Forbidden Films: The Hidden Legacy of Nazi Film

Filmmaker Felix Moeller examines the hundreds of long-banned German commercial features—mostly scripted narratives—made under the Third Reich (a period of all-time popularity for Teutonic moviegoing) that deliberately conveyed messages of militarism, loyalty to the Führer, anti-Semitism, and enmity against the English and Polish. Moeller captures modern German audiences and curators (as well as director Margarethe von Trotta) reacting to these now-infamous works in fresh public screenings. Some are unconditionally disgusted; others see surprising value in films that got a thumbs-up from Joseph Goebbels. A state-approved 1941 pro-euthanasia tragedy (a doctor's wife with multiple sclerosis wants to exercise her right to die) strikes a chord with some viewers, who compliment the director's daughter for her father's handling of the still-hot topic. A pair of “former” neo-Nazis (not sounding very former at all) remark on vintage propaganda—circulated through underground bootlegs—and how vile anti-Jewish films foretold the dangers of financial globalization. Without outwardly defending the Nazi worldview, Moeller guardedly weighs the historical, intellectual, and—yes—even entertainment content of this much-damned and dangerous cinema. In a breathtaking omission, however, there is no mention of Leni Riefenstahl, whose films blurred the lines between Gestapo propaganda and pure visual art. Even so, this fascinating documentary is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)