Early on, the producers give evidence of their difficulty in making yet-another-Hitler-Movie. When all else fails, look for "meaning". For those lacking in critical thinking skills, they succeeded. For the rest of us, this is a bust.
One must be careful in criticizing a work like this. Its evident political agenda is enshrouded in a feigned quest for truth, rather, a quest for meaning. If I'm not careful in my criticism, I might be deemed a Hitler supporter. Let's be frank, Hitler is a safe target. The left will resist analysis of criminals like Stalin, Mussolini, and Mao because they were leftists. Today, you might even see sympathetic claims for these bums appearing in children's magazines, and sound-bites. But Hitler is an agreed-upon, international thug, and we are given tentative permission to hate the creep, because the left has given us permission to do so.
The film surprised me with an immediate, laughable attempt to link Trump to Hitler. More on that in a bit.
The old, tired generalities are trotted out as indicators of a pending fascist threat: Nationalism, Unity, Prosperity, etc. Though many politicians are narcissist to some degree, the artificially narrow selection of Trump (a flawed man, like all of the rest) for comparison was not an accident. The perceived fascists create and feed off fear, it is claimed, so now it's the movie-maker's turn to create fear. I was stunned to see this film even condemn the French for celebrating their win of the World Cup, and then ridicule the Poles for peacefully celebrating their independence. Nationalism must be bad. In these and other cases, we cannot celebrate nor protest anything, unless we have the left's permission.
Comparisons to Trump are grossly unconvincing. OK, they both loved their respective countries. I fail to see that as a risk. Let's try this. Hitler's violent, murderous brownshirt thugs were never arrested. Unruly protestors, claiming to be Trump supporters, were arrested. Yet BLM and Antifa rioters were never brought to justice. Who, now, are the fascists? Hitler hated Jews, Trump celebrates and embraces the Jews in his family and abroad. The contrasts between Trump and Hitler are often striking. But the producers of this film cannot detect their blindness to it. Their misleading edits of sound and imagery are transparently low-end.
They did make one compelling point: Dramatization of Hitler's suicide always happens behind closed doors, or in the darkness of a camera fade. He has been granted way too much dignity and privacy. We would do well to remove his protection and dramatize it directly, fully, in movies and such.
If I may one-up the producers ... you will understand Hitler best, as living out a fantasy incubated in his obsession with Wagnerian Operatic Myths. It was the ultimate escape for a guy, who only wanted relationships, with those he could control, like animals and other peoples' children.
This self-referential documentary comes off much like the tight rope walker, who falls into the net, and still expects the audience to cheer. For the few tricks they achieve on this tightrope walk, the film is minimally watchable. This film is more an exercise in leveraging the obvious to make an ill-conceived point, and rather would do better as an example of sloppy thinking.
One must be careful in criticizing a work like this. Its evident political agenda is enshrouded in a feigned quest for truth, rather, a quest for meaning. If I'm not careful in my criticism, I might be deemed a Hitler supporter. Let's be frank, Hitler is a safe target. The left will resist analysis of criminals like Stalin, Mussolini, and Mao because they were leftists. Today, you might even see sympathetic claims for these bums appearing in children's magazines, and sound-bites. But Hitler is an agreed-upon, international thug, and we are given tentative permission to hate the creep, because the left has given us permission to do so.
The film surprised me with an immediate, laughable attempt to link Trump to Hitler. More on that in a bit.
The old, tired generalities are trotted out as indicators of a pending fascist threat: Nationalism, Unity, Prosperity, etc. Though many politicians are narcissist to some degree, the artificially narrow selection of Trump (a flawed man, like all of the rest) for comparison was not an accident. The perceived fascists create and feed off fear, it is claimed, so now it's the movie-maker's turn to create fear. I was stunned to see this film even condemn the French for celebrating their win of the World Cup, and then ridicule the Poles for peacefully celebrating their independence. Nationalism must be bad. In these and other cases, we cannot celebrate nor protest anything, unless we have the left's permission.
Comparisons to Trump are grossly unconvincing. OK, they both loved their respective countries. I fail to see that as a risk. Let's try this. Hitler's violent, murderous brownshirt thugs were never arrested. Unruly protestors, claiming to be Trump supporters, were arrested. Yet BLM and Antifa rioters were never brought to justice. Who, now, are the fascists? Hitler hated Jews, Trump celebrates and embraces the Jews in his family and abroad. The contrasts between Trump and Hitler are often striking. But the producers of this film cannot detect their blindness to it. Their misleading edits of sound and imagery are transparently low-end.
They did make one compelling point: Dramatization of Hitler's suicide always happens behind closed doors, or in the darkness of a camera fade. He has been granted way too much dignity and privacy. We would do well to remove his protection and dramatize it directly, fully, in movies and such.
If I may one-up the producers ... you will understand Hitler best, as living out a fantasy incubated in his obsession with Wagnerian Operatic Myths. It was the ultimate escape for a guy, who only wanted relationships, with those he could control, like animals and other peoples' children.
This self-referential documentary comes off much like the tight rope walker, who falls into the net, and still expects the audience to cheer. For the few tricks they achieve on this tightrope walk, the film is minimally watchable. This film is more an exercise in leveraging the obvious to make an ill-conceived point, and rather would do better as an example of sloppy thinking.