Clooney, who is both acting and directing, put together a cast that includes Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, Hugh Bonneville and John Goodman.