By Anne Brodie
A traumatic event occurred in high school when we members of the senior class were shown a black and white documentary called Night and Fog, by Alain Resnais. We were flooded by gruesome films and stills that taught us more thoroughly than any lecture could have – the irrefutable truth and reality of Germany’s Nazi concentration camps. I’ve never forgotten the impact of that film that laid out unspeakable acts, officially sanctioned with the intention of wiping out a race. And now comes Nuremberg, a feature films starring Russell Crowe, Rami Malek and Michael Shannon. James
Vanderbilt’s thriller set in post-war Germany looks at Hitler’s men who carried out what became known as the Holocaust – the determined, official extermination of German Jews, Roma and other groups. Nuremberg follows the architects of Hitler’s evil dream as they prepare to go to trial. U.S. Army psychiatrist Lt. Col. Douglas Kelley (Malek) carries out in depth interviews with, among others, Hitlers second in command and former Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, Crowe in a powerful physical transformation and performance, to determine if he is fit to stand trial. Göring’s outgoing, gregarious personality masks true evil; he drew up the blueprint to wipe out, in the end, six million souls and is proud of what he achieved. Kelley and Göring are polar opposites; Kelley hears things that are life changing and sobering, Göring never drops his bravado or outrage. The reason I raised Night and Fog is that images from that documentary are used in Nuremberg, so familiar, so disgusting. May they warn new generations about what happened to ensure it doesn’t happen again. Also stars Leo Woodall, Richard E. Grant, Colin Hanks, Mark O’Brien and John Slattery and based on Jack El-Hai’s non-fiction book The Nazi and the Psychiatrist. Theatres Nov 7.
Netflix‘ historical mini series Death by Lightning is a bold offering, taking s back to 1880’s US politics and a farmer who became the 20th President without asking for the job. First, its focus is a figure who is not especially well known, played by Michael Shannon. Then there’s the deeply modern twist on language, score and overall feel. The language is casual and contemporary to 2025, same cuss words, dispensing with the usual presentation of earlier times as wooden, rigid and with Hollywood-esque period language. Rural Ohio congressman James Garfield and his wife Eliza (Betty Gilpin) farmed but he was a preacher, lawyer, mathematician, intellectual and Civil War general. He served nine terms in the US House of Representatives. At the Republican National Convention of 1962 Garfield delivered a rousing speech, was put forth as a presidential candidate against his will and won by acclaim. As president he promoted emancipation, and the use of gold to shore up the treasury. Meanwhile aspiring politician Charles Guiteau (Matthew Macfadyen) an ambitious but talentless wannabe and thief who befriended Garfield became obsessed with him. Their “friendship” made tragic history, a true story that beggars the imagination. Based on Candice Millard’s 2011 novel Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President. It’s a corker. Streaming now.