Plot
Viggo Mortensen plays John Halder, a university lecturer during the rise of Nazi Germany. As the Party's censorship begins to affect his work more and more, he finds himself forced to join if he wants to get anywhere. However, membership in the SS has a dark side. While he obtains greater and greater success, his Jewish friend, forbidden from practicing medicine due to his religion, must go into hiding. The film follows his changing values, how he is affected by history, and his determination to save his friend, from 1933 all the way to Kristallnacht and visiting a concentration camp in 1942.
The plot moves far too quickly in the beginning of the film and only slows down towards the very end.
One thing I couldn't really understand is that occasionally Halder hallucinates people singing a certain song that I don't know. I have no idea what this has to do with the story or what the director is trying to accomplish and it's never explained why any of it happens.
Characters
Halder is an interesting character, who begins the film sternly anti-Nazi, but is convinced to join the NSDAP by his mistress and his father-in-law, and soon becomes ingrained in the party's doctrine. It is only once he visits a concentration camp that he realises the extent of the atrocities committed by the government. Mortensen is a fantastic actor and plays the role well.
His Jewish friend, Morris Brücksteiner, is a complete asshole and I couldn't feel any sympathy for him whatsoever. It seems that all he ever does is complain and even his voice comes off as arrogant.
The actress who plays Halder's estranged mother is also quite good and really grasps the role of an old woman suffering from selinity, tuberculosis, extreme depression and mental anguish.
Visuals and Cinematography
There is quite a use of oversaturation in many scenes involving happy moments with Halder and his mistress, although the lighting is for the most part realistic in other scenes, notably in the concentration camp. There're a number of egregious 360-degree-rotation shots in the ending which really don't fit, and a certain scene in the concentration camp lasts for far, far too long. Otherwise, the cinematography is decent.
Realism
This film is fairly realistic in regards to the vast and comprehensive records kept by the Nazis in regards to Jews, pogroms and so forth. It also has an interesting depiction of the effects of the Nazi takeover on a personal level, and the willingness with which it was accepted by the nation.
However, there is at least one glaring error- Halder keeps his black SS uniform even though it was phased out after 1939. Other members seem to have switched to the correct Feldgrau but Halder keeps his- is this symbolic of him being somehow different?
Soundtrack
The soundtrack is fairly minimalistic for the most part and really only comes out during the concentration camp scene. Although moving, it didn't really stick out to me.
Overall
Not a bad film, but not particularly interesting either.
6/10
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