Eldorado: Everything the Nazis Hate (2023) User Reviews

Poignant

[mrwildgoose · 8/10 · 30 June 2023]

A quote from the movie - "The pace of change is a source of frustration for just about everybody. If you're a radical, then change is happening much too slowly for you. On the other side, if you're a conservative, you're watching everything that gives your life depth and meaning washed away. And its that experience of being threatened by this change that gives fascists fertile ground in which to spread their poisonous ideas."

Excellent filmmaking - documentary like (with historical footage), but also with storytellers, and some very moving love stories at the centre.

Lot of food for thought for the queer community about how an idyllic period can overnight turn into horrific devastation. And also about where our priorities lie - to be foolhardy and to go along with evil only to be fatally betrayed like Ernst Rohm; or to make space for oneself, and a whole lot of others, and to grow authentically, like Magnus Hirshfield ? And in some irony, Rohm was perhaps more overt about his homosexuality than Hirshfield.

Also about how redemption is mostly an inside job - because even several decades after the war, the queer community still faced legal persecution in W. Germany. (Not that Alan Turing had it any better, on the other side)

Mirror

[darmal5-1 · 9/10 · 2 July 2023]

"Those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it" seems to be the underlying theme here in regards to America in the 21st century from the use of lower social classes given the right of violence to achieve a symbolic future under the leadership of a master manipulator to the eroding rights of women, minorities, and LGBT communities in lieu of the establishment of nationalistic Christian warriors. All of the evidence presented here (and in other documentaries) demonstrating media bias, degradation of educational programs and institutions , book censorship, and imaginary philosophical villains out to corrupt the youth of the nation.

The blueprint has been established but, looking around, no one appears to notice because it is not on TikTok.

Decadence and Subversion in Weimar Berlin

[Screen_O_Genic · 9/10 · 3 July 2023]

In the challenging, free for all day to day reality in 1920s Berlin one place stood out: the Eldorado. Known as the premier nightclub for LGBTQs it symbolized the city's liberal and economically troubled times with its open lifestyle. "Eldorado: Everything the Nazis Hate" (Eldorado - Alles, was die Nazis hassen) is a well-done docudrama on the establishment's fabled story and the colorful and tragic figures who made it a legend. Featuring reenactments that ressurect the time and place to life and interviews with historians (most who are gay and transgender themselves) with haunting images and footage of the time the film is a window into a little-known and fascinating period in history. Historical figures like Nazi leader Ernst Röhm, Tennis champion and aristocrat Gottfried von Cramm, pioneering sex author Magnus Hirschfeld, artist Toni Ebel and her lover Charlotte Charlaque who are perhaps the first recipients of sex change operations, etc., bring to life an era with their interesting and tragic lives. The interview with composer and centenarian Walter Arlen brings the compelling and sad saga right to the present. While it may go on a bit too long this is one of the best documentaries on the subject. Colorful and moving "Eldorado" is one history and film fans wouldn't want to miss.

Those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it

[SteverB · 10/10 · 6 July 2023]

This is a documentary about a queer night club in Berlin in the 1920s before Hitler's rise to power. It is that, and so much more. The parallels to what happened then and what is beginning to happen in the 2020s in the United States are breathtaking. There were so many instances that they're too numerous to detail here. Suffice to say that if you are not in touch with the political climate in the U. S. now, and how it relates to 1920s and 30s Germany, this documentary is a roadmap to that reality.

Berlin in the 1920s was a time of free expression of ideas, and people had the freedom to be who they were, at least in places like the El Dorado. Homosexuality, transgenderism, or queer expression are NOT new things, and even 100 years ago were present in the culture, and seldom commented on.

I learned far more than just Germany's treatment of queer culture before and after Hitler. This is that, but it's also a warning that with what we are seeing now trying to come to power, could VERY easily lead to the kinds of persecutions seen in Nazi Germany. Since hyperbole is now dead and has been for a few years, literally anything could happen with the right fuses in place. The matches are ever-present. There is, I believe, more to the making and release of this documentary at this moment in time than the 100th anniversary of some of the events depicted in the film.

I don't normally find re-enactments compelling in documentaries like this, but their use here was warranted as it seems there was little historical footage from inside El Dorado. Otherwise, historical footage and modern-day interviews are used to great effect, mostly in English, but also some subtitled German. HIGHLY recommended and absolutely not just for a gay audience.

Also, happy 10th anniversary to Walter and Howard!

Remarkable and Oscar worthy film!

[drew-15194 · 10/10 · 14 July 2023]

This film has everything that is mostly missing from films in 2023: a great storyline, a great cast of characters, excellent writing, great attention to detail, nerve wracking tension worthy of the best thrillers, powerful editing, great love stories, deep tragedy, and espionage in the top tiers of government. It nods to and deepens such powerful and iconic Oscar winners as Cabaret, Schindler's List, the Third Man, and even the escape scene in the Sound of Music. What's the catch? It's all real! It all happened. The characters and their struggles, as we learn especially from their letters to loved ones, are deeply resonant and poignantly alive. The contrast between the newfound freedom of their lives in the first act, and their utter losses by the climax, is stark like few other narrative films recently, certainly unlike any film on Netflix. Even those who know the story of the Nazi terrors will be effected deeply by this film. And of course it shouts volumes about our current times. With a fast pace, never before scene film shots, historic recreations, and ironic contrasts, this is my favorite film of the past few years - a must-see instant classic.

A cautionary tale

[atleverton · 8/10 · 13 August 2023]

Honestly, I thought that this would be more sensationalistic. But apart from one borderline almost graphic scene, this film focuses on the tragic story of what can happen when people's rights are taken away. We tend to think that human society evolves into a better and better form, but this film tells us the story that, ultimately, society is what we choose to create. And although the filmmakers only vaguely hint that the connection between the events of pre-order and what is going on in the United States now, the viewer ultimately is forced to make the connection. There are many connections between pre-war and the current state of American society. The rise of fascism, and the growing divisions within society. One can only hope that American society does not go down that dark road.

An important overshadowed part of history

[ubalmond · 9/10 · 5 July 2023]

An important overshadowed part of history. The fact that the law the Nazis created remained in place until the 60s and not even ratified until the 90s shows how society as a collective whole views the matter. This part of history seems minuscule if comparing to what was happening along side their Jewish neighbors. But when viewing it separately and talking about it as it's own thing, it takes on another power. And circling it back to the survivors at the end made it among the most cathartic of documentary movies about that time. You don't even see survivor stories at the end of the Holocaust museum in DC. Thank you for sharing this extra piece of history. Some incredibly moving parts.

Note: I took off 1 star for the re-enactments of the club scene with gratuitous nudity and drug taking. I can't recommend this movie to my elderly parents because they would not see past that and it would impact their opinion of the rest of the film and not take it as seriously. I fear that would be the case for many others. It's a night club, we get it. But if it's not in the live footage, don't add it. Takes away from the stories of the people.

Unique Documentary about a Unique Epoch

[BornKnight · 8/10 · 8 January 2024]

Albeit knowing this side of nazism, I never knew the existence of Eldorado before. To summarize it shows the gradual "undersasibility" of the LGBT individuals through the evolution of nazism in the 30, and in one of the countries it was most advanced in terms ofs society.

Ironically enough some (hig) members of the party nazi were part of this, this they themselves were not more desiribe or torelable. It also shows how advanced the techniques of gender surgery were (relatively) advanced in comparison with the rest of the worlds into this small time of liberty after the 20's, including showing rare footage and photos of the movement.

Very enlightening and well done documentary of Netflix that shows some of the changes towards quality and content streaming on this last year.

A solid 8.0 out of 10.0 / A- for this one.

Lots of self appointed experts voicing opinions

[robertjwcourtney · 2/10 · 28 March 2024]

Lots of self appointed experts voicing opinions, with a worrying lack of facts. I'm concerned where Netflix documentaries are going, as they appear more and more to be a vehicle for politics and opinion, and allowing very little space for actual historical narrative. While there are some really excellent subject matter experts involved (mainly the German speaking historians), their credibility is undermined by a number of non-academic commentators. It's really disappointing because this is a fascinating subject that needs intelligent and educated analysis and interpretation but; instead, it's reduced to some student debate.