Thinking About Movies: Germany
German cinema is worth checking out these days. The younger generations of Germany finally seem to have found a way to look at their history with an unflinching eye that does them great credit. Indeed, I think the best films of the last few years have come out of Germany. Perhaps it is their troubled history that makes them uniquely primed for film realism at its best. Whatever the reason, the truth is finding its way onto celluloid in Germany, or at least, a plausible version of it. I'm not speaking of historical truth. I'm speaking of human truth.
The first German film I watched in the recent cadre was The Lives of Others, a brilliant film that examines artistic expression and personal responsibility, and how these are pressured, and sometimes smothered within an authoritarian regime. The setting is East Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall. Wiesler is an official and an interrogator for the GDR, the Soviet puppet regime that ruled Germany. He is sent to spy on a playwright who lives with his actress girlfriend. The couple are artists of the highest order, dedicated to telling the human truth behind the dramas they write. Wiesler falls in love with them, and begins to see not only the unfairness of the government he serves, but the rightness of resisting it. Wiesler's own psychological journey is touching, well drawn, and completely believable. I highly recommend this amazing film. The ending packs a punch to the gut, and the coda afterwards is a ray of sunshine and hope.
The next German film I saw that knocked my socks off was Downfall, about the last days inside Hitler's bunker as told by his personal secretary. We see a whole new side of Hitler, one that makes his insane program of destruction and hatred even more baffling. But this isn't so much a character study as a carefully displayed catalogue of the horrors perpetrated and suffered by the German people during World War II. It makes no apologies and doesn't ask for forgiveness, and it shouldn't. It's a glimpse into a time and place where the worst examples of humankind await their much deserved comeuppance. A gripping, thought provoking film, one that is, in my view, a contender for best war movie ever.
Sophie Scholl: The Final Days is another notable German film that deserves to be viewed by anyone who wants to know how to be a good and worthy human being. This film is based on the interrogation transcripts of a young student protester who was caught distributing pamphlets that criticized Hitler and his program of total war. Ms. Scholl meets her interrogation with remarkable bravery and integrity. After spending hours questioning her, the interrogator finds within his withering humanity the desire to save this intelligent woman of twenty one years. He offers her a way out if she'll only "admit" she was wrong. We see Sophie wavering on the decision whether to take his offer or not, a moment that shows how the trajectory of an entire life can be based on a split second decision. Along Sophie's path through the German punitive system we see expressions of sympathy from her jailers and among the courtroom audience that hears her case. Whether these small gestures work to cast a redemptive light on the German people, or whether instead their hypocrisy is exposed, is really up to the individual viewer to decide. This is another film that tries to tell the truth while conceding that, at least on some level, the truth is subjective, and almost never easy.
I know that subtitles can be a bore, but you won't even notice them after a couple minutes, because each of these films is so utterly engrossing, you'll melt all the way into them. You might even find yourself holding your breath as the credits roll.
The first German film I watched in the recent cadre was The Lives of Others, a brilliant film that examines artistic expression and personal responsibility, and how these are pressured, and sometimes smothered within an authoritarian regime. The setting is East Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall. Wiesler is an official and an interrogator for the GDR, the Soviet puppet regime that ruled Germany. He is sent to spy on a playwright who lives with his actress girlfriend. The couple are artists of the highest order, dedicated to telling the human truth behind the dramas they write. Wiesler falls in love with them, and begins to see not only the unfairness of the government he serves, but the rightness of resisting it. Wiesler's own psychological journey is touching, well drawn, and completely believable. I highly recommend this amazing film. The ending packs a punch to the gut, and the coda afterwards is a ray of sunshine and hope.
The next German film I saw that knocked my socks off was Downfall, about the last days inside Hitler's bunker as told by his personal secretary. We see a whole new side of Hitler, one that makes his insane program of destruction and hatred even more baffling. But this isn't so much a character study as a carefully displayed catalogue of the horrors perpetrated and suffered by the German people during World War II. It makes no apologies and doesn't ask for forgiveness, and it shouldn't. It's a glimpse into a time and place where the worst examples of humankind await their much deserved comeuppance. A gripping, thought provoking film, one that is, in my view, a contender for best war movie ever.
Sophie Scholl: The Final Days is another notable German film that deserves to be viewed by anyone who wants to know how to be a good and worthy human being. This film is based on the interrogation transcripts of a young student protester who was caught distributing pamphlets that criticized Hitler and his program of total war. Ms. Scholl meets her interrogation with remarkable bravery and integrity. After spending hours questioning her, the interrogator finds within his withering humanity the desire to save this intelligent woman of twenty one years. He offers her a way out if she'll only "admit" she was wrong. We see Sophie wavering on the decision whether to take his offer or not, a moment that shows how the trajectory of an entire life can be based on a split second decision. Along Sophie's path through the German punitive system we see expressions of sympathy from her jailers and among the courtroom audience that hears her case. Whether these small gestures work to cast a redemptive light on the German people, or whether instead their hypocrisy is exposed, is really up to the individual viewer to decide. This is another film that tries to tell the truth while conceding that, at least on some level, the truth is subjective, and almost never easy.
I know that subtitles can be a bore, but you won't even notice them after a couple minutes, because each of these films is so utterly engrossing, you'll melt all the way into them. You might even find yourself holding your breath as the credits roll.
posted by Amy at 4:00 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home