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Harvey Karten's Reviews

Review: My Fuhrer

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#1 of 1 Posted 6/10/09 2:42 PM

From harveykarten Posts 798 Last Feb-7
To All [Msg # 23855.1 ]

MY FUHRER (Mein Fuhrer): The Truly Truest Truth About Adolph Hitler

First Run Features
Reviewed for CompuServe by Harvey Karten
Grade: B
Directed by: Dani Levy
Written By: Dani Levy
Cast: Helge Schneider, Ulrich Muhe, Sylvester Groth, Adriana Altaras, Stefan Kurt, Ulrich Noethen, Lambert Hamel, Udo Kroschwald
Screened at: Critics’ DVD, NYC, 6/10/09
Opens: August 14, 2009

The subtitle of this film will clue viewers that “My Fuhrer” is not the truest truth about the Nazi leader, but then again, writer-director Dani Levy, who states in the production notes that comedy can make dents in an evil person’s character better than drama or tragedy, does not avoid the truth either. Using elements from Hitler’s background to subvert not only Hitler’s adoration by his right-hand men and the huge crowds that gathered for his vacuous speeches, Levy does succeed to prove the hypothesis that the best way to deal with authoritarian jerks is not to project laundry lists of evil doings but rather to laugh at the preposterousness of their personalities.

He succeeds only to some extent, however, given the weaknesses of the script as translated by English subtitles, which rarely do justice to the original language, and the fact that Germans are not especially known for a sense of humor that travels well across the Atlantic. Scripters, directors and actors who are not of the Teutonic persuasion have elicited laugh-out-loud stories, the best examples being Roberto Benigni’s 1997 film “Life is Beautiful,” Mel Brooks’s 1968 work “The Producers,” highlighting the song “Springtime for Hitler,” and Charles Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator,” made in 1940 before the real horrors of the Holocaust were known.

Director Levy, whose “Go for Zucker” explores the problems of a Jewish journalist in 1989 Berlin and whose “The Giraffe” looks into a murder whose roots can be traced to Germany, is intent on telling us more than we already know, using fantasy to punctuate the basis of Hitler’s madness. (Hint: he was physically abused as a child.)

The film mixes some generous moments of archival film from the 1940s with the current look behind the scenes, though a bevy of extras is used to simulate Hitler’s adoring masses. The story takes place in Berlin in December 1944, when everyone except Hitler (Helge Schneider) knows that the 1,000 year Reich is about to collapse after just five years. Hitler is to give a New Year’s Day speech to hundreds of thousands of flag-waving spectators, but he is depressed, no longer enjoying the confidence he felt when he danced a jig on the Champs Elysees. Herr Goebbels (Sylvester Groth) conjures up a way to restore his boss’s mojo. He hires Adolf Gruenbaum (Ulrich Muehe, “The Lives of Others”), a Jewish actor who now resides in Sachhausen concentration camp, to give Hitler lessons in speech and relaxation.

The best laughs stick in the throat, particularly Goebbels’ assurance to Gruenbaum that he should not take his punishment personally. He also gives the prisoner a ham and cheese sandwich, forcing Gruenbaum to hide the ham under the carpet where it is sniffed out by Bondi, the fuhrer’s German Shepherd.

Crowd scenes aside, the real drama and comedy come from one-on-one interactions between teacher and student, and in this case the teacher actually takes on the role of disciplinarian though his authority over the student is hardly that of the traditional instructor. For sight gags, watch Himmler (Ulrich Noethen), who wears an arm brace that is frozen in a permanent Nazi salute. The concluding scene will remind lovers of classic theater of Edmund Rostand’s “Cyrano de Bergerac.”

Helge Schneider does not resemble Hitler, taking away some of the gravitas of the story, but Ulrich Muehe, a German comedian who looks like a cross between Rod Steiger and Harry Truman, excels. Sylvester Groth is perfect as a Machiavellian “producer” who smiles and engages Gruenbaum but who doubtless has unkosher plans for the acting teacher after New Year’s Day.

Unrated. 91 minutes. © 2009 by Harvey Karten Member: NY Film Critics Online

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Harvey Karten's Reviews

Review: My Fuhrer

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