The fact that the movie starts off as a historical "acurate" piece makes it all the more dangerous. The viewer gets sucked into the movie believing what he/she's seeing is real. Calling the main bad character "The Jew" most of the time cannot even be considered subtle nowadays. The fact, that the movie took liberties and did tell the story the way it suited best for the Nazi regime, was something people were not aware back in the day.
Does that mean, that the filmmakers have no responsibility for what they did? "Harlan - In the shadow of ..." tries to shed some light on that, more on that subject on the movies page for it here on IMDb. Back to this movie, that is more than dangerous, especially in its portrayal of "the Jew". He does not look like the devil, he looks human, but acts like the devil. And not because he forced to do so, but because it is in his nature (at least that's what the movie is trying to tell us).
The dialog has been carefully crafted to move along with the story and make the viewer angrier with every passing minute. While sometimes "the Jew" sounds normal and even caring, his actions speak to the contrary. He is in disguise and he might bedazzle you too. Another message from the movie, that is more than dangerous.
There are so many layers to this, that are very clever thought of (by Goebbels I can only assume), that you almost find yourself in awe, of the mastermind behind it. And the emphasis is "almost", because the fact that this was one of the main propaganda movies that worked with the a lot of people in Germany makes you sick to your stomach. So while the movie itself might not have deserved a "1" rating, it is the whole package that I am rating here.
A faux documentary with the same title has been released (2010) in Germany, that unfortunately does not really live up to the task. More on that on its own page. I am appalled on what I saw here and if you listen carefully, you will be too. A document on how harsh and mean people can be, and how propaganda can work
Does that mean, that the filmmakers have no responsibility for what they did? "Harlan - In the shadow of ..." tries to shed some light on that, more on that subject on the movies page for it here on IMDb. Back to this movie, that is more than dangerous, especially in its portrayal of "the Jew". He does not look like the devil, he looks human, but acts like the devil. And not because he forced to do so, but because it is in his nature (at least that's what the movie is trying to tell us).
The dialog has been carefully crafted to move along with the story and make the viewer angrier with every passing minute. While sometimes "the Jew" sounds normal and even caring, his actions speak to the contrary. He is in disguise and he might bedazzle you too. Another message from the movie, that is more than dangerous.
There are so many layers to this, that are very clever thought of (by Goebbels I can only assume), that you almost find yourself in awe, of the mastermind behind it. And the emphasis is "almost", because the fact that this was one of the main propaganda movies that worked with the a lot of people in Germany makes you sick to your stomach. So while the movie itself might not have deserved a "1" rating, it is the whole package that I am rating here.
A faux documentary with the same title has been released (2010) in Germany, that unfortunately does not really live up to the task. More on that on its own page. I am appalled on what I saw here and if you listen carefully, you will be too. A document on how harsh and mean people can be, and how propaganda can work