A couple of years ago, if you had told
me that what the world needed was a satirical movie about Adolph
Hitler traveling through time to show up in 2014 Germany, I would
have said you were nuts. In the light of the present day, I would
say this film couldn't be more timely.
Hitler (Oliver Masucci) wakes up in a
2014 Berlin park completely disoriented after an apparently
successful time-travel escape from his WWII bunker. People he
encounters assume he is an actor, and they laugh and take pictures
with him. He finds refuge in a news stand, where he starts to get
his wits about him and embark on “the first step...gathering
information.” Reading the news, he realizes that the world is
perfectly ripe for him to make a comeback, what with economic
troubles, unemployment, and immigration issues. A freelance
documentarian discovers him and drives him around Germany, filming
while Hitler chats up everyday Germans, commiserating with their
troubles. He finds deep currents of disaffection with politicians
and especially with immigrants. Once he gets on TV, his audience
grows exponentially. People assume he is a comedian doing a Hitler
act, but his message strikes a nerve nonetheless.
“Er Ist Wieder Da” is based on the
best-selling, comedic novel of the same name, but the movie does
something the book could not. Borrowing a page from the movie
“Borat,” the director films real Germans talking with Hitler,
expressing their resentment of immigrants in shockingly candid
vignettes. Of course, not everyone is ready to board the
Hitler-train. Several of these unwitting movie stars do themselves
and their country credit by confronting his ideas. Nonetheless, it's
disturbing to see so many Germans openly express support for a man
who looks like Hitler, presents himself as Hitler, and promotes
Hitler's racist, nationalist ideology. As Hitler says towards the
end of the film, “I never presented myself as anything else.”
This is a refreshing, often hilarious
cautionary tale, even if it feels a bit long at almost two hours.
Star Oliver Masucci absolutely makes the film. He plays Hitler with
a riveting intensity and charisma. He demonstrates how any idea, no
matter how bad, can be appealing if it is expressed with absolute
certainty and confidence. As Yeats said, “The best lack all
conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.”
4 stars out of 5
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